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Belinda Bencic says she is "really working on staying calm and positive" as she is happy that now in every match she is at least giving herself a chance. Bencic, 25, started working with coach Dmitry Tursunov in late 2022.
In the offseason, coach Tursunov put emphasis on changing and improving certain areas of Bencic's game. Now, Bencic is 14-2 at the start of the 2023 season as she captured titles in Adelaide 2 and Abu Dhabi. Two weeks ago, Bencic saved three championship points en route to beating Samsonova in the Abu Dhabi final 1-6 7-6 (8) 6-4.
“I read a lot about ‘The Dmitry Effect,’ so maybe it’s that. Just staying really tough and disciplined and tough mentally. I’m really working on that right now, to stay calm and to stay positive.
I think it’s really going better than last year. I had some ups and downs and also like mentally I just felt like okay either it’s going in or out, there’s nothing in between. So now I’m really giving myself a chance," Bencic told the WTA website.
Bencic has just two defeats through the first two months of 2023
Bencic started her 2023 season at the inaugural United Cup, where she represented Switzerland. At the United Cup, Bencic defeated Yulia Putintseva in her first match of the season before losing to world No 1 Iga Swiatek in her next match.
After the United Cup, Bencic won Adelaide 2, where she won all of her four matches played in straight sets. At the Australian Open, Bencic made the round-of-16 before losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. After the Australian Open, Bencic returned to action in Abu Dhabi, where she went 4-0 to win her second title of the season.
Last week, Bencic competed in Doha, where she won her first two matches before giving Swiatek a walkover in their quarterfinal match. This week, Bencic is competing in Dubai, where she is the eighth-seeded player.