Sweet Sixteen! Sloane Stephens Earns First WTA Win
Friday, March 12, 2010
Sloane Stephens, one of two 16-year-olds in the BNP Paribas Open field, celebrated her first match on the WTA Tour with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) triumph over Lucie Hradecka.
Stephens led 5-2 in the second set and had match point on serve in the ninth game, then had to rally from 3-6 down in the second-set tiebreaker.
"I wasn't getting nervous," Stephens said. "She started playing a lot more. Before, she was hitting a lot of balls off the court and I was waiting for the error. She made me play at the end."
Stephens said she'll remember hitting an ace down the middle of the court to get to 6-all in the second-set tiebreaker. She couldn't recall the final shot of the match, though, but said "it was a good moment."
Fellow American Shenay Perry didn't fare as well as Stephens, losing to Karolina Sprem 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
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