By Chris Oddo | Tuesday February 26, 2019
Photo Source: Guillermo Sanchez
2016 champion Sloane Stephens cruised past France’s Pauline Parmentier to book a spot in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Tuesday. The American defeated Parmentier for the second straight year at Acapulco, this time 6-2 6-2, to book a second-round clash with Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.
It was the American’s first win since she fell in round of 16 action to Anastasia Pavlychenkova at the Australian Open. Since then Stephens made her split with coach Kamau Murray official.
Azarenka Shows Good Form in Victory
Victoria Azarenka notched her biggest win of the season by defeating American Danielle Collins 6-1 6-2. The lopsided victory is Azarenka’s biggest win of this young season, both by ranking and by scoreline.
"I felt like I took a lot of good opportunities in the beginning, put a lot of pressure, and didn’t really let her get back into the match. I felt that I’ve done that really well today,” she said.
Azarenka will face Germany's Tatjana Maria in the second round.
In other action, third-seeded Donna Vekic rolled past Misaki Doi 6-0 6-3, while fourth-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu snapped an 11-match losing streak with a 6-4 6-2 win over Daria Gavrilova.