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By Chris Oddo/ Thursday, January 16, 2014
Is Sloane Stephens the real deal? It certainly looked that
way on Day 4 as the American executed an improbable
comeback against Ajla Tomljanovic.
Photo Source: Corleve
It was fast, it was furious, and if you weren’t looking
you missed it.
13Th-seeded Sloane Stephens executed a
whip-smart comeback against Ajla Tomljanovic
of Croatia, running off the last four games of the match to
steal a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory on Day 4 at the Australian Open.
The stunning comeback propels Stephens into the third round in
Melbourne, where she will face Elina Svitolina
of the Ukraine.
Stephens led 3-0 in the final set before a lightning delay
forced the players off the court. Rain ensued, and when the the
pair resumed action after the long delay, Tomljanovic took the
fight to Stephens, producing electric shotmaking.
The 20-year-old ripped winners and struck the ball with
confidence and zeal. Stephens, at least for a while, looked
dumbstruck.
The American dropped the first five games after the delay and
seemed to get progressively more flummoxed as Tomljanovic
deployed her groundstrokes with eye-opening pace.
Stephens has had her fair share of experience with rain delays.
She dropped the first set of her quarterfinal with
Marion Bartoli at this year’s Wimbledon, after
going off court at 4-5 deuce, and returning to lose the next
two points and the set. Bartoli went on to win the tournament
and has since retired, while Stephens was left to lament.
Today’s delay was a bit more extreme due to severe lightning in
the area, and it came at the end of a long day that featured a
temperature reaching 109 Fahrenheit. Stephens was relieved to
be done with her harrowing task.
“It was a really long day,” she said. “It had its ups and downs
but in the end I was glad I got the win.”
How Stephens came from the dead in this match, with Tomljanovic
completely in control, may be a mystery that we’ll never
unravel. Some players have it, and some don’t.
It was apparent that Stephens has it when she cracked
a backhand return and followed it up with a nasty drop shot
that barely feathered over the net to earn a break point with
the Croatian serving for the match. She would break for 5-5
then serve clutch in the next game to throw the pressure right
back to Tomljanovic.
Tomljanovic, to her credit, did not go meekly. She played with
courage in the final game, but Stephens still found a way to
steal away, lofting a perfect backhand passing shot to save a
game point then breaking soon thereafter.
Stephens showed tonight that (once again) that she has a
penchant for winning. It seems to be a recurring theme with the
20-year-old who is tabbed my many as a future elite player on
the WTA Tour. Only a few points separate the winner and loser
in a tennis match, and Stephens is pretty darn good at getting
those points.
She is still a work in progress in many ways, but tonight
Stephens took a difficult, scratch-and-claw type match and
turned it into a shining masterpiece. There’s a reason
everybody is hyping the woman. That was made clear for all to
see on Day 4 in Melbourne.
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