Belinda Bencic boosts Swiss’ hopes of reaching Fed Cup final after nervous win over Elise Mertens on ATP Tour
federation cup
Bencic boosts Switzerland’s hopes of reaching Confederations Cup final after nervous win over Mertens
Switzerland captain Stan Wawrinka now has the chance to lead his team into the title race
January 10, 2026
Jason McCauley/Getty Images
Belinda Bencic features in Saturday’s Fed Cup tie in Sydney.
Author: ATP/WTA Staff
Belinda Bencic maintained her unbeaten record in the season opener at the Fed Cup in dramatic fashion on Saturday, defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(0) to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the semi-finals.
Mertens defeated Bencic in their only meeting in 2021, but the 28-year-old Bencic enters the tilt in more unaffected form, posting a 6-0 record in his first three games in Switzerland. Mertens earned a straight-sets win over Zhulin before setting up back-to-back slugging matches with Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova, while Bencic nearly lost a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini and Solana Serra to lead Switzerland into the semi-finals.
Two games away from a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory, Mertens brought the score closer. But the Belgian then twice spurned Bencic’s chances to level the second set at 5-5 before breaking serve to erase his previous 3-1 lead.
This set the stage for a dramatic third set, as Mertens saved two break points while trailing 1-3 and would have given Bencic a 4-1 lead, but fell two points short of victory when Bencic served 30-30, 6-5 behind. But Bencic won the final nine points of the match and was victorious in 2 hours and 37 minutes after deciding at the time to switch his racquet to a newly worn one.
“It felt like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders – I was under a lot of pressure; I really wanted to do well and today I felt a lot of pressure not to let my team down,” Bencic said later.
As she changed rackets, she admitted sheepishly: “My brain shut down and let my instincts take over.”
“I think it was just a feeling that I was playing with my back against the wall,” she added. “I just really focused on myself and just focused on breathing and I’m really happy that I stayed strong in the big moments.”
Stan Wawrinka will look to help Switzerland reach the finals for the first time when he next faces Zizou Bergs.
