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Reuters

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Reuters

Two days after ousting 18th seed Karolina Muchova, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens crashed out of the 2021 French Open. Stephens suffered a humiliating straight-sets defeat at the hands of Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round of the clay-court Grand Slam.

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The American started the first set on a disastrous note as she lost her opening service game and surrendered a commanding 2-0 lead to her opponent. Serving 3-1 in the first set, Stephens’ hopes of surviving were shattered by Krejcikova as she broke her service game for the second time to inch closer towards claiming the opening set.

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Reuters

The Czech tennis player continued dominating Stephens from the baseline, winning a whopping 93% first-serve points during the opening set to clinch the set 6-2.

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Krejcikova bagels Sloane Stephens

The second set unraveled similarly, with Stephens losing her opening service game. The 28-year-old’s poor movement, a string of unforced errors, and subpar returns exacerbated her problems as the set progressed.

While Krejcikova continued to hold her service games, on the other side, Stephens, lost her two successive service games to give her rival an unassailable 5-0 lead in the second set.

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Staring at a bagel, Stephens summoned up her leftover energy reserves to claw back into the match. However, despite creating a breakpoint opportunity in the sixth game, Stephens failed to convert.

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At her second match point, Krejcikova hit a forehand winner to claim victory and stormed into her career’s maiden Grand Slam singles quarterfinals. The 25-year-old raised her hands in the air to celebrate as she bagel’d Stephens, a huge testament to her menacing performance.

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Up next, Krejcikova would either face teenager, Coco Gauff, or Ons Jabeur for a place in the semifinals of the French Open. Apart from making the singles quarterfinals, Krejcikova has also reached the last-8 stage in the doubles and mixed doubles draw at Roland Garros.

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Kshitij Tayal

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Kshitij Tayal is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having played district level tennis competitions, Kshitij is also a tenured journalist of the sport with over four years of experience. At EssentiallySports, he pens down some thought-provoking pieces on players and tournaments across the ATP and WTA. Given his hardwork and complete dedication to his trade, Rafael Nadal is the player Kshitij admires the most. When he's not covering tennis, Kshitij works in business development and marketing. Besides tennis and work, Kshitij loves to read autobiographies and books on Indian history.

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