Sloane Stephens snails past Aleksandra Wozniak to reach round two – BNP Paribas Open 2012
American booming starlet, Sloane Stephens, showed immense potential to power down the 86th ranked Canadian qualifier, Aleksandra Wozniak, in the opening round battle of the BNP Paribas Open. Both players squared-off
for the second time in their professional careers and the wildcard entrant stunned the superior ranked Canadian in three-sets 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(7).
A world class match that lasted three hours and 12 minutes received a big round of applause in its depth stages. The American had the local support and her supreme temperament at such young age deserved a standing ovation at the
end. Wozniak was also on top of her game but it was just a matter of a single point in the end that separated the winner from the loser.
A topsy turvy start to the match witnessed a trade of breakpoints in the second and third game that kept the scores together. Another exchange of breakthroughs further pushed the scores to 3-3. No players willing to bow down at
the early stages of the match.
Wozniak did well to hold her serve in the ninth game and shifted the pressure back on her opponent. Stephens had to hold her serve to stay in the set but she failed to do so; lost the first set.
The American turned the tables on her opponent in the second set winning a couple of early breakthroughs to push the scores at 4-1. Wozniak kept cool and fought back to win a breakpoint in the sixth and 10th game that
levelled the scores at 5-5. However, her efforts went in vain when her serve was broken in the following game and Stephens made no mistake to hold her serve and tie the scores at one set apiece.
It was a shaky start to the final set. Both players traded breakthroughs on two different occurrences that kept the scores level at 3-3. Four breakpoints were played in the end, shared equally amongst both players that enforced
a tie-breaker round into the play.
Finally, Wozniak committed an enforced error and lost the mini-break to her opponent who gobbled up the win. Stephens plays the German tennis ace, Angelique Kerber, in the next round.
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