Wang stuns Stephens

China’s Wang Qiang sent US Open champion Sloane Stephens crashing out of the Wuhan Open on a bad day for both this year’s Flushing Meadows finalists in Hubei province.

American Stephens, the 14th seed, lost 6-2, 6-2 on Monday in her first WTA event since claiming her maiden Grand Slam title with victory over Madison Keys in New York earlier this month.

Hours before that shock first-round result, Stephens’ compatriot Keys suffered a similar fate, losing 6-2, 7-6 (4) to Uzbekistan-born American Varvara Lepchenko.

Despite some spirited play by Stephens in the second set, Wang, spurred on by the home crowd, proved too strong for the 24-year-old.

“She played well,” conceded Stephens after the match. “She played her game.”

Nerves looked to be getting the better of Wang as she needed six match points to close out victory, and the world No 55 admitted: “It is true that I was a little bit nervous during the long match-point rallies.

“I’m so glad that I got the victory and I did not have to go through a seesaw battle.”

Wang has overcome Stephens in the past, on the opening day of last year’s Australian Open.

However, the Tianjin-born player magnanimously suggested her opponent was suffering a hangover from her US Open heroics.

“She probably was not at her peak during the match,” said Wang. “She’s just won the US Open and deserved to spend some time celebrating. I would also do that if I won a big event, but I’ve been playing and training recently.”

Asked about her goals for the rest of the tournament, the 25-year-old Wang replied: “I just want to be myself and find my own pace on court.

“I hope that I can gain more wins. I’ll keep pushing.”

Wang is on something of a roll after winning the WTA 125 Series title in Zhengzhou, Henan province, in April.

“My goal is to reach the top 30 in the WTA rankings,” she added.

“My priority is to keep improving — then my goal will be achieved naturally.”