Agency :
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic became the first player to advance to the gold-medal match of the Olympics women’s singles tennis on Thursday, outlasting Kazakh Elena Rybakina 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy semi-final.
In the men’s event, world number one Novak Djokovic continued his quest to become the first player to win all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in the same year since Steffi Graf in 1988.
He cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Kei Nishikori, ending Japan’s hope for a singles medal at home. He will next play either German fourth seed Alexander Zverev or Frenchman Jeremy Chardy for a place in Sunday’s final.
Swiss Bencic was in tears after she closed out a nervy battle against 20th-ranked Rybakina, who squandered multiple leads during the late-afternoon contest on Centre Court.
The victory will ensure a tennis medal for Switzerland for the fourth Olympic Games in a row, while Bencic will have a chance to be the first woman to win singles gold for the country.
“I mean my emotions right now are too high. To have the medal, for me it’s the greatest thing ever to be here as an athlete for the Olympics,” the 24-year-old told reporters.
