3 hours and 30 minutes of battle and a crazy match: Bencic prevails against Starodubtseva in Ningbo

The first quarterfinal of the Ningbo WTA 500 tournament offered numerous twists and turns.

In this first match of the day in Ningbo, Belinda Bencic, world number 14, was the favorite in her match against Yuliia Starodubtseva. The Ukrainian, coming from the qualifiers, had arrived in the Chinese city on a streak of seven consecutive losses.

After victories against Priscilla Hon and Tamara Korpatsch in straight sets in the qualifiers, the world number 131 then eliminated Yulia Putintseva in the first round (6-4, 6-2) to earn this match against a top 15 player.

On the other side, Bencic had started her tournament in the first round with a straight-sets victory against Magda Linette (6-3, 6-2). The Swiss player began the match in the best possible way, with a quick break that allowed her to serve for the set at 5-4.

But Starodubtseva, 25, reacted and snatched the last three games after saving a set point to turn the situation around and win the first set. Bencic then responded by managing to secure a double break and lead 5-2. But the 28-year-old player relaxed and saw her opponent come back to 5-4.

Not without difficulty, and after saving a break point, she finally managed to level the match at one set all. The scenario repeated itself in the decisive set. Bencic led 5-2 with a double break and even missed two match points.

Starodubtseva, boosted by her first break back, this time leveled at 5-5. After an endless 16-minute game, Bencic finally managed to regain a break advantage before finishing with a love game in the next.

She wins after a suspenseful match (5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in 3h32) and qualifies for the quarterfinals. She will face Jasmine Paolini or Veronika Kudermetova for a spot in the semifinals in Ningbo.