US Open 2020: Sloane Stephens vs Mihaela Buzarnescu preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Sloane Stephens vs Mihaela Buzarnescu

Date: 1 September 2020

Tournament: US Open 2020

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $39,024,000

Match timing: 6 pm EDT, 3.30 am IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar

Sloane Stephens vs Mihaela Buzarnescu preview

2017 champion Sloane Stephens will take on Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu - who last played a match in September 2019 - in the first round of the 2020 US Open on Tuesday.

The talented Stephens' results have been very inconsistent for much of her career, veering towards extremes on both sides. After winning her first Grand Slam title at the 2017 US Open in spectacular fashion, beating two-time former champion Venus Williams in the semis and Madison Keys in the final, Stephens fell in the opening round of the very next Major.

But she roared back to form soon after, winning the Miami Open that year and reaching the final at the French Open (where she lost to Simona Halep). Since then Stephens has reached a Slam quarterfinal twice, but has also lost in the opening round on three occasions. In fact, she has lost her last two Grand Slam matches.

Since losing in the opening round of this year's Australian Open, Sloane Stephens' form hasn't improved much. She's a dismal 1-7 for wins on the WTA Tour this year.

Meanwhile her opponent, Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu, is yet to play a match this year. The 32-year-old has been sidelined due to an ankle injury since September 2019.

Mihaela Buzarnescu last played a match in September 2019

Buzarnescu carried the injury for much of her 2019 and kept playing despite it, leading to an underwhelming season. She fell outside the top 100 in the rankings, after having broken into the top 20 the previous year.

The fact that Buzarnescu ignored the injury and kept playing through it, added to her woes; it caused problems to her shoulder and even a rupture of the super-spinal tendon.

Sloane Stephens vs Mihaela Buzarnescu preview

Sloane Stephens has won only one match in 2020

The first round match at the US Open will be the first career meeting between Sloane Stephens and Mihaela Buzarnescu, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

The pair have never met before despite sharing space on the WTA tour for over eight years.

Sloane Stephens vs Mihaela Buzarnescu prediction

Sloane Stephens would be desperate to turn around her gloomy 2020 by getting some wins under her belt at her home Slam.

The former World No. 3 has won only one out of her eight matches this year and has dropped down to No. 39 in the rankings. Looking at her form, a second consecutive loss in the opening round of the US Open doesn't seem totally out of question for the 27-year-old.

But her opponent has problems of her own. When she steps on the court for her first round match on Tuesday, Mihaela Buzarnescu will play her first tennis match in almost a year.

That said, given her opponent’s extremely poor form, this could be Buzarnescu's chance of progressing beyond the first round at the US Open for the first time in her career.

Prediction: Mihaela Buzarnescu to win in three sets.