Belinda Bencic will play in the Wimbledon round of 16 this afternoon after a first week of competition where she has shone brightly. The Swiss, a semifinalist last year, once again demonstrated her mental strength to survive one of those matches that define a tournament and confirmed that she still feels at home on the grass of the All England Club.
Far from just focusing on the result, Bencic acknowledged that her recent victory against Anna Kalinskaya had a significant emotional component. "At those moments, you enter survival mode, and when it's over, you feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. It's a good test to challenge yourself mentally as well," she explained in her interview with Tennis Channel. She even joked after the match: "It was to keep my team on the edge of their seats and offer a bit of a show."
Belinda Bencic and a very special motivation at Wimbledon
Beyond tennis, the main protagonist of her Wimbledon is her daughter Bella. During the match, Bencic didn't hesitate to return greetings from the court when her little one blew kisses from the stands. "I know I am playing, but I can't not greet her. It relaxes me a lot during the match, and these are precious moments," she confessed.
The Olympic champion also explained how she is experiencing this stage of her career balancing competition with motherhood. "My priority is to be with her as much as possible. I am fortunate to be able to take her with me to all tournaments, to be there when she wakes up and when she goes to sleep." With laughter, she shared that Bella enjoys the kindergarten set up at Wimbledon and even tries to mimic her serve in training.
At 29 years old, Bencic assures that she enjoys every stage of her career. "Now they call me a veteran, although I am only 29 years old," she commented jokingly. Aware that the end of her career is closer than the beginning, she prefers to live in the present. And do so, moreover, in the tournament she always dreamt of playing: "Every time I walk through the gates of Wimbledon, I still get goosebumps. It's the tournament I admired the most when I was a child."
Cette actualité est une traduction automatique. Vous pouvez lire la nouvelle originale Bencic: "Ahora me llaman veterana, aunque solo tengo 29 años"

