Sara de Stefano recovered from a one-sided opening set to beat Arantxa Rus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the WTA 125k event in Ljubljana. She did it on return, converting four break points across the last two sets while Rus managed just three breaks in the whole match.
Rus ran away with the first set, breaking in game four at 3-1 and again in game six at 5-1 while landing three aces and 88% of her first serves. The turning point came in the second set, where de Stefano broke in game two at 0-2, was broken straight back at 1-2, then broke again in game six at 2-4 to level the match. In the decider she broke immediately at 0-1 and again at 1-4; Rus pulled one back at 3-5 before de Stefano broke once more to close it out at 3-6.
The third set was the standout: de Stefano landed all 13 first serves and won 12 of those points, held Rus to a single return point, and reeled off nine points in a row. Rus finished with the only aces of the match (5 to 0) and the better first-serve percentage overall, but she was outplayed on break points, saving just 4 of 8 to de Stefano's 6 of 9.