A new WTA champion will be crowned in Tianjin as Belinda Bencic and Alison Riske will both contest their first ever WTA final on Sunday.  Bencic isn’t a great surprise; in the pre-tourmament poll, Bencic was the most popular pick with 40% of readers picking the Swiss player as their champion.  Riske, on the other hand, is one that I am pleasantly surprised by.  Since the grass court season where Riske is most at home, her best results have included a quarter-final run at New Haven with victories over Casey Dellacqua and Flavia Pennetta and a third round showing in Wuhan where she defeated Sara Errani.  In Tianijin, Riske hasn’t dropped a set all week.  In the semi-finals, she took on Zheng Saisai, who had already beaten the likes of Jelena Jankovic and Sorana Cirstea.  Known for her moonballs (this match HERE still gives me nightmares), Riske was not fazed as she blasted her way into the final with a 6-0 6-1 win.  Zheng won just nine points in the second set.

Bencic has capped off a stunning breakthrough year with an appearance in her first WTA final.  Bencic was close to reaching the final of Charleston, just coming up short in a sensational semi-final against Jana Cepelova.  In Tianjin, she has gone one step further and with a pretty hefty slice of luck.  Bencic received a walkover in the second round as Romina Oprandi was forced to pull out with a viral illness and then in her semi-final match against Peng Shuai, the Chinese player was forced to retire.

Bencic and Riske have never played each other on the WTA tour. There are bound to be plenty of emotions with so much up for grabs.  Bencic has demonstrated nerves of steel and an impressive mentality this year, which will be firmly tested in this final.  Riske though, is a gutsy and determined competitor, who won’t go down with a fight.  I developed a great deal of respect for Riske after watching her play Angelique Kerber at Eastbourne earlier this year.  Personally, I like both players.  Bencic will have many more opportunities to win titles so I would think I would like to see Alison prevail in this one… however I think Bencic, if she can keep her cool, will have the edge.

Prediction: Bencic d. Riske in 3 sets