American 13th seed, Sloane Stephens won the Miami Open tennis tournament to claim her first title since the US Open in September last year. Stephens beat 6th seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets.
Stephens and Ostapenko looked nervous at the start and there were no less than eight service breaks in the first set.
However, Stephens kept herself in the clash against the French Open champion with great touches on defence.
Stephens finally bagged the first set in a tough tie-break against the 20-year old Latvian. The American then stepped on the gas in the second set. Ostapenko raked up an unforced error count of 48 while Stephens firmly took control of the match.
Stephens finally clinched it 6-1 to bag her 6th WTA Tour title. She will now move into the world’s top 10 for the first time on Monday.
“It’s incredible, obviously I’m gonna miss this place a lot but I’m super excited to get a title here and I’m looking forward to defending my title next year at the new stadium. Obviously I worked really hard to get back to this place and I’m really pleased with this result so hopefully I can keep it going,” said Stephens.”
Later Sunday night, fourth seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany will take on American 14th seed, John Isner in the men’s final at Crandon Park.
Isner will be looking for the biggest win of his career against Zverev. The American, who upset fifth seed, Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals, has never won a Masters 1000-tournament. He has also never beaten the young German in three outings.
With Zverev already boasting two Masters 1000 crowns.
