Friendly fire in rivals Keys, Stephens
OVERSHADOWED by the poisonous spat between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, the advance of Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys to the French Open final sits at the other end of the grand slam friendship spectrum.
Stephens and Keys, who contested last year’s US Open final, are the best of friends.
If Keys beats Yulia Putintseva and Stephens overcomes either Caroline Wozniacki or Daria Kasatkina, the pair will face off in a Roland Garros semi-final. The last time they played, Stephens comforted a tearful Keys after destroying her in the 2017 US Open final.
Soon after the match, the freshly minted grand slam champ pulled her chair across the net to sit beside Keys as the duo joked about the situation.
True to form, Stephens and Keys are supporting one another in Paris.
“I think she’s playing well,” Stephens said.
“She’s the only person I actually watch because I will be texting her during the match, ‘Come on, what are you doing?’” Stephens said following her 6-2, 6-0 hammering of Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.
It was a sentiment shared by Keys, who admitted she was an emotional wreck during Ste- phens’ third-round tussle with Camila Giorgi which ended with the American winning the third set 8-6.
“During treatment yesterday I had Sloane on [ TV] and was living and dying on every point in the end,” Keys said.
“I saw her in the locker room and I was like ‘God, you made me nervous at the end’.
“I always want to see Sloane do well. I’d love for both of us to be in the position to play each other multiple times.”
Stephens has now reached the quarters of all four slams.