Stoiana beats Erjavec 6-2 7-6 to reach Cincinnati final qualifying round

Mary Stoiana came through the Cincinnati qualifying semifinals with a 6-2 7-6 win over Veronika Erjavec, running away with the opener before surviving a much tighter second set that needed a tiebreak. The American's serve set the tone: she landed 69% of her first deliveries and won 70% of those points, while Erjavec found the court with only 59.1% of her first serves and won just 43.6% behind them. Stoiana struck two aces to her opponent's one, though four double faults and 44.4% on second serve kept the second set alive. The result carried her into the final qualifying round.