Birthday girl Sloane Stephens makes light work of Angelique Kerber to begin Miami Open campaign
WTAWednesday, 20 March 2024 at 18:39
Turning 31 today, Sloane Stephens celebrated with an opening win at the Miami Open making short work of Angelique Kerber in just 70 minutes 6-2, 6-3.
Stephens' record against Kerber now stands at 6-2 overall after they have played each other over the course of 12 years. Her only losses were in 2012 and 2021 and that run of continued form against the former World No.1 continued. She will now face Sorana Cirstea in the second round. They have already played twice in 2024 splitting their meetings including Stephens winning in Indian Wells two weeks ago.
For Kerber, it is a dampener after a good week in California. She reached the fourth-round before losing to Caroline Wozniacki. It was the first time she had won consecutive matches since returning from maternity leave. But she will now move on likely to the clay court season and in particular Stuttgart where she has a wildcard, for Stephens it will be celebrations and then a return for the second round.
"A very great day at the office," Stephens said in the post-match interview. "I feel like I had the biggest party ever, and you guys all came out."
"[Kerber was] one of the first people I ever played on tour," she said. "I was up 6-2, 5-2 and I ended up losing the match. It was the hardest match I'd ever lost. After that, I just got it into my head to play her. Obviously she's such a great champion and she's had so many great results and a career people can only dream of, so to be able to play well against her is incredible."
Read also
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Big Babe Tennis! Hoping for a good final.DaveyWavey12-09-2026
- Director needs to return to his old "job" at the Australia Open. He's clueless in NYC.
mandoist12-09-2026 - You keep writing ridiculous crap... why are you even watching tennis?mandoist12-09-2026
- They probably have a very good reason for this. I do not get it. Annoying that it finishes so late
AceOfBase12-09-2026 - I hope he wins. Would be great to have a USA winner again with the men.AceOfBase12-09-2026
- I love WTA matches. Seek them out as much as possible on youtube and other platforms I already subscribe to. With that in mind, I do not wish to pay $$$ to a notoriously slippery subscription conglomerate sports broadcaster (like SkySports) just for the privilege to watch it and the tnt/eurosport/discovery subscription went from $$ to $$$+ annually in a blink of an eye. With ATP I have been begrudgingly paying xyz tennis only channel and try to catch up on slams elsewhere (pubs, youtube with USO later on games are just as enjoyable to watch and a smart move to upload on their official channel) but they don't cover WTA. I tried another Tennis dedicated channel that advertised originally as broadcasting where I live, but turned out, they took the money, but didn't cover the matches (only fluff/filler value documentaries). I don't understand why it is so hard to not lock the live matches to one broadcaster only refusing so many people who are happy to pay for the privilege just not through that one entry point. WTA is so exciting for the last few years and they really should capitalise on it as much as possible. And I know it is somewhat naive talking without knowing the inner works, but not being able to find any WTA other than youtube (and then only highlights mostly) is just so frustrating.JayJay11-09-2026
- Clearly not AI :-)AceOfBase11-09-2026
- Oh my God!! Does anyone proofread these pages??? Case in point: However, the question mark over the 32-years-old head......???? No! No! No! However, the question mark over the 32-year-old's head...good grief man, hire a proofreader. This article is rife with errors making some sentences very difficult to read. I had to stop. I am a proofreader hence my disgust.Rapunzel10-09-2026
- Iga needs to make a decision whether she wants to continue the sport of tennis or pursue whatever she has going on in her personal life. One can tell that tennis is no longer an interest of hers. She should retire while she is on top, not when she slides to the bottom of the rankings. She has too much talent to look how she does on the court these days. She looks more like a wild card than a champion.crissy09-09-2026
- Looks like tennis has become a part of the American Oligarchy. As usual, Pegula is given a cupcake draw. With all her money, they have to fixed the draws in her favor in order to raised the trophy.crissy09-09-2026
Loading
