Sloane Stephens snaps long title drought at Guadalajara

Sloane Stephens is a winner once more.

The 28-year-old Floridian, who captured the US Open in 2017, captured her first tournament championship in almost four years on Sunday when she won the Abierto Akron Zapopan. She held on to beat Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic by a margin of 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 to capture the title.

Stephens ranked No. 3 worldwide at one point but entered the match ranked No.57 in the world.

Stephens was undefeated in the first six WTA singles finals of her career, which included a Grand Slam championship at the 2017 US Open and a WTA 1000 crown at Miami in March of 2018.

Since winning a title almost four years ago, Stephens was 0-3 in her last three finals. Stephens had not made it to a final since 2018, when she made her appearance in the championship match of the year-ending WTA Finals.

In Guadalajara, Stephens put an end to that drought and added another title, becoming the third American to win a WTA singles title this season. The others are Amanda Anisimova at Melbourne Summer Set 2 and Madison Keys at Adelaide International 2.

Stephens also pulled even at 1-1 in head-to-head matches against Bouzkova.