Melanie Oudin stuns Sloane Stephens in round one – Mercury Insurance Open 2012
Lucky loser from the qualifying draw, Melanie Oudin, registered a stunning victory over the world number 50, Sloane Stephens, in the opening round of Mercury Insurance Open on Tuesday. The 20-year-old American came from behind
to topple her teenage fellow compatriot in a three-set thriller, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-0.
The enthralling brawl continued for one hour and 49 minutes before Oudin finally got the better of her opponent in the third set. 19-year-old Stephens registered two straight sets victories over Oudin last year but it was the payback
time for her opponent on Tuesday’s eve. Oudin was down earlier in the contest after dropping the opening set but made a brilliant recovery in the very next set to gain some momentum. Once getting into her winning groove, the American lucky loser went absolutely
ballistic in the decisive set and completely blew away hot favourite Stephens with a bagel, improving 1-2 in the head-to-head series against her.
The overall match statistics clearly show how intense the battle was between the two American youngsters. Stephens was the dominating force in the opening set of the match, winning all of her 10 first serve points and nailing three
successive break points to race away to 5-1 lead in no time. She served out of the first set with a breadstick to get one up in the match.
Oudin suffered two more break points from the world number 50 in the following set but retaliated with two breaks of serve to drag her back on even terms. Successful serve holds deadlocked the scores at 6-6, bringing a tie-break
into play. Stephens had a match point in the tie-breaker round but failed to cash in the priceless opportunity, eventually losing the second set to crafty Oudin at 6-7(6).
The American lucky loser then launched her all-round onslaught on Stephens, going for a six-game killing spree to stun her 50th ranked opponent. Oudin secured eight out of nine first serve points and won nine out of
14 return points on Stephens’ serve to come out as the surprise winner at 6-0. She will take on Urszula Radwanska in the second round clash later this week.
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