WTA Miami Open Final Preview: Jelena Ostapenko vs. Sloane Stephens

The 20-year-old Latvian and the 25-year-old American have never played, but they come in as a well-matched pair. Each made a surprise—no, shocking—run to her first Grand Slam title last year; Ostapenko at the French Open, Stephens at the US Open. Neither had done much in 2018 before this week, but each has found her form again in Miami. Ostapenko has recorded quality wins over Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina, and she was all-but-unplayable in straight-setting Danielle Collins in the semifinals. Stephens, meanwhile, has beaten Garbiñe Muguruza, Angelique Kerber, and Victoria Azarenka.

Match point from Ostapenko's win over Collins in the Miami Open semifinals:

To reach their first Miami final, Ostapenko and Stephens have each solved an ongoing problem. Ostapenko, traditionally an all-or-nothing grip-and-ripper of the purest sort, has added just enough margin to her shots—a little more spin, a little more height—to keep them inside the lines, or at least on the lines—she still aims for those, of course. Stephens has rediscovered that balance of aggression and defense—lots of running with just enough shotmaking sprinkled in—that, at its best, can leave virtually any of her opponents in the dust.

Nina Pantic previews the final in the Daily Mix:

All of which makes this final intriguing and difficult to predict. The central question may be: can Sloane use her speed to force Ostapenko to try too many low-risk missiles? Based on how Ostapenko looked in her last match, I’m guessing no. Those missiles were all landing on the lines.

**WTA Miami (March 20-April 1)

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