Sloane Stephens and Janice Tjen meet in the second round of the WTA Guadalajara on September 16 at 00:30 UTC. The intrigue is simple: can Tjen’s variety unsettle Stephens, or merely give the veteran more rhythms to solve?
Stephens is moving like herself again
Stephens’ ranking of 169 belongs to the long comeback, not quite to her current tennis. Her 6-4, 6-1 win over world No. 36 Clara Tauson showed the familiar ingredients: elastic defence, economical groundstrokes and the calm to let an impatient hitter unravel.
Tjen, ranked 51st, opened here by beating No. 86 Darja Vidmanova 7-6, 6-2. Her serve and forehand grew sharper as that match went on, but recent losses to Mirra Andreeva also exposed the problem Stephens can target: sustained depth pushes Tjen behind the baseline, where her forehand selection becomes less reliable.
Depth can take the sparkle out of Tjen’s tricks
Tjen will mix slices, changes of pace and trips forward, and Stephens cannot spend the evening politely returning everything from the back fence. She needs to absorb the low ball, hold her court position and attack once Tjen’s backhand slice floats short.
There is risk after Stephens allowed Carole Monnet to keep their opening-round second set tight. Still, her movement, rally tolerance and veteran feel for awkward scorelines make this price generous against an opponent whose attacking level can flicker.
Prediction: Sloane Stephens to win, odds 2.42
