Belinda Bencic faced a bit of trouble against world No. 111 Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her Hong Kong opener, but still managed to get the job done in two sets 6-3 6-4, and reach the round-of-16 without much difficulty.
Bencic, who is seeded at No. 1 at this year's WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong, saved two consecutive break points early on before claiming the first break in the fourth game. Leading 5-3, the No. 1 seed missed out on two consecutive set points on Sasnovich's serve, but managed to serve out for the set in the following game after saving two break points.
After losing the first set, Sasnovich responded by opening an early 3-1 second-set lead. Just when it seemed that the momentum might be changing, the top-seeded managed to get the break back in the fifth game, and then broke Sasnovich again in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead. With a chance to serve out for the match, the Swiss didn't miss out on that opportunity.
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In the Hong Kong round-of-16, Bencic plays against world No. 298 Wang Yafan.
Bencic registers her fifth consecutive win
By beating Sasnovich, Bencic - who triumphed at last week's WTA 500 event in Tokyo - recorded her fifth win in a row.
It's really, really special. I had a full dj vu moment on court because I literally had match point on the same side of the court. I went for the same serve. I was telling myself the same things. It was really a dj vu moment. It is great to win here again. I feel like Tokyo and Japan is really like my happy place in my career, and just a place where I have good success, and I like to be here," the Swiss, who also won the Tokyo Olympics a few years ago, said following her WTA Tokyo triumph.
