Stephens beats Ostapenko to claim Miami Open

Sloane Stephens maintained her perfect record in finals on Saturday night by beating Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 6-1 to win the Miami Open. Stephens was brought up 35 kilometres north of the tournament venue in Key Biscayne and had spoken of her desire to claim the crown before the event moves to the north of Miami in 2019.

Sloane Stephens (left) won her sixth title with her victory over Jelena Ostapenko at the Miami Open. Reuters/Geoff Burke

And it was the 25-year-old American who emerged from an error riddled first set with the advantage.

There were eight breaks of serve before Stephens clinched the tiebreak seven points to five. "I knew I would have to run a lot of balls down,” she said. “You have to accept Jelena will hit great shots so I didn't worry about that too much."

Stephens' triumph capped an impressive 12 days on home soil. She dismissed former Grand Slam winners Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka before dispatching Ostapenko who won the French Open last June.

For her Florida flourish Stephens will feature in the top 10 for the first time when the new rankings are released on Monday.

"There were pre-match jitters but once I won the first set, I was able to settle," she added. "I have wanted to be in the top 10 for so long. It's very exciting."

It was the first time either player had made it to the final of a WTA Premier Mandatory – considered just below the four Grand Slams in terms of prestige - and Ostapenko, at 20 years and 297 days, was the youngest finalist in Miami since Azarenka won the crown in 2009.

The Latvian entered the final without dropping a set but she was unable to produce consistency during the 92 minute match.

Stephens’ doughty defending forced her to make another shot which brought the errors.

"Sometimes I was being too aggressive when I didn't have to,” Ostapenko conceded. “But it was working at the beginning.  "A final feels different. There was more pressure and I was missing shots I was hitting earlier in the week.

"Now I can prepare for the clay court season but I have some time before going back to the French Open and to think about what it will be like to defend my title."