On Monday in Doha Sloane Stephens took to the court a heavy favorite over Petra Cetkovska, the 133rd ranked player in the world. The first set was a tight affair, some major struggles followed by a last ditch comeback. Nothing new for Sloane, and Stephens lost 7-5. The bottom fell out though in set two as she dropped it 6-1. Now the question will be asked: was this Sloane’s wrist just not healthy enough yet and her hoping she could play well and it just not happening, or is this just another disappointment of a young Stephens overlooking an opponent, not showing up focused, and losing it mentally when the going got tough?

Sloane does have a wrist injury, that happened back in Australia at the beginning of the year and no one is denying that. She even used it as an excuse to not play in the Fed Cup for the US this weekend. But then why was she in the draw at Doha? According to Sports Illustrated, that fact that Stephens was in the draw was a surprise to American Fed Cup captain Mary Jo Hernandez who was surprised it when told about it by a reporter (View that here). Maybe she stayed in the draw just to see what would happen in it, there’s certainly no penalty for going and trying, and the wrist still is really bothering her. She did have 70 points to try and defend and as a seeded player had a favorable draw.

But it would seem there is more at play here and her continued poor attitude at times on the court continues to weigh on peoples’ minds. Sloane is still just 20 years old, but she’ll be 21 in a month and the tennis world isn’t like the real world. She can’t bloom in her 30’s like the average 20-something who doesn’t get it together in their younger years. If she wants to be a top player in the world that development has to come soon. She’s been a star at the Grand Slams when all the attention is on with five straight appearances in the round of 16. Yet in lesser tournaments last year she often got knocked out early and went 24-19 (compared to 15-4 at Grand Slams). Becoming a real professional that shows up seriously each week and plays consistently is desperately needed for her.

The Draws

This is the updated route for each American to the final if the higher seeds hold out. For matches not yet held: green means favored, red means underdog. Bold indicates that match has been completed and the color corresponds to the result. Click to expand.

Venus Williams defeated Petra Martic 6-2, 6-2 to advance to a second round matchup with a much tougher Petra Kvitova on Tuesday.

In Varvara Lepchenko’s path there was some good news as world #52 Tsvetana Pironkova knocked off 11th seed Robert Vinci 6-3, 6-3. Lepchecnko still faces a tough path to a potential matchup with Pironkova with tough opponents in Kaia Kanepi and Simona Halep first.

Tuesday Schedule

• Approx 6:30 AM ET – Varvara Lepchenko vs. Kaia Kanepi on Court 2
• Approx 12:30 PM ET – Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. #15 Eugenie Bouchard on Court 1