MASON − The Cincinnati Open now has a pair of WTA locals advancing in the main draw at Mason.
Peyton Stearns, the WTA No. 53, will join Madeira's Caty McNally in the Round of 64 after a hard-fought straight-set win over qualifier Harriet Dart, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
Stearns has now won a main draw match in her hometown tournament in back-to-back years.
Last summer, she defeated Yafan Wang in the Round of 128 before a second-round loss to Anna Kalinskaya.
On Friday, Aug. 14, Stearns was in cruise control after a dominant first set. She then opened up a 5-3 lead in the second set and was serving for the win before being broken. The match advanced to a second-set tiebreaker, where Stearns staved off a pair of set points and rattled off four consecutive points to move on.
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Stearns had nine aces for the match and took advantage of six double faults by Dart. Stearns also prevailed on 4 of 6 break points.
She advances to play WTA No. 42 Clara Tauson in the Round of 64 this weekend. It will be the third all-time meeting between the two. Tauson won the last meeting at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this season, 6-2, 6-4. Stearns won the inaugural matchup during the 2023 US Open Round of 64 in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
The Enquirer will update this story.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Two WTA locals moving on in Cincinnati Open as Peyton Stearns advances