Bencic wins 20 of last 22 points against Andreescu, moves into Rome third round

Belinda Bencic got her Internazionali BNL d'Italia campaign off on the right foot with a commanding 6-4, 6-1 win over Bianca Andreescu on Thursday.

It was competitive at the start, with Andreescu taking a 3-2 lead in the opening set, but it was all Bencic from there. The 12th seed won 10 of the next 12 games, including the last five, and won 20 of the final 22 points to close it out in just 77 minutes.

Bencic ended the match with a flourish. She managed to get her racquet on a heavy Andreescu backhand in the corner, and after the Canadian returned it into the service box, Bencic won the point with a booming crosscourt backhand winner.

In their first meeting since the 2022 French Open, Andreescu struggled with her serve, winning just 56 percent of her first-serve points and 17 percent of her second-serve points. She also committed seven double faults.

Bencic, meanwhile, won 72 percent of her first-serve points, converted six of nine break-point opportunities and had 20 winners to Andreescu's 14.

This is Bencic's eighth appearance at the Foro Italico, but her first win in Rome since 2022. She's never been past the Round of 32 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but she'll have an opportunity to do so in her next match, against 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya, on Saturday. Kalinskaya saved nine match points in an improbable 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over Katerina Siniakova on Thursday, in a match that lasted 3 hours and 29 minutes.

Bencic has won all four of her matches against Kalinskaya on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, and has dropped just one set. This will be their first match on clay.