No. 5 seed Belinda Bencic overcame early points to beat 82nd-ranked Varvara Gracheva 6-4 6-3 and progress into the quarterfinal of the WTA 500 match in Tokyo.
Gracheva, who received two qualifying matches and one most important draw match earlier than going through Bencic within the round-of-16, went 4-2 up within the first towards the Swiss tennis star. Nonetheless, the No. 5 seed nonetheless didn't enable the qualifier to take the primary set after swiftly responding and taking the subsequent 4 video games to win the opener.
Within the second set, the Swiss former world No. 4 went on one other massive run after claiming back-to-back breaks and profitable 4 video games in a row from 2-3 down to finish her straight-set win.
Now, the whole lot is about for a Tokyo quarterfinal showdown between Bencic and No. 8 seed Karolina Muchova. The Swiss received their first two conferences in 2021 Cincinnati and 2022 Madrid, however Muchova ended on the profitable aspect of their 2023 Dubai and 2025 Montreal encounters.
Bencic three wins away from additionally profitable a WTA match in Tokyo
If you happen to can recall, Bencic's biggest tennis accomplishment got here on the Tokyo Olympics 4 years in the past, when she received the gold medal. This yr, the 28-year-old Swiss is enjoying within the Japanese capital for the primary time because the Olympics.
Bencic d. Varvara Gracheva 6-4 6-3
Belinda seemed very stable at the moment.
Former finalist enjoying this occasion for the primary time since 2018.
Again within the metropolis the place she received an Olympic Gold Medal…
✅fifth QF of 2025
At all times harmful in Tokyo.
🇨🇭❤️ pic.twitter.com/OuNVdJSrzf
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 23, 2025
Up to now, Bencic competed 5 instances on the Tokyo match between 2013 and 2018. Her greatest run on the match got here in 2015, when she made the ultimate earlier than dropping to Agnieszka Radwanska.
