Sloane Stephens‘ campaign at the Guadalajara Open came to a disappointing end in the quarterfinals. She was defeated 7-6, 6-4 by her compatriot Peyton Stearns, who set up a clash with Liudmila Samsonova in the last 4. It proved to be a frustrating outing for Stephens, who even had a meltdown on the court at one stage.

The first set saw both players trade breaks, and it eventually got dragged to a tiebreaker. Stearns took a 7-6 lead in the breaker, but Stephens had the chance to level the score on her serve. However, she miscued her shot wide, handing Stearns the first set. Following this, Stephens threw her racket at the wall behind her and shouted angrily.

Stephens isn’t a player who is known to lose her calm during matches. She usually maintains a cool demeanor on the court and doesn’t let her frustration get the better of her even in tense situations. But she broke character against Stearns, highlighting that she wasn’t satisfied at all with her performance.

This isn’t the first time that Stephens has grabbed attention for breaking a racket mid-match. Her most notable racket break occurred back in 2015 against Dominica Cibulkova in the opening round of the Rogers Cup. On that occasion, she smashed her racket so hard that it broke into two pieces right away.

Coming back, Stephens’ fortunes didn’t change in the second set of the match against Stearns. The latter was the better player on the court and stamped her authority with a straight-set victory. Stearns created 11 break-point opportunities during the match in comparison to Stephens’ tally of five. She clinched four breaks and marched her way into the semifinals without dropping a single set.

The defeat continues Stephens’ lacklustre form. The 33-year-old has an average win-loss record of 18-19 this season and hasn’t had a deep run in any of the tournaments she has played in. Her performance hasn’t been impressive in the hard-court season either so far. She was knocked out by Belinda Bencic in the second round of the Canadian Open after reaching the main draw as a qualifier.

This was followed by a defeat to Marta Kostyuk in the Round of 32 at Cincinnati. The Ukrainian got the better of Stephens again in the second round of the US Open. The quarterfinal exit in Guadalajara only deepens Stephens’ woes. With the Asian swing around the corner, the veteran’s main goal now will be to finish the season on a strong note.

On the other hand, Stearns has made a solid return after losing in the first round at the US Open. She began her campaign in Guadalajara with straight-set wins over Emiliana Arango and Diane Parry. After triumphing over Stephens, she continued her blistering run and defeated Samsonova 7-6, 6-2 to qualify for the final, where she will be meeting one of her compatriots.

Peyton Stearns and Iva Jovic to clash in all-American final at Guadalajara Open

Stearns will be taking on Jovic in the final of the Guadalajara Open. Both players are yet to drop a set in the tournament and have dominated in almost all the matches they have played so far. While Stearns is aiming to clinch her second title of the year, Jovic is on track to win at Guadalajara for the second year running.

This will be the first time that the two will clash in a tour-level match. But the momentum appears to be with Jovic, as she is in substantially better form than Stearns. Not to mention that she also has the ranking advantage and thus has had to play three matches in the tournament, while Stearns has had to play four.

Jovic came into the tournament after suffering a Round of 16 exit at the US Open, where she was defeated by Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4. She defeated the likes of Zeynep Sonmez, Magdalena Frech, and Cristina Bucsa in straight sets at Guadalajara and now has her sights set on the final. Will Jovic go on to win her second title in a row, or will Stearns clinch her maiden crown at Guadalajara? We will have to wait and see.