Belinda Bencic interview: Young Swiss prospect harbours hopes of Centre Court debut at Wimbledon
The youngest player in the world’s top 100 has quickly climbed up the ranks of women's tennis. Now, as the grass-court season kicks into gear, she has a dream to fulfill
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The continuing success of 34-year-old Serena Williams, the oldest world No 1 in the history of women’s tennis, can make it feel like female champions are getting older with every year, but change could be in the air.
Although it took five years for another player born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam singles title following Petra Kvitova’s 2011 Wimbledon triumph, might 22-year-old Garbine Muguruza’s French Open victory pave the way for others of her generation?
The first three grass-court tournaments on the main women’s tour this year have all been won by children of the 1990s – Karolina Pliskova (aged 24) won at Nottingham, Caroline Garcia (22) in Mallorca and Madison Keys (21) at Edgbaston – while 19-year-old Belinda Bencic, the world No 8, is the youngest player in the world’s top 100.
Bencic, who is fighting to recover her form after missing the recent French Open through injury and was beaten in her first match at this week’s Aegon International in Eastbourne, has been making her mark on the senior game ever since she made her debut on the main tour at the age of 15. Her first opponent was Venus Williams, who had played in her first Grand Slam tournament when Bencic was just two months old.
When I come to a tournament it’s not new anymore. I really know my way around. It feels good.
At the age of 16 Bencic became the youngest player to win a tour event for eight years and in February this year she became the youngest player to break into the world’s top 10 since 2009.
The Swiss, nevertheless, does not feel like a newcomer. “This is my third year on the tour, so it feels like I’ve already played all of the tournaments,” she said. “When I come to a tournament it’s not new anymore. I really know my way around. It feels good.”
She added: “It’s good to see that I’m in the top 10 now, but inside me I still feel that I have a lot of potential and I still feel I can improve so much in my game. Nothing is perfect yet.”
If there are similarities between Bencic’s game and that of her compatriot, Martina Hingis, that should come as no surprise. Bencic is coached by the 1997 Wimbledon champion’s mother, Melanie Molitor, who also coached her daughter for many years.
Although Molitor does not generally travel to events – “She wants to be at home and feels she did all her travelling with Martina,” Bencic said – she is in regular contact with the world No 8 during tournaments.
Bencic said Molitor often referred back to Hingis’ experiences. “It’s great because she has already had all this experience and she can share that with me,” Bencic said. “When I’m in that situation she can remember what it was like for Martina and hopefully I can do it better - and I don’t have to make the same mistakes they might have made before.”
Having already spent so much of her life on tour, does Bencic ever feel that she is missing out on experiences that her friends and contemporaries back home might be enjoying?
“No, I feel like they might be the ones who are missing out,” Bencic said. “I feel like this life is better for me than being at home and going to school. I’m so privileged to be able to travel around the world. I see all the great cities and I stay in the best hotels possible.
“I’ve worked very hard for this, so now that I’m here I’m enjoying it. Of course you have to sacrifice things, but I feel that everyone has to make decisions about their life. The choice I made meant that I would be travelling a lot and of course would not be at home so much. Of course I can’t go out and party as much as other young people but that’s just how it is. I’m very happy with it.”
That’s the dream... I will be so emotional if I get the chance to step on Centre Court.
The only frustration on her travels is that her commitment to her tennis means she usually has little time to enjoy the places she is visiting. “Sometimes I feel that after my career has finished I would like to travel to all the places where I’ve already been, to see them as a tourist,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been travelling everywhere but I haven’t seen the places properly.”
Rio de Janeiro is on Bencic’s schedule this summer. With Switzerland sending one of the strongest tennis teams to the Olympics she could play in three events at the Games – the singles, the doubles with Hingis and the mixed doubles with Stan Wawrinka (Hingis and Roger Federer having been lined up as the country’s first mixed doubles pair).
Hingis, who is the world No 1 in doubles, regularly helps and advises Bencic on tour and the two women joined forces to see Switzerland to a memorable Fed Cup victory over Germany earlier this year.
A former Wimbledon junior champion, Bencic reached the fourth round at the All England Club last summer and will go there with high hopes next week. She thinks that Wimbledon will ultimately prove to be her best Grand Slam tournament. “I really love playing on grass,” she said. “Every time I’m at Wimbledon it’s just a magical feeling for me.”
The thought of playing on Centre Court for the first time is a huge motivation. “That’s the dream,” she said. “I played on No 1 Court in the junior final, but I will be so emotional if I get the chance to step on Centre Court.”
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