United Cup
Bencic boosts Swiss hopes of a United Cup final after tense win over Mertens
Swiss captain Stan Wawrinka now has chance to send his team to the title tie
January 10, 2026
Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Belinda Bencic in action on Saturday at the United Cup in Sydney.
By ATP/WTA Staff
Belinda Bencic kept her undefeated season-opening run at the United Cup in tact in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as she outlasted Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(0) to put Switzerland up 1-0 in the semifinals.
Mertens beat Bencic in their only previous meeting, back in 2021, but the 28-year-old Bencic who came into the tilt in more impervious form, with a 6-0 record across Switzerland’s first three ties. While Mertens had back-to-back tough tussles against Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova after a straight-sets win over Zhu Lin, Bencic hadn’t come close to losing a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini and Solana Sierra to lead Switzerland to the final four.
She was two games away from an uncomplicated 6-3, 6-4 victory before Mertens pushed the match the distance. But the Belgian then denied Bencic two chances to knot the second set at 5-5 before breaking serve, claiming a set in which she previously saw a 3-1 lead erased.
That set the stage for a dramatic third set, in which Mertens came from 3-1 down, saved a pair of break points that would’ve given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from the win with Bencic serving at 30-30, down 6-5. But Bencic won the last nine points of the match following an in-the-moment decision to change her racquet to a freshly-strung one at that stage, wrapping up victory in 2 hours and 37 minutes.
“It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders — I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure to not let my team down,” Bencic said afterwards.
On the racquet change, she sheepishly confessed: “My brain turned off and let my instincts take over.”
“I think it was just a feeling, and I played with my back against the wall,” she added. “I was really focused on myself, on breathing, and I’m super happy that I stayed tough in the important moments.”
Stan Wawrinka will look to send the Swiss through to the final for the first time when he faces Zizou Bergs next.
