Wimbledon star gets crowd reaction with mum comment as she eyes 45-year feat

Belinda Bencic can end a 45-year wait if she wins Wimbledon this year, flying the flag for all mothers at SW19 ahead of her quarter-final clash with teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva.

The Swiss 28-year-old has claimed Olympic gold in the past, but that was in her pre-mum era, and now Bencic can emulate the great Evonne Goolagong Cawley by winning Wimbledon as a mother. It has been a rare feat with 1981 the last time it happened.

Bencic is now the last remaining of the nine mothers who started out in the singles draw and juggling her off-court duties with her on court ambitions has presented new challenges. She joked after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova that, with her daughter on tour with her, she was “juggling a lot - just like any mum - so yeah, props to the mums”.

She won the Abu Dhabi Open in February, nine months after giving birth to her daughter Bella. So has proven her ability to lift trophies with her new title and is aiming to do so at a Grand Slam as she embraces her new world.

Bencic told The Times: “I feel like you have to be really prepared for not being able to do everything perfectly, you know? I think what I try sometimes in the household, in the tennis court, being a mum, I think you just have to let some things go. You have to compromise.

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“I’m really lucky I have great support from all my family, especially my husband. Shout out to him. Also, I didn’t want to say just mums who juggle, but also dads and parents in general.”

Women get ranking protection when they take time off the court to start a family, but the practicalities of real life certainly make returning a huge challenge, which is why they get even more kudos. Kim Clijsters famously returned to the sport as a mother and stunned the world to win three Grand Slams in as many years.

The Belgian also became the first mum to reach World No 1. Belarusian Victoria Azarenka has reached the final of the US Open since coming back post-giving birth.

Bencic has Andreeva and potentially Iga Swiatek in her path before any possible final and concedes her new life means she practices far less, but it makes her more determined to make the most of her time. That is before she head to the aquarium to ensure that she's trying to lead a normal family life.

“I think I have a different approach,” Bencic claimed. “I don’t practice as much as I used to. I still try to do the best on the practice court and on the match court. I feel like I am more productive because I have less time. Then it’s also really nice to spend time off the court. You have to kind of pretend that it’s the real life.

“You have to try to make the day as normal as possible and not try not to hang out on-site all the time and just go see places, go see aquariums, play places, kindergarten, just so I think it feels as normal as possible for us to travel around the world and be kind of like a week in every city. It’s kind of challenging. We try to make it as normal as possible.”