Defending champion Sloane Stephens reached the fourth round of the US Open on Friday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
Stephens, unseeded in her fairytale run to a first Grand Slam title here last year, is now at No. 3 the highest-ranked woman left in the draw after the exits of world number one Simona Halep and number two Caroline Wozniacki in the first and second rounds.
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Stephens was expecting a battle against two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka, playing on a wild card invitation as she works her way back towards the top after time off to have a child.
An early break gave Stephens breathing room in the opening set, and she put it away by breaking Azarenka at love in the ninth game.
But the Belarussian’s big shots stretched Stephens’ vaunted defensive skills to…
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