Sloane Stephens lands Miami Open title

Sloane Stephens defeated Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to win the Miami Open on Saturday.

American Stephens claimed her first title since the US Open last year with a 7-6(7/5) 6-1 win over her Latvian opponent.

Speaking at a post-final press conference, the Florida-born champion was quoted on the WTA website as saying winning in Key Biscayne was “pretty special”.

French Open champion Ostapenko made 48 unforced errors – more than double the number made my Stephens – but that did not tell the whole story as the American earned a lot of them thanks to her relentless defence.

A closely-fought first set gave way to almost a procession in the second, with Stephens claiming victory after Ostapenko’s forehand drifted out wide.

“I knew that I was just going to have to run a lot of balls down,” Stephens was quoted on the WTA website as saying.

“The way that she plays is she has a very aggressive style, and sometimes you can’t outhit her or outrun her.

“You just kind of have to accept that she’s going to hit some really great shots.”

With plans to move the competition from Crandon Park to the much-larger Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL team, Stephens said she was “definitely happy that I could be the last person to win here”.

Stephens will make her debut in the top 10 of the WTA world rankings on Monday, where she will climb to ninth after her success in the tournament.