Can Monica Puig continue to surprise the tennis world with a win over eighth seed Belinda Bencic, or will her dream finally come to an end? Join The Roar for live scores from around 1pm (AEDT), following Viktor Troicki versus Nicolas Mahut.
World no.14 Bencic has had an inconsistent start to 2016, beginning at Brisbane where she defeated Sara Errani in the first round 6-1, 6-2 before falling in straight sets to Samantha Crawford 5-7, 5-7.
After an unexpected early exit, the Swiss came to Sydney expected to defeat qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni convincingly. Although she managed to win, her performance was far from impressive, hanging on in three sets 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
The 18-year-old got back on track with wins over Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the second round, and then over world no.23 Ekaterina Makarova in three sets 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
Bencic is a real danger of stealing the Sydney International from first seed, the more experienced Simona Halep. But first she must beat Puig.
The Puerto Rican has won eight of her last ten matches and has had an extended stay at Sydney, knocking out some of the tournament favourites.
After cruising through the qualifying rounds with wins over Andreea Mitu, Yulia Putintseva and Polona Hercog, Puig was drawn against Magdalena Rybarikova, a lucky loser selected to replace Hopman Cup winner Daria Gavrilova, who withdrew with an abdomen injury. After a shaky start, the world no.94 held on for a three-set win 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
After finding her feet against Rybarikova, Puig faced Anna Schmiedlova in the second round and stunned the tennis world with an emphatic display, winning the first set 6-1, and then completely shutting out the Slovak in the second to win 6-1, 6-0.
Puig’s luck was expected to fall when she came up against Australian Samantha Stosur, however her form was too strong, winning 6-4, 6-4, and she now finds herself in contention to win her second WTA career title since turning professional in 2010.
Puig and Bencic have never played on the WTA Tour, and the winner will play either Halep or Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
Prediction
Bencic will face a huge fight from Puig but win in three sets, to qualify for the Sydney International final.
Join The Roar for live scores from around 1pm (AEDT), following the completion of Viktor Troicki and Nicolas Mahut, and comment below if you’re watching the match.
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