Stephens is living up to the hype

TORONTO — Rogers Cup fans got a glimpse of what’s been touted as the next big thing in American tennis for some time.

Sloane Stephens debuted at the women’s tournament Monday with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round.

The world No. 17-ranked Stephens has been labelled the natural successor to Serena and Venus Williams in the American women’s game. This year she’s proving why, with a semifinal showing at the Australian Open and quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon.

Stephens insists she doesn’t let the hype affect her game.

“Obviously, most of the attention I get is pretty positive,” said Stephens. “It’s because people want to see me do well and I’m American and that’s awesome, but I mean there’s a little downfall of that too. There is a lot of pressure ... and things like that.

“You just have to deal with it and play hard and imagine what [Andy] Murray deals with in England and what Serena has dealt with for so many years. It’s definitely tough but people have done it before.”

The 20-year-old Stephens battled back from down 5-3 in the second set to win the match in 90 minutes.

She looked strong from the first game as she broke Mladenovic twice to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The No. 39ranked Frenchwoman tried to play aggressive by attacking the net, but Stephens blew a forehand by her to make it 4-0.

Stephens will next face Germany’s Mona Barthel, who advanced with a 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(1) win over China’s Jie Zheng.

On the men’s side in Montreal, Canadian wildcard Jesse Levine advanced to the second round with a win over Belgium’s Xavier Malisse on Monday night.

Levine, who will next face eight-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, is one of five Canadians remaining in the main draw after his 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Malisse.

Milos Raonic, who is seeded 11th, will face France’s Jeremy Chardy in one of four singles matches involving Canadians today.