Stephens beats Kraus 7-5 6-3 in Cincinnati first round

Sloane Stephens opened her Cincinnati campaign with a 7-5 6-3 win over Sinja Kraus, edging a tight first set before pulling clear in the second. The American's serve gave her the platform: she landed 69.8 percent of her first deliveries and won 66.7 percent of those points, striking three aces against two double faults. Kraus, by contrast, found the box just 54.2 percent of the time and coughed up five double faults, leaving herself in repeated trouble even though she won 51.5 percent behind her second serve. The straight-sets result moved Stephens through the Round of 128 with her energy intact.