Stephens advances in San Jose but Anisimova makes early exit

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens moved into the second round of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose on Tuesday after a 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow American Caty McNally.

A former world No 3, 28-year-old Stephens is now ranked 67th in the world. In her last three events, Stephens reached the semi-finals in Parma, Italy, followed by a fourth-round appearance at Roland-Garros and a third-round finish at Wimbledon.

Stephens will play the winner of the all-American clash between Danielle Collins and Shelby Rogers, which takes place in the evening session.

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Animisova goes down to Tomljanovic in three sets

While Stephens advanced, another American player Amanda Anisimova made an early exit from the WTA 500 tournament. The 19-year-old American, now ranked 84th in the world, was defeated 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 by the resurgent Ajla Tomljanovic.

Tomljanovic came from 3-5 down in the second set, and came from a break twice in the deciding set for the two-hour 10 minute win, during which she also saved two matchpoints.

After peaking at No 21 in October 2019, Anisimova has struggled over the past two seasons after the sudden death of her father, who was also her long-time coach, and injuries.

Yastremska and Vekic also bow out in the first round

In other first round matches on Tuesday, Clare Liu defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, eighth seed Yulia Putintseva defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic 7-5, 6-3, and France’s Kristina Mladenovic defeated Na-Lae Han 6-4, 6-4.

The top seeds in the tournament, Elise Mertens, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Daria Kasatkina are scheduled to play their second-round matches on Wednesday and Thursday. Top seeded Mertens will take on Mladenovic, while second seeded Rybakina will take on wildcard Liu.

The tournament is one of the key tune-ups for the US Open Grand Slam event, which kicks off on August 30 in New York City.

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