WTA Finals Shenzhen Red Group Preview: Kiki Bertens vs. Belinda Bencic

Standings screenshot from shiseidowtafinalsshenzhen.com

Kiki Bertens and Belinda Bencic will enter Thursday in control her own destiny at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. Bertens, the first-alternate replaced an injured Naomi Osaka on Tuesday, scoring an upset victory over world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty. Despite not receiving the benefit of Osaka’s opening win over Barty, Bertens will advance to the semifinals if she defeats Bencic.

Despite just barely missing the original cut, the Dutchwoman scored her tour-leading 55th win, and enters her match against Bencic with a convincing 3-0 head-to-head advantage. With how this week has played, we’ve learned all bets are off and to throw statistics out the window. Bertens presents a tough matchup for Bencic, owning a significant size and strength advantage over the Swiss, in addition to her serve— one of the most dangerous on tour.

It was a shame Bertens originally missed out on the final eight, but now she has the chance to make history. An alternate has never won the WTA Finals, and Bertens had the added challenge of beginning her campaign after a set of round-robin matches was in the books. "I was OK sitting on the couch," Bertens said about her expectations as an alternate.

Bencic, who began the week battling a minor foot injury, looked full strength in her victory over Petra Kvitova. It’s anyone’s match to win, but look for Bertens to come out on top in this potential Cinderella story from Shenzhen. Winner: Bertens