The last few years have not been easy for (57th WTA). After the greats she achieved in 2015-2018, the American suddenly fell into a huge hole. For a long time, it has mainly fallen in the ranking, unable to win any WTA Tour tournament. In the Grand Slam tournaments, however, she could not exceed the fourth round. The last good performance was the 2019 Roland Garros quarter-final.
Sloane Stephens triumphs in Guadalajara. The great return of the American woman
Now, however, the page has turned and the once-third rocket in the world seems to be slowly returning to the right track. Stephens has impressed in recent days with her great disposition at the WTA 250 tournament in Guadalajara. The American made more rivals, but the biggest problem came in the semi-finals, in which Anna Kalinskaja (100th) faced her. The Russian, however, skitched before the third set at 1: 1, so the final went to the 29-year-old.
In it Sloane Stephens played against Maria Bouzkova (96th WTA). This meeting was especially important for the American because she had not had such a great chance of success for a long time. Both ladies have already had the opportunity to face each other, but three years ago. Back then, at the WTA tournament in Toronto, a Czech girl was the winner, who won the 1/16 final 6: 2, 7: 5.
This time, however, the result was different. Stephens won a very difficult and even set 7: 5, but was completely smashed 6: 1 in the second set. It was quite a surprise and an astonishing sudden drop in form. The result of the match had to be decided by the third set, in which, however, the American rose to the occasion. The Czech Republic clearly did not have enough strength for three tough clashes and it was the 2017 winner who won the trophy.
It was the seventh WTA Tour victory in his career for Stephens. The last time she did this play was in 2018 in Miami. Then in the final she defeated the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (13th WTA) 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 1. Later, she reached the finals three more times, but lost all of them. Including the one from 2018 with Simona Halep (27 WTA).
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
