Seventh seed Sloane Stephens weathered a late surge from qualifier Elena Vesnina in the opening set and then cruised through the second set 7-6(4), 6-2 to win her maiden clay title at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, USA on Sunday.
This is the 23-year-old American’s third title of the season after success in Auckland and Acapulco earlier in the year. She thus joins former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka as the only other three-time titlist of 2016.
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The 29-year-old Vesnina had the better start of the two as she broke Stephens to go up 2-0. She had been a runner-up at this event back in 2011 and had been playing some of her best tennis this year.
But after being handed the early advantage on a platter, she could not make full use of it as a re-invigorated Sloane struck back and took the next five games to have a 5-2 lead. But Vesnina would not let go of the set so easily!
Vesnina had a set point in the first set
She broke back the World No. 25 with some beautiful touches at the net and captured the next four games to get a chance to serve out the set herself at 6-5. In a dramatic twist of events, the 85th ranked Russian could not convert the only set point she had and that gave her younger opponent a new lease of life.
Two rounds earlier, the 2013 Australian Open semi-finalist was one point away from being eliminated from the tournament as she faced a match point against 18-year-old rising star Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals. She surely knows well how to make the most of a second chance!
A more aggressive Stephens then stepped up in the tie-break and grabbed it 6-4 to virtually dash all hopes of Vesnina.
The Russian hardly had any fight left in her in the second set and the exertions of winning seven consecutive matches during the past week clearly took a toll on her.
As she looked more and more tired, Sloane grew in confidence and quickly surged to a 5-2 lead, breaking the qualifier twice. Vesnina made one last-ditch effort as she saved three match points but a determined Sloane soon wrapped up the match.
“I just said to myself, ‘You have to fight for every point and compete.’ She’s a great player, so I knew I had to stay in every point,” Stephens said after the final.
“When I got a couple of opportunities, I took them, so that was great.”
The American will start her European clay season at Madrid, beginning 30 April.
