Texas-ex Peyton Stearns continues strong year, cruises to third round of U.S. Open
Former Texas star Peyton Stearns is making waves at another tennis major.
Stearns advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Denmark's Clara Tauson. The match lasted a little more than an hour, and it's the second time this year that she has advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam.
Tauson caused waves in the first round by upsetting Russian Anastasia Potapova, the No. 27 seed, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3, though her next test proved to be too stern. The former Longhorn won her first-round match vs. Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-4.
Stearns' next opponent will be vs. England's Katie Boulter on Saturday.
After turning pro last year, Stearns broke through at the French Open, earning her first top 20 finish and rising to a career-high ranking of No. 56 before losing in the third round to No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina. She took some time off post-Paris due to a parasite she discovered in her body, returning for Wimbledon but losing in the first round to the Czech Republic's Markéta Vondroušová 6-2, 7-5.
Her last singles tournament was a Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, where she faced Kasatkina in the first round and lost handily again.
Stearns spent two years in Austin, where a year ago she became the first Texas women’s player to win the NCAA singles title while leading the Longhorns to the team championship.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Peyton Stearns cruises past Clara Tauson to third round of U.S. Open
