All-American women’s final
Stephens tops Williams, to face Keys at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — Sloane Stephens was two points from defeat against Venus Williams in one U.S. Open semifinal before pulling out the victory.
Madison Keys faced no such test, overwhelming CoCo Vandeweghe in the other semifinal.
Now Stephens and Keys, a pair of pals in their early 20s, will face each other in the first Grand Slam title match for each — and the first all-American women’s final at Flushing Meadows since 2002.
Stephens summoned some of her best strokes when she needed them the most, steeling herself when so close to defeat and taking the last three games of a backand-forth thriller, edging seven-time major champion Williams 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 on Thursday.
“I have a lot of grit,” said the unseeded Stephens, who is ranked 83rd after having surgery on her left foot in January and is the fourth unseeded finalist at the tournament in the Open era, which dates to 1968. “I don’t give up. Like, I’m not just going to give it to someone. I’m not just going to let them take it from me.”
The 15th-seeded Keys dominated No. 20 Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2 in barely more than an hour. Keys had 25 winners to only nine unforced errors.
At 37, Williams was attempting to become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era. She was trying to reach her third major final of this season, something she last did 15 years ago.
Williams’ first title match in New York came in her U.S. Open debut in 1997. Stephens, now 24, was four at the time.
This was the first time in 36 years that all four women’s semifinalists at the U.S. Open represented the host country.