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WHAT HAPPENED: Sloane Stephens embarked on her US Open title defense on Monday, defeating 80th-ranked Evgeniya Rodina, 6-1, 7-5, in the newly rechristened Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The American has sure come a long way since her fairly-tale run to the 2017 title. Then ranked No. 83 and only months removed from foot surgery, she became the lowest ranked US Open champion ever. This year, she returns as the world No. 3, a more confident player, but also one shouldering some big expectations.

The 25-year-old Floridian was quick to assert herself against her Russian challenger on Day 1 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. A double fault at 1-2, 30-40 — the only DF of the match for either player -- would put Rodina behind in the first set. Stephens capitalized on the opportunity, consolidating the break for 4-1 before closing out the set in a mere 27 minutes.

Rodina, who earlier this summer posted her career best showing at a major by reaching the Round of 16 at Wimbledon (losing to Serena Williams), fell behind 0-2 in the second set before battling back to level the match with a break of her own for 4-all. But Stephens, a runner-up at Roland Garros in June, raised her game, putting away mid-court balls and going for lines. She broke Rodina at love for 6-5, then stepped up to serve out the one-hour, 16-minute match. She finished with 24 winners to 22 unforced errors.
play video Polo Ralph Lauren Presents: Stephens vs. Rodina

WHAT IT MEANS: Stephens will next play Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, who was leading 1-6, 7-6, 5-2 when fellow qualifier Kathinka von Deichmann of Liechtenstein retired.

"She is a more confident player, which I think is going to help her," said ESPN's Chris Evert of Stephens earlier this week. "The only thing that will be against Sloane is the pressure of having to defend, and that always remains to be seen how the player reacts to that. Sloane is still a little bit of a nervous player, but I think that's one area that she's improved tremendously. I have faith in her ability. I have faith in how mentally tough she's gotten. If she can get the crowd on her side and be inspired, I think she can win this tournament. But it all depends on Sloane. It depends on how she reacts to the pressure."

MATCH POINT: How strong is Stephens' return game? Coming into the US Open, she ranked behind only world No. 1 Simona Halep in both return points won (48.1 percent) and return games won (46.3 percent) on the year.

https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/artic ... _reports=4