Current world No. 421 Belinda Bencic continues her run at the Adelaide International as a qualifier after No. 7 seed Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire from their match due to injury.
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What was expected to be a tight battle and one of the highlights of the day, turned into a one-sided battle right from the start after the Swiss started the match with a break and broke the Russian once again in the seventh game before serving out for the first set in the eighth game.
After easily sealing the opener, Bencic also collected a break in the very first game of the second set.
That's when Kalinskaya - who never really looked comfortable on the court and it was evident that she was struggling with something - decided to call it a day.
Previously, Bencic beat Moyuka Uchijima and Laura Siegemund in qualifying.
Now, she is set to meet Liudmila Samsonova in the round-of-16 of the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide.
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Bencic's classy message to Kalinskaya: I didn't want to win this way
I wish Anna all the best. Hopefully shes ready for Australian Open. Its not the way I wanted to win. But I felt good out there. I want to thank everyone for the support. I heard some cheers from all of you so thank you," the 27-year-old said in her on-court interview.
The Swiss, who launched her post-pregnancy return in late 2024, is still very early in her comeback and doesn't want to set high expectations despite a strong start in Adelaide.
"My expectations are very low for now. This is one of my first tournaments coming back. I didnt even think Id be here. Comeback was faster than I expected. But I really just want to enjoy," Bencic said.
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"Physically I can still work every day and get better. Also work on my tennis. You never stop learning. Hopefully I can get my ranking back up."
