San Diego Open: Sabalenka defeats Stephens; advances in quarterfinal
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated American Sloane Stephens 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open here on Thursday.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated American Sloane Stephens 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open here on Thursday.
Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, who is on the other side of the draw, has a first-round match against Maria Sakkari.
She also faces a Swede in Rebecca Peterson.
An unwavering Elina Svitolina claimed the biggest title of her career with a gritty comeback victory against Sloane Stephens at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.
United States tennis player Sloane Stephens on Saturday staged an outstanding comeback against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 0-6, 6-4, 6-1, setting up a final-round duel with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in her very first appearance at the WTA Finals.
This is the second time in a row that Stephens was knocked out in Wimbledon's first round.
Halep had lost her three previous major finals
"For me staying calm is the most important thing," added Stephens, who called herself a "real fighter" after the US Open.
Halep, the runner-up in 2014 and 2017, enjoyed a 6-1 6-4 victory over 2016 champion and third seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
