American Sloane Stephens won her third WTA title of 2016 on Sunday, beating resurgent Russian Elena Vesnina 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sloane Stephens of the United States, in action on Mar 24, 2016,
beating Russian Elena Vesnina 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to win in Charleston.
(AFP/Clive Brunskill)
LOS ANGELES: American Sloane Stephens won her third WTA
title of 2016 on Sunday (Apr 10), beating resurgent Russian Elena
Vesnina 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in Charleston, South Carolina.
The seventh-seeded Stephens rallied from an early break to take a 5-2
lead in the first set, only for Vesnina to win four games in a row and
give herself a set point with a welter of winners.Stephens kept her cool, won the set in a tiebreaker and powered through the second. She broke Vesnina twice more and clinched the victory on her fourth match point.
"I just said to myself, 'You have to fight for every point
and compete,'" said Stephens, who had saved a match point against
Russian Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals and reached the final
after top seed and defending champion Angelique Kerber, the reigning
Australian Open champion, withdrew with illness while trailing in their
semi-final contest.
"She's a great player, so I knew I had to stay in every
point," she said of Vesnina. "When I got a couple of opportunities, I
took them, so that was great."
Stephens, who lifted the trophies in Auckland and Acapulco
this year, is hoping Sunday's triumph will be a stepping stone to a
strong season on the red clay of Europe.
"I love red clay, so starting in Madrid, I think I'll have a lot of fun and just look forward to the French Open," she said.
Vesnina, a former world number 21 who reached the Charleston
final in 2011, reached the title match this year as a qualifier. She
toppled second-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic in the second round, and is
projected to rise from 85th into the top 55 of the world rankings thanks
to her run.
- AFP/de
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