Belinda Bencic guaranteed to take two medals for Switzerland at Tokyo Olympics

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Belinda Bencic has secured a medal for Switzerland in both singles and doubles. In Saturday’s singles and Sunday’s doubles finals, the world No.12 will have a chance to win two gold medals on her Olympic debut.

Only Serena and Venus Williams have won singles and doubles gold in the same Olympic games in the modern era — Venus at Sydney 2000 and Serena at London 2012. When it comes to Swiss tennis players, Bencic joins Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Timea Bacsinszky, Martina Hingis and Marc Rosset in claiming an Olympic tennis medal.

In Thursday’s singles semifinals, the ninth-seeded Bencic fought past Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 7-6(2) 4-6 6-3 and sunk to the floor in tears of excitement. After the tense three-setter in which she saved six set points in the first set and recovered from 0-2 down in the third, Bencic described her feelings:

My emotions right now… it’s too high. To have a medal, it’s the greatest thing. Even to be here as an athlete, in the Olympics, it’s amazing.

To have a medal, it’s something I dreamed of, and I didn’t think it would become reality. I’m beyond relieved and happy.

Bencic’s opponent in the gold medal match will be Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova, who brushed aside Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-1 in the other semifinal. Svitolina and Rybakina will play for bronze medal on Saturday.

Later on Thursday, Bencic also reached the gold medal match in women’s doubles, as she and Viktorija Golubic defeated Brazilians Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani 7-5 6-3.

 

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