Twelfth seed Belinda Bencic stormed into the fourth round of Australian Open 2023 with a hard-fought 6-2 7-5 conquest over Camila Giorgi.
MORE: All the scores from AO 2023
DRAW: Australian Open 2023 women's singles
"I'm happy I got a second chance to serve it out," said a smiling Bencic, referring to Giorgi's unwelcome break at 5-4. "Overall I think it was a great match."
The build-up
Not since 2019 has the pair faced each other. Heading into their sixth clash, Bencic had a 3-2 head-to-head advantage and an unbeaten January run in her favour.
The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist began the 2023 season with a bang, defeating players including Garbine Muguruza, Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina en route to the Adelaide International title earlier in January.
But the dangerous Giorgi has a reputation for slaying seeds, which set the scene for an enthralling match-up.
Story of the match
The duo let their racquets do the talking as the enthused Rod Laver Arena crowd sang out chants of "Andiamo!" and "Dai Camila" to motivate Giorgi, and "Allez Belinda!" in support of the seeded favourite.
A Giorgi forehand sailed past the baseline to hand Bencic an early break. Undismayed, the Italian continued to rip groundstrokes at her peer, only to have that power expertly redirected back over the net.
An impeccable cross-court Bencic backhand earned the world no.10 another break for a 5-2 lead, and minutes later, she closed out the set.
A trio of breaks kicked off proceedings in the second, before Bencic consolidated, holding to love for a 3-1 lead. The highest-ranked Swiss player had two looks at a double break, but her 31-year-old rival dug in to stay within reach.
The streaky Giorgi, with a heavier average 123 km/h topspin forehand than her rival's at 109 km/h, antagonised Bencic with controlled, fearless, shot-making.
Instead of ruminating over missed opportunities, the Italian broke to level at 5-5, denying a tentative Bencic as she attempted to serve out the match.
But streaks only last so long, and a wide Giorgi backhand gifted the 12th seed another chance to serve her way to victory. Bencic sealed the deal in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
"I just tried to relax… sometimes it can get a little bit tense, and you know you want to do everything a bit better," said Bencic.
The 25-year-old's focus against the unpredictable Giorgi was key.
"You never know when she can come back and start firing winners left and right from you," Bencic said.
"She obviously plays very explosive and really fast, so I think to stay mentally there on the court all the time and also find this balance of trying to put the ball on the court and also be aggressive yourself, I'm really happy that worked well."
Key stats
Though the ace count remained low, Bencic won a respectable 69 per cent of first-serve points, outweighing Giorgi's 49 per cent.
The right-hander had a more impactful return game, winning 51 per cent of points against Giorgi's first-serve and 50 per cent against the Italian's second serve.
Contrastingly, Giorgi's success rate was 31 per cent and 48 per cent respectively.
What this means for Bencic
Victory on Saturday marks the first time the Swiss right-hander has reached the fourth round since 2016. Across the net will be either fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka or 26th seed Elise Mertens.
Bencic, undefeated so far this year, is eager to maintain her recent success.
"Hopefully I can keep it up…I'm really happy with the start to the season."
The former world No.4, who has won five of her seven titles on hard courts, is grateful to have new coach Dmitry Tursunov in her corner.
"It's working really well, we are working hard, I'm changing some things, I'm out of my comfort zone and just trying to do things better on the court, trying to be more disciplined and just keep improving my game," Bencic said.
What’s next for Giorgi?
Giorgi matched her AO 2022 third-round run, so her ranking should not dip dramatically.
She'll have to wait at least a year to resume her quest to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park – a feat she's achieved at all three other majors.