“I love it here”: Jovic defends her Guadalajara title without dropping a set, sweeping past Stearns 6-4, 6-2

Iva Jovic, the No. 2 seed, beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday night to defend her Guadalajara Open presentado por Santander title, and became the first player to win the WTA 500 event twice.

The 18-year-old, ranked No. 14, needed 1 hour and 26 minutes and did not face a single break point in the final. She won 70.2% of her service points (40/57) to Stearns’ 58.8% (30/51), 41.2% of her return points to 29.8%, and 61 of the 108 points played.

She went through the week without dropping a set, beating her friend Zeynep Sonmez 7-6 (5), 6-4, Polish No. 7 seed Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 and Spanish No. 6 seed Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-1.

It is her second career WTA singles title, a year after she won her first one here against Emiliana Arango.

“It’s amazing to be back here in the final with this beautiful trophy and this sombrero. I love it here. You guys have given me so much energy. The crowd is my favorite thing about coming here, so thank you so much for being here,” she said. “I’m just happy with the improvements I’ve made throughout the year. I think I’ve shown that I’m a more complete and better player than I was this time around last year.”

Stearns, ranked No. 55, had beaten Colombian Emiliana Arango 6-3, 6-2, French No. 4 seed Diane Parry 6-2, 7-5, wildcard Sloane Stephens 7-6 (6), 6-4 and Russian No. 8 seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (7), 6-2 to reach the final.

“Clearly you love Guadalajara and Guadalajara loves you. Hopefully you keep coming back here. Great week for me too. Super proud of myself,” Stearns said.