Laura Robson vs. Sloane Stephens is a not only a matchup of the present, but also one of the future for the WTA Tour. For now, they will be going head-to-head in the third round of the 2013 Australian Open.
Laura Robson and Sloane Stephens will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the second time already this season when they collide in round three of the Australian Open on Saturday. Stephens won their only previous encounter 6-4, 7-6(4) earlier this month in Hobart.
Robson, however, will be eager for revenge and brimming with confidence to get it after upsetting Petra Kvitova 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 in a second-round thriller. The fast-rising Brit, who will turn 19 on Monday, preceded that victory with a 6-2, 6-3 rout of Melanie Oudin.
Stephens is scorching hot to begin her 2013 campaign. She reached the quarterfinals in Brisbane (lost to Serena Williams) then made it to the Hobart semis after ousting Robson in round one. So far in Melbourne, the American has not dropped a set in victories over Simona Halep and Kristina Mladenovic. 
This fortnight appears to be continuing a trend for Robson, who had been 2-7 lifetime in majors prior to last summer’s U.S. Open. But she reached the fourth round in New York and it seems to be full steam ahead for the youngster following that performance. Stephens, meanwhile, has been a staple of slam success over the past year. She is through to her fourth consecutive third round of the world’s biggest tournaments.
As the Hobart showdown displayed, Robson hits a bigger ball but is less consistent than her opponent. Robson should be able to power her way to one set, but Stephens’ superior ability to keep ball after ball in play will likely see her through on this surface.
Pick: Stephens 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3
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