Tennis player Clara Tauson has advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, USA. Early Sunday morning CET, the 23-year-old Dane defeated American Peyton Stearns 7-6, 1-6, 7-5.
Tauson, who received a bye in the first round, immediately ran into trouble against her opponent—who is one year older and ranked number 53 in the world.
The Dane, ranked number 42 globally, fell behind 0-3 against Stearns. Clara Tauson managed to turn things around, winning the next three games to level the score at 3-3.
The Dane also later had to get herself out of trouble when she saved three set points held by the American to tie the score at 5-5, before breaking Stearns' serve to take a 6-5 lead.
The Dane then had the chance to serve out the first set, but in a lengthy game where Tauson held two set points, Peyton Stearns managed to break serve to make it 6-6.
The set went to a tiebreak, which turned into a real nail-biter after Stearns took a 6-3 lead. The American squandered three set points, and Tauson won the tiebreak 9-7.
In the second set, the Dane took a 1-0 lead, but things then went completely wrong for Tauson. She lost the next six games, forcing the match into a deciding third set.
Things looked bleak for Tauson in the third set as well, as she quickly fell behind 0-2. This meant the Dane had lost eight consecutive games before finally sparking some hope by narrowing the gap to 1-2. Peyton Stearns won the next two games, and with a 4-1 lead, an American victory seemed likely. However, Tauson dug deep and staged a strong comeback.
A service break brought her to 3-4, and she subsequently held serve to level the score at 4-4, making it an even contest. Stearns edged ahead 5-4, but Clara Tauson produced a powerful finish, winning the final three games to secure the match.
In the third round, the Dane will face Czech player Linda Noskova, who is ranked eighth in the world.
In Cincinnati, Tauson aims to accumulate ranking points to improve her world ranking of No. 42 ahead of the US Open Grand Slam tournament, where only the top 32 players are seeded.
The WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati is the final major event before the US Open, which begins in two weeks.