“Want to get back to where I was” Sloane Stephens looking forward to increasing the size of her trophy cabinet this season
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Sloane Stephens with her trophy won in Guadalajara
Former World No. 3 Sloane Stephens first win of the season also resulted in her winning the title. Sloane started her season at the 2022 Australian Open where she lost in the first round. She remained absent from the Tour for nearly 3 weeks before she played at the 2022 Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara.
Having lost to 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round of the Australian Open, the 2017 US Open champion won her first match of the season in the first round in Guadalajara defeating Brenda Fruhvirtova in straight-sets. She won the 2nd round in straight-set before winning her quarter-final clash in 3-sets. In the semi-finals, Anna Kalinskaya had to retire before the start of the 3rd set which saw Sloane enter the finals.
Up against Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova, Sloane won the finals 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 to pick up her first title since she won the 2018 Miami Open. She reached three more finals in 2018 including the finals of the 2018 French Open and the 2018 WTA Finals but had to settle for the runners-up trophy. After a troubling season due to injuries in the 2021 season, Sloane looks to have found her form this season.
“It’s the beginning of the season, so there’s still a lot of tennis to be played, but I’m excited to be able to put some matches together. I was excited that I was able to do that, get a title, and hopefully continue on with that momentum, I think I prepared all last year, I committed to training and my fitness and everything obviously I didn’t get the results right away.
“But now seeing the fruits of that labour blossom is nice. I still want to get back to where I was, that’s still really important to me, I think it’s possible, doable, so I’m really excited about that,” said Sloane during the champion’s press conference in Guadalajara.
Sloane Stephens to stay in Mexico
Stephens has chosen to play at the 2022 Monterrey Open in Mexico scheduled for this week. The tournament will conclude on 6th March with the next tournament being the 2022 Indian Wells Open that starts on 10th March in the Californian desert. Sloane will take on Mayar Sherif in the first round in Monterrey in what will be the pair’s first meeting on the Tour.
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Sarthak Shitole
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