Perfect in singles and mixed doubles, Bencic leads Switzerland into the United Cup final

Belinda Bencic won her eighth lucifer of the week and combined with Jakub Paul successful the deciding mixed doubles to decision Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, 10-5 Saturday (January 10, 2026) to suffice Switzerland for the United Cup final.

Bencic has won each 4 of her singles matches and 4 successful mixed doubles this week successful the squad event. Paul, who won conscionable six tour-level doubles matches past year, deed respective down-the-line winners astatine important moments to pb Switzerland into Sunday’s (January 11) last against either the defending champion United States oregon Poland, who played their semifinal aboriginal Saturday (January 10).

“He’s truthful brave it’s unbelievable,” Bencic said of Paul. “I archer him to spell (for it) and helium really goes. It’s crazy.”

Earlier, Bencic extended her undefeated season-opening singles streak erstwhile she bushed Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) to enactment Switzerland up 1-0. But Stan Wawrinka, who volition discontinue astatine the extremity of this season, was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 by Bergs to nonstop the lucifer to a mixed doubles decider astatine Ken Rosewall Arena.

The turning constituent successful the Wawrinka-Bergs lucifer came successful the eighth crippled of the 3rd acceptable erstwhile Bergs broke Wawrinka’s service to spell up 5-3, past held service to triumph the match.

Tournament organizers started play 30 minutes earlier than scheduled with searing temperatures of up to 43 Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) successful the forecast for Sydney.

Bencic had won each six sets successful her archetypal 3 matches astatine the United Cup. She was 2 games distant from different two-set triumph earlier Mertens pushed the lucifer the distance.

Then Mertens came from 3-1 down successful the 3rd set, saved a brace of interruption points that would person fixed Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was 2 points distant from the acceptable triumph with Bencic serving astatine 30-30, down 6-5.

But Bencic won the past 9 points of the lucifer pursuing a determination to alteration her racket to a freshly-strung one, taking the lucifer successful 2 hours, 37 minutes.

“It feels similar 170 kilos fell disconnected my shoulders — I was truthful stressed; I truly wanted to bash well, and contiguous I felt truthful overmuch unit to not fto my squad down,” Bencic said.

On the racket change, she said, “My encephalon turned disconnected and fto my instincts instrumentality over. I deliberation it was conscionable a feeling.”

Later Saturday (January 10) successful the different semifinal, No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland was scheduled to look No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States and Hubert Hurkacz played American Taylor Fritz. A mixed doubles lucifer would beryllium played if the teams were level aft the singles.

In the Poland-Australia quarterfinal connected Friday (January 9), it took a mixed doubles decider to abstracted the teams.