I knew that whoever prevailed in Sunday’s Tianjin final between Belinda Bencic and Alison Riske, I was going to be happy.  I like both Belinda and Alison and had the pleasure of watching them live earlier this year at Eastbourne.  In Tianjin, it was Riske who came out on top, defeating Bencic, 6-3 6-4.  Bencic managed to come back from 4-1* to *4-4 in the second set and even had break points at 4-4, which would have seen her serve for the set.  I thought Belinda would be the tougher player mentally but actually, it was Alison.  She secured the all important hold at 4-4 in the second set and then broke to 30 to win her first WTA title.  This victory for Alison came a little out of the blue.  She had a good win over Sara Errani in Beijing, but since the grass court season where she always has her best results, Riske’s season had gone a little quiet.

I really enjoy watching Alison play, particularly on the grass courts.  There are many players out there who could learn a lot from her the way she fights for every point and always gives it some welly.  Plus, who could not love Alison (@Riske4rewards) on Twitter? She’s one of the most entertaining follows.  She is in the draw for Moscow where she will play Dariya Kasatkina in the first round.  This was Bencic’s last tournament of the year.  It has been a fantastic year for the Swiss player, who is in contention to be seeded for the Australian Open.  Sometimes, she has the tendency of getting blown off the court by the more powerful players and she is also still very emotional.  At 17 years old, I don’t think that’s a problem and I think it shows that she cares.  Myself at 17 would have been chucking racquets left, right and centre! I can’t wait to see what Belinda is going to do next year.

Thanks to @FanofBencic and @pearlescent48 on Twitter for their screenshots of the trophy ceremony in Tianjin…