Bethanie Mattek-Sands cripples Sloane Stephens to enter quarters – Family Circle Cup 2013
In an all-American affair, wild card entrant Bethanie Mattek-Sands stunned fourth seeded Sloane Stephens with a bagel at the Family Circle Cup 2013 on Monday. She notched up a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Stephens to power into the quarters at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier level event taking place in Charleston, United States.
The former world number 30, Mattek-Sands reeled off last eight games and eventually avenged her loss at the French Open last season. After earning this victory, the veteran not only lowered trail in the head-to-head series by 1-2 against Stephens.
"I feel like I played very well," Mattek-Sands was quoted in a courtside interview after stealing the show. "Sloane is a tough competitor. She has a lot of confidence this year. She's a great player - and on top of that I lost to her twice last year, so it was a little bit of a revenge match for me. I really wanted to stick to my game plan regardless of how she was going to play - I wanted to play aggressive and make it shorter than yesterday, win or lose. Every single point I was going to be aggressive and I focused on every single point."
Mattek-Sands made a strong start in this match. She drew the first blood in the fourth game and jumped to a 5-1 lead. The veteran held her composure and cashed another break in the last game, eventually clicking the set by winning six games to two.
Currently ranked 113th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Mattek-Sands went berserk in the proceeding set. She winded up all six games and eventually clinched the set with a bagel.
On the whole, the 28-year-old produced a lower first serve share of 56 per cent as compared to his rival’s 76 per cent. However, she superbly marked 19 out of 23 points on it.
Next in queue for Mattek-Sands is the winner of the match between Madison Keys and the qualifier Grace Min.
The top seed, Serena Williams, also earned the limelight later that day. She recorded a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Italy’s Camila Giorgi and progressed.
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