WATCH: Sloane Stephens hilariously struggles to give her towel to a fan after Australian Open R2 win
Sloane Stephens hilariously struggled to throw a towel to a fan in the crowd after her second-round match at the 2024 Australian Open on Thursday (January 18).
The former US Open champion started the new season with Round-of-32 defeats at the Brisbane and Hobert Internationals. She began strongly in Melbourne, however, with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 win over Olivia Gadecki two days ago.
Presented with a much tougher test in Round 2 by No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina, Stephens came through 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle.
On her way out after her win against the Russian, Stephens' heartwarming interaction with a fan was captured by the courtside media.
She could be seen attempting to fling her towel in the direction of a fan in the crowd but failed to do so. After two failed attempts and a couple of sheepish chuckles from everybody present, Stephens finally found success on her third throw.
She left giving the fan a thumbs up, while the fan couldn't help but laugh at how the entire situation unfolded.
Sloane Stephens happy to come out on top despite tentative start
Following her tight three-set win against Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens conceded during her on-court interview that she was happy to come out on top despite the slow start.
"I just came out a little tentative and tight, I knew what I needed to do, and I wasn't doing it great in the first set," Stephens said.
To hold the fort and stay in the contest was all that was on her mind after losing the first set.
"So I just said dig deep and keep fighting, and see what happens. And I was able to come up with some good points in the second, especially at the end there, and take it into the third," Stephens said.
Anna Kalinskaya of Russia awaits her next in Round 3 of the 2024 Australian Open after she overcame Arantxa Rus 6-1 7-5.