Stephens beats Robson in Hobart
American Sloane Stephens broke Laura Robson's service in the opening game and went on to beat the British player 6-4, 7-6 (4), in a first-round match at the Hobart International on Sunday.
Stephens, the eighth-seeded player in Hobart, lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Serena Williams at the Brisbane International last week.
In the only other first-round match Sunday at the Domain Tennis Centre, Olga Govortsova of Belarus had a 6-2, 6-1 upset win over fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.
Top-seeded Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan plays China's Peng Shuai in a first-round match Monday.
