Stephens stuns defending champion Garcia, Jabeur rallies in Cincinnati

:American Sloane Stephens battled back to defeat defending champion Caroline Garcia 4-6 6-4 6-4 and reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday while Tunisia's Ons Jabeur mounted an incredible comeback of her own to also advance.

Stephens was ecstatic after executing a perfect volley on match point to claim the win as the 2017 U.S. Open champion looks to sharpen her game ahead of the year's final major, which kicks off later this month in New York.

"Thank you guys so much, it was so electric in here and so fun," Stephens said in an on-court interview under the lights.

"I felt like I played really well and was really consistent but honestly there is nothing better than playing in the U.S. in front of an American crowd. Incredible audience and atmosphere."

Stephens was tentative with her serve early on and was broken for a second time in the 10th game as Garcia grabbed the first set.

But the six-seeded Frenchwoman appeared rattled when she dropped her serve early in the second set and Stephens rode that advantage to level the match.

It looked like Stephens would run away with the decider when she raced out to a 3-0 double break lead but Garcia dug deep to level at 4-4.

But Stephens would not be denied, breaking back and coolly serving out the match to set up a meeting with either Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or Anastasia Potapova, who play their second-round match on Wednesday.

JABEUR FIGHTS ON

Fifth-ranked Jabeur, in her first match since suffering "the most painful loss" of her career in the Wimbledon final, clawed her way from a 1-5 deficit in the final set to beat Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 6-3 6-7(2) 7-6(2).

The victory highlighted Jabeur's mental toughness and she pointed to her head after sealing