"She walked right into me" - Belinda Bencic addresses Charleston Open exchange with Shelby Rogers

Belinda Bencic registered a hard-fought victory against Shelby Rogers in the second round of the 2023 Charleston Open on Wednesday.

Bencic's chances of defending her title at the tournament were hanging by a thread against the South Carolina native in the second set. But she managed to deliver on crucial points to seal the comeback victory [4-6, 7-5, 6-2].

Shelby Rogers, who was mere games away from scoring a big win in front of her home crowd, was expectedly unhappy with her opponent forcing the decider. During the bathroom break between the second and third sets, the American brushed past Bencic while making her way off the court, which startled the Swiss player.

After the match, Belinda Bencic addressed the seemingly frosty exchange that took place during the match.

“I don’t know. I think she just walked right into me,” Belinda Bencic said in a conversation with Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman. “She didn’t bump me but, I don’t know. I though she’s gonna bump me, so I was a bit surprised, but all good.”

The World No. 11 also jokingly suggested that Rogers had already started implementing her compatriot Jessica Pegula’s idea of trash talk in tennis.

“Maybe we are already starting this trash talk,” she laughed.

Chiming in on the discussion about trash talk, Bencic remarked that it would be an “interesting” addition to the “just too nice” vibe of the WTA tour. She also claimed that it would make for great stories for the fans.

“I think it would be cool. I mean, why not! I know you love these kinds of stories. It’s great. It’s great for the people,” Bencic said. “It would be fun, I think. It would be nice to try it out. Make it more interesting. I think we are all just too nice right now.”

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Belinda Bencic to face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals of Charleston Open 2023

Bencic at the 2022 Charleston Open

Belinda Bencic has had a strong 2023 campaign thus far. The Tokyo Olympic gold medalist has registered 18 wins against just five losses, with two titles - in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi.

Bencic has commenced her claycourt season with the Charleston Open, where she aims to defend her title from last year. With wins over Katherine Sebov and Shelby Rogers, the former World No. 4 is now through to the final eight of the tournament.

However, a tough test from Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova lies ahead in the quarterfinals for the Swiss player. The duo are tied 3-3 in their head-to-head.

Bencic defeated the 28-year-old en route to her 2022 Charleston Open title, but their latest clash at the recently concluded Miami Open went in favor of Alexandrova.