World number 10 Belinda Bencic will be up against Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens in their Kremlin Cup 2019 quarter-final on Friday, October 18. The match timings will be announced soon. You can find Belinda Bencic v Kirsten Flipkens live streaming options along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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Belinda Bencic v Kirsten Flipkens Head to Head
These two have played each other three times before this and Bencic leads the head to head 2-1, apart from one other encounter in 2015 where Bencic was leading by a set at IPTL and her opponent pulled out.
WTA Finals Hunt Continues for Bencic
Bencic looked like she was in for a shock loss against Polona Hercog in the second round after losing the first set in that encounter. However, she clawed back to win it in three sets, despite being two breaks down in the final set at one stage.
A defeat at that time would have ended Bencic’s hopes of getting to the WTA Finals, because both her and Kiki Bertens – who is also playing here – need to make it to the final to have a chance of making it to the year-ending championship.
Which is also why Bencic might start off as a favourite on paper against a player outside the top 100 but the pressure would be telling on the Swiss. Bencic could have tried to seal the deal with better showing at the China Open and Linz Open following her semifinal at the US Open but early exits in both those tournaments have meant it comes down to this one at Kremlin.
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Flipkens Aiming for Top 100 Year End
33-year-old Flipkens is a former top 15 player but that came a long time ago. Since then her form has fallen away and since the end of 2014, she has never made it back to even the top 40 of the rankings.
Earlier this year, Flipkens did climb her way back to 49th in the world but a win-loss record of 22-24 makes it impossible for any kind of traction. That win-loss also is an indicator of how she has made no real deep runs into competitions this season – no semi-final this year.
Which is why beating Bencic and making it to the last four would be such an achievement-of-sorts for the Belgian. Apart from a confidence-booster going into the next season, it would also help her gain invaluable points in her bid for direct Australian Open qualification for 2020.
Belinda Bencic v Kirsten Flipkens Predictions & Tips
As I mentioned earlier, on the face of it, looks like a straightforward one for Bencic and the bookmakers seem to suggest so too. Bencic is 3/7 to win this while Flipkens starts off at 23/10 for a shock result. Bencic, despite her shoddy showing against Hercog, should have no major worries to win this one and move into the final four.
Tip: Bencic to win: 3/7 with 888Sport
You can watch & bet on Belinda Bencic v Kirsten Flipkens on Friday, October 18 here. . Get the latest tennis predictions and tips here.
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