WTA Toronto

Belinda Bencic has advanced to the round of 16 at the Toronto Masters.

Belinda Bencic has advanced to the round of 16 at the Toronto Masters.

Keystone

Belinda Bencic has advanced to the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. The Swiss player defeated American Taylor Townsend 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

Keystone-SDA

Keystone-SDA

Today at 07:09•Today at 11:13

Bencic (WTA No. 14), who won the tournament in the Canadian metropolis eleven years ago, had to weather a tense moment in the second set. With the score tied at 5–5, she was down 15–40 on her own serve, but fended off both break points and went on to dominate the tiebreak.

The player from eastern Switzerland also had to fight hard in the third set. After taking a 4-2 lead, Townsend (WTA 110) fought back to tie the score at 4-4. However, Bencic immediately secured the decisive break and converted her first match point on her own serve to defeat her former junior rival.

In the round of 16, the 29-year-old will face Alexandra Eala (WTA No. 20), who is eight years her junior and won the title last Monday at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington. It will be the first time the two have faced each other. The left-hander from the Philippines has won seven consecutive matches on the tour, but suffered an injury to her right ankle during her third-round match on Friday.