Varvara Lepchenko downs Sloane Stephens to enter the second round – Citi Open 2011
World number 101, Varvara Lepchenko of America overcame a spirited challenge from compatriot Sloane Stephens to reach the second round of the Citi Open, being played here at the Washington, D.C.
Lepchenko, the 2011 Las Vegas winner was not at her best but still manage to earn a three-set 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the compatriot to reach the second round of the tournament.
Although she was broken in the opening set and soon found herself 3-4 down in the second, Lepchenko showed her class to fight back and staged a remarkable recovery to eventually win the second and third set, taking not more than
145 minutes of play.
Stephens was broken in her first service game of the decider and despite some scares; Lepchenko came through the set to win a hard-earned match, though she was only four more points than her opponent during the contest.
Lepchenko was always in cruise control against her compatriot and is now 2-0 in their head-to-head scores, having already ousted Stephens in the quarterfinal of Albuquerque in 2010.
She exchanged breaks with her 128th-ranked opponent in the opening set but could not handle the pressure and lost the first set, allowing the Floridian to nab the early advantage.
However, the second set was one-way traffic which greatly helped Lepchenko to re-boot her power engine before entering the third set that actually stamped Lepchenko’s authority on the match.
Stephens was playing for the first time at the tournament and launched a splendid rearguard action towards the end, but Lepchenko rarely needed to move out of first gear, winning the decider with a difference of seven points than
Stephens.
It was not an easy win for Lepchenko as she was trailing before bouncing back against Stephens. She wrapped her brilliant effort with 54 percent on service, 48 percent on return and 51 percent of points in total.
She now marches on into the second round of the tournament where she will meet either Britain’s Anne Keothavong or Italy’s Alberta Brianti.
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