Sloane Stephens makes a mark at Australian Open 2013

29th seed Sloane Stephens of United States is making waves at the Australian Open 2013 after brushing past fellow teen Kristina Mladenovic of France in their second round clash on Thursday. The 19-year old moves into the third round at the Melbourne Park after winning the match 6-4, 6-3.

Still 19 years of age, Stephens is currently the third-highest ranked American female player on tour, just beyond third-ranked Serena Williams and 20th-ranked Varvara Lepchenko. Venus Williams is ranked below Stephens as of current rankings by one.

“It’s tough when you’re not playing that great and your mind like isn’t there; it’s definitely tough to win a match that way. But when you can focus in on a certain thing, like just getting the ball back in play, I think the concentration, confidence, and willingness to run every ball down helps. Today, I was determined to get the next ball back,” Stephens said after the match.