Sloane Stephens Cruises Past Jelena Ostapenko to Win 2018 Miami Open

Sloane Stephens' reign on American soil continued on Saturday after she capped off an impressive run through the 2018 Miami Open with a straight-set win over No. 6 Jelena Ostapenko.

It was a battle early on, but Stephens wound up cruising to victory in 91 minutes, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, for her first title of the year.

Stephens' serve gave her a huge advantage in her first meeting against her 20-year-old opponent. While Ostapenko had five double faults and won only 39 percent of points on her first serve and 45 percent on her second serves, Stephens limited herself to just two double faults while winning 57 percent of her points on first serves and 55 percent on her second serves.

Ostapenko made Stephens work throughout the match, but the Florida native was on top of her game:

On her way to the final, Stephens knocked off No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza (6-3, 6-4) in the round of 16 and No. 10 seed Angelique Kerber (6-1, 6-2) in the quarterfinals—not to mention former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka (3-6, 6-2, 6-1) in the semifinals. It was a hard-earned title.

Afterward, the newly crowned champ had some fun while speaking to the crowd:

For the 25-year-old American, it marked the continuation of strong play on home soil:

She won last year's U.S. Open by defeating fellow American Madison Keys in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.

Even more impressively, Stephens kept her perfect record in finals in tact, as Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted:

Per WTATennis.com, winning the Miami Open will push Stephens—who entered the tournament ranked 13th—into the top 10 for the first time in her career. She will move up to No. 9 in the world.