Auckland, New Zealand: Fifth seed Sloane Stephens booked her ticket into the final at the ASB Classic in Auckland with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over third seed Caroline Wozniacki, the American's first ever victory over the former world number one. Stephens advances to face surprise finalist Julia Goerges of Germany, whose run to the final has been aided by top-seed Venus Williams' early loss. As the rain-delay pushed the match to a second day, Stephens will have only a few hours to recover before the final begins later on Saturday.
Stephens Uses Quick Start to Grab First Set
Despite holding zero career victories over Wozniacki, Stephens looked like the more solid player throughout the whole match. The 30th-ranked American jumped off to a quick 5-2 lead over the Dane in only 27 minutes before the rain arrived, halting the match for the night. Stephens was able to break the Wozniacki serve twice early-on to gain the double-break lead before the rain interrupted the match. Once the players returned to court on day two, Stephens took no time in serving out the first set comfortably, taking it 6-2.
The key to the first set was Stephens' serving. She won 65% of her first serve points, as well as 100% of her second serve points. Wozniacki won 56% of her first serves, but she only won 25% of her second serve points, a likely cause of her losing the first set.
Sloane Holds-on in a Tiebreak to Clinch the Victory
The second set, in comparison to the first, was a much tighter affair. Each player elevated her game, creating exciting points and battles. Wozniacki was able to break the American's first service game of the second set for a 2-0 lead, and it seemed as if she was beginning a run of her own. Stephens, on the other hand, had no such idea in mind, as she immediately broke back to remain on serve at 2-1. Both players continued to create exciting play throughout the set. Both Stephens and Wozniacki had looks at break points after the initial swap of breaks, but neither could convert on any of them from this point forward. Eventually, the match was knotted up at 6-6, and a tiebreak was necessary.
Both players started off shaky in the tiebreak, each earning a mini-break before gifting it right back. Stephens was more aggressive, which aided her in getting to a 4-2 advantage at the change of ends. She held once again before breaking Wozniacki to earn the 6-2 advantage on a cross-court forehand winning from within the baseline, setting her up with 4 match points. Wozniacki held one of the match points before Stephens sealed the match with an ace.
Stephens Sets Up Meeting with Goerges in Final
With the ace to finish the match, Stephens earns her first trip to the final in Auckland at the ASB Classic. Her opponent, Goerges, defeated qualifier Tamira Paszek the day before in straight sets to earn her first trip to the Auckland finals as well. The American has played the German three times before, with Stephens holding a 2-1 head-to-head advantage. Both of Stephens' victories came on hard courts, while Goerges' one victory came most recently on clay, in Strasbourg in 2014.