By Erik Gudris | Sunday, August 9, 2015
Sloane Stephens won her first WTA title in Washington, D.C. with a commanding performance in Sunday's Citi Open final.
Photo Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Sloane Stephens may have taken longer than many expected to win her first WTA title. Yet, the American achieved that important milestone with an impressive performance during Sunday's Citi Open final in Washington, D.C.
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Having not dropped a set all week, Stephens appeared ready to take her maiden singles title in what was also her first ever WTA final. She was also the only player inside the top 40 never to have reached a final.
Facing her across the net was Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian was into her second D.C. final in four years and was hoping she might finally take the next step. Yet, early on it was clear that this would be Stephens' day.
The American broke Pavlyuchenkova early in the opening set and didn't look back as she went on to close it out 6-1. While the Russian managed to keep things close for 2-all in the second set, that would be the last real chance for the former finalist.
Stephens hit a potent backhand winner to break Pavlyuchenkova again for a 3-2 lead. From there, it was a mere formality as Stephens would go on to serve out the match 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes.
Stephens thanked her fans and the local crowd for their support during the week in her acceptance speech.
"You guys have stuck with me for a long long time. This trophy is for all of us."
In speaking with the media later, Stephens talked about her long process to reach this important stage of her career.
"Last year I was going through a learning process. I learned a lot about myself. And there's still a lot of room to grow. Sometimes you have to go through the process. To get to this place, to get to this beautiful trophy, I had to go through a lot, but at the end of the day it was definitely worth it."
Stephens is now projected to rise move back into the top 30 on Monday when the new WTA rankings come out.