NEW YORK — American Sloane Stephens overcame numerous deficits Monday to pull out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in the first round of the U.S. Open. Stephens, seeded 15th, lost the first set to the 110th-ranked Minella and trailed 4-2 in the third, then 3-1 in the final-set tiebreaker. Stephens won five straight points from there, then closed it out on her third match point to improve to 9-1 in the first rounds of majors. This was the second time in three years Stephens needed a third-set tiebreaker to win her opening match at Flushing Meadows. Stephens made her first career Grand Slam semifinal earlier this year at the Australian Open, then followed that...
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