If Belinda Bencic was ailing, particularly after withdrawing from the Abu Dhabi Open with an illness on her own doorstep, she did an excellent job of bucking the pain as she wore little more than a warm smile and flashed the victory sign to thousands of fans who serenaded her for selfies.
The 28-year-old even took it a step further by posing for an adorable picture with a male admirer, who gave her his one-and-a-half year-old so she could hold him in the photograph.
To see that gesture of care and inclusion from Bencic on a warm Monday afternoon was as heartwarming as the images shared last year of her hoisting the Abu Dhabi Open trophy with her daughter, Bella.
The beginning of the new year should have been a celebration of her resilience, having fought back into the top 10 in the women’s world rankings after taking time off to start a family.
But the Abu Dhabi withdrawal this month because of an illness pushed her out of the court.
Bencic did, after all, make it to Dubai – where a week later her legendary countryman Roger Federer won his 100th match – with little or no competitive base until-around-the-clock training sessions in the company of Seppellveri could initiate recovery.
But on Monday, the ninth seed had to do it from a set down in the first round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships before the Swiss star roared back to secure a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Spain’s Jessica Bouzas.
“I had such a hard time because I couldn’t even practice properly after (the) Abu Dhabi Open,” Bencic said.
“So, I’m just thrilled to be here and play again. I feel a lot better.”
But the 2020 Olympic singles champion conceded that her own game isn’t the best it has ever been right now.
“I mean, obviously I’m having a little trouble with a little bit of my burst, you know looking for ball security. I do not think that was my best performance,” she said.
“But I’m very happy that I ended up staying here. And it’s kind of nuts how quickly you lose confidence, and how long it takes to get it back. But definitely I’m here to fight and get my confidence back.”
Bencic will now prepare for a similarly stiff test from Sara Bejlek of Czech Republic in the next round.
“I saw her (against Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey) yesterday; she plays really well. I believe she is on fire right now. She is very confident. So I think it’s a very tough match. But I’m just happy to have another opportunity,” she said.
But while Bencic survived to fight another day, Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion from Britain, was eliminated 6-1 5-7 6-2 in a dramatic three-set match by Croatia’s Antonia Ružić.
The 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko also went out in the first round as the Latvian was beaten 2-6 6-1 6-4 by Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
Kalinskaya’s prize is a last-32 showdown against two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff of the US.
Amanda Anisimova, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up last year, was given a walkover when her first-round opponent, Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic, withdrew with an injury she received in a previous match.
The evening session was a cruise for Paula Badosa as the Spaniard outlasted Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3 7-5.
The feature of Tuesday’s play will be both the players who are opening with their Foro Italico campaigns — Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and defending champion Mirra Andreeva.
But the drawcard will be Filipina star Alexandra Eala, who faces sixth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini for a spot in the round of 16.