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Belinda Bencic, Caroline Garcia and Petra Kvitova have all been confirmed for a WTA 500 event in Berlin, the tournament announced. Bencic, 26, is set to make her third appearance on the grass courts of Berlin. In the last two tournament editions, Bencic finished as runner-up in back-to-back years.
In 2021, Bencic was beaten by Liudmila Samsonova in the Berlin final. Last year, Bencic was forced to retire against Ons Jabeur midway through the Berlin final. Garcia, 29, and 33-year-old Kvitova are set to make their debut appearance in Berlin.
Bencic hopes this is the year she wins Berlin
Bencic came very close to winning Berlin in each of her first two appearances. Even though Bencic twice fell just short of winning Berlin, she enjoyed her time at the tournament and that's why she is again returning to the German grass tournament.
"I hope that this time I can go one step further and win the title. I have such fond memories of Berlin. I can't wait to go back and hope to meet so many great tennis fans there again," Bencic said in a statement. In the 2022 Berlin final, Jabeur had a 6-3 2-1 lead when Bencic was forced to retire the final.
After the final was over, Bencic showed her class and wanted all the attention to be on the winner. "I won’t talk about myself, because I don’t want to take a moment that matters to you. You’ve earned this title, you’re playing the best tennis of your life and I hope you can continue to do so in the coming weeks," Bencic told Jabeur during the on-court trophy presentation.
Bencic has one grass title in her collection. In 2015, Bencic made it all the way on the grass courts of Eastbourne. This year's Berlin edition is taking place between June 19-25. It remains to be seen if Bencic can win it all this year in Berlin.