Bencic defeats Kvitova to score her first WTA Finals win

Debutante Belinda Bencic stayed alive at the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen by putting a second-set slip behind her to defeat Petra Kvitova 6-3 1-6 6-4 and keep the Red Group wide open.

In the first set, the seventh-seeded Bencic saved a break point to level to 3-3 and then broke Kvitova’s serve to go ahead 4-3, even though the Czech’s serving percentage up to that point was 75%. The 22-year-old Bencic proceeded to win two more games in a row, finishing the set when Kvitova double-faulted on set point.

The 2011 WTA Finals champion Kvitova comfortably took the second set 6-1 as her opponent piled up 12 unforced errors to just three winners, while in the third set Kvitova twice recovered…