Stephens reaches third round
American, rival Babos won three junior doubles titles together in 2010
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA— Sloane Stephens advanced at the Australian Open at the expense of former doubles partner Timea Babos, in a second-round match the women’s tour billed as a battle of the so-called “frenemies.”
Fifth-seeded Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, dominated the Rod Laver Arena opener 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday, but Babos kept her working by saving 18 of the 23 break points she faced.
The pair combined to win three junior Grand Slam doubles titles in 2010: the French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
Stephens said she knew what to expect from Babos, but that didn’t make it any smoother.
“I just had to hang in there and be patient,” she said.
Stephens will next play No. 31seeded Petra Martic, who beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 7-5. In other early matches: Ashleigh Barty, the brightest local hope for an Australian Open women’s title in decades, reached the third round by beating Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-3. The 15th-seeded Barty was a finalist at last week’s Sydney International, beating No. 1ranked Simona Halep along the way. The last Australian women’s winner of the Open was Chris O’Neill in 1978.
Stefanos Tsitsipas stayed on course for a fourth-round date with defending champion Roger Federer by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 despite wasting 15 of 19 breakpoint opportunities. Tsitsipas will next play19th-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili, who beat Stefano Travaglie 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
This is the first time since 2014 that Stephens has put back-toback wins together at Melbourne Park. She reached the fourth round in 2014, a year after making a run to the semifinals.
“It’s tough getting back into the swing of things,” Stephens said of her preparation for the season-opening major, which this month included first- and second-round losses in Brisbane and Sydney. “It’s a little bit toasty, but a beautiful place to play.” In other early matches Wednesday, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova eliminated ninthseeded Kiki Bertens 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round of a major for the first time since her quarterfinal run here in 2017, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich beat 20th-seeded Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-3. No. 19-seeded Caroline Garcia advanced over Zoe Hives 6-3, 6-3.
Defending champions Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki were in action later Wednesday, as well the No. 2ranked players Rafael Nadal and Angelique Kerber.