Stephens sees off Ostapenko to win Miami title

American Sloane Stephens kept intact her streak of never having lost a final as she defeated Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (5) 6-1 to claim the Miami Open title Saturday. After a tense first set, the U.S. Open champion reeled off six consecutive games in the second to beat the French Open winner and claim her first Miami title after a slow start to the season. The crowd favourite had just six winners, compared with 25 for Ostapenko, but 48 unforced errors by the Latvian and Stephens' relentless defence were the difference.

? @sloanestephens is just out here having some fun... pic.twitter.com/gPTrH9J3Va

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 31, 2018

Adding to her triumphant weekend, Stephens, who was seeded only 13th in Miami, will make her world top-10 debut Monday, after rising to No 9. Ostapenko is currently ranked fifth. Their error-strewn first set began with four consecutive service breaks and went to 6-6 before Stephens pushed ahead 6-2 in the tiebreak.

Consider it done. @sloanestephens is your 2018 #MiamiOpen champion, defeating #Ostapenko 7-6, 6-1. pic.twitter.com/4hIDq4eHQN

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 31, 2018

Ostapenko saved four set points but couldn’t halt Stephens as the Latvian lost her first tiebreak - and first set - of the tournament when Stephens' return pulled Ostapenko wide to the backhand and the Latvian netted. Ostapenko grabbed the first break in the second set, but Stephens broke straight back and cruised to victory in an hour and 31 minutes. The men's prize will be decided Sunday with American John Isner going for the biggest win of his career against Germany's Alexander Zverev.