US OPEN

September 1, 2022

Belinda Bencic

Press Conference

B. BENCIC/S. Cirstea

3-6, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Tough win. Your thoughts on the match.

BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, it was a very tough win. I'm very happy I pulled it through in the second set to turn it around. Then managed to stay tough in the third set.

It was not easy. I felt she was putting me a lot under pressure in the first and the second set. It was tough for me to kind of get out of it, but I'm happy I kind of still was fighting, and that's all I could do.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. That was again very big mix of emotions. How are your nerves? Is it okay?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yes (smiling). Now it's okay, yeah. I mean, of course, I'm fighting, that's all I could do. Today I feel that she was really the better player in the first and the second set, and really all I could do was to fight. I felt very much under pressure from her. I was doing a lot of mistakes, I think especially with my forehand.

I just really told myself I just fight and we see how it goes.

Q. There is one moment after the fifth game of the second set when you lose your serve. Just after that you seemed really, really touched, and after that you came back. At this time what is going through your mind, if you remember?

BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, well, it's tough to say. I feel like I had a lot of chances still in the second set to break her, some breakpoints. But I felt she also played good on some of them.

Of course I was playing with the back to the wall, so I think it's always easier, you know, to kind of relax, and you say, Oh, okay, I try everything and we see. Because you almost lost already.

It's difficult to have the thoughts, because of course you are very frustrated about how it's going, but in a way, you relax, for sure.