Ending a four-year drought to clinch her first-tour level title, Swiss tennis star Belinda Bencic defeated Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the Dubai Tennis Open finals.
With the win, Bencic has moved up from number 45 to 23 in the rankings.
"I have been playing great the whole week so I am really proud of that. I am proud of how I managed to play the final. I did not get too nervous at the end, which was great," Women's Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Bencic, as saying.
The 21-year-old said that she takes inspiration from Kvitova, Naomi Osaka, and Karolina Pliskova, who are all ranked above her in the rankings.
"We all inspire each other. And I hope we rise up with each other. Actually, Elise Mertens inspired me last week. I was very surprised and happy about how she won there. You know, of course, Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open, Petra Kvitova as well in the Australian Open. We all tried to learn from each other, take the best from each other, and just rise up like this," she said.
Bencic thought her first match in the tournament was the toughest as first-round matches are never easy and she had some set points against her. In a dramatic title-run, she had to save six match points against Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16.
"Actually it is very hard to pick one. I think people are very surprised about this, but I think the first match against Lucie Hradecka was the most important because, of course, the first round it is never easy and I had some set points against me. There I started really being mentally strong. So it all started there, I feel," Bencic said.
"And of course against Sabalenka to win after the match points were very important and it made me believe a lot. And then the opponents never got easier. So I thankfully did not have enough time to think about all of it. I played every day and I won," she said.