Stephens completes incredible comeback
NEW YORK Sloane Stephens’s remarkably rapid rise from a ranking of 957th in early August to U.S. Open champion on Saturday began with the slow work of coming back from surgery on her left foot.
After being off the tour for 11 months because of her injury, Stephens easily beat her close friend Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the first grand slam final for both, becoming only the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.
“I mean, there is no words to describe how I got here, the process it took or anything like that,” Stephens said, “because if you told someone this story, they’d be, like, ‘That’s insane.’ ”
It wasn’t all that fun to face a friend with so much at stake. Stephens, 24, and Keys, 22, have known each other for about a decade, first as juniors, then on tour and as U.S. Fed Cup and Olympic teammates. They texted and spoke on the phone early in 2017 when both sat out the Australian Open because of injuries — Keys had surgery on her left wrist during the off-season, then again in June.
When the match ended after only 61 minutes, with Stephens claiming the last eight games, they met at the net for a long hug. While waiting for the trophy ceremony to begin, Stephens walked over and plopped herself down in a courtside chair next to Keys so they could chat side-by-side.
“Sloane is truly one of my favourite people and to get to play her was really special. Obviously I didn’t play my best tennis today and was disappointed,” Keys said. “But Sloane, being the great friend that she is, was very supportive, and if there’s someone I have to lose to today, I’m glad it’s her.”
They hammed it up afterward, too. When Stephens was presented with her US$3.7-million winner’s cheque, she grabbed Keys’s arm, as if to stop herself from fainting at the sum.
“That’s a lot of money!” Stephens said. Keys teased, “I’ll hold it for her.”
This was only the second time in the Open era that two women made their grand slam final debuts against each other in New York.
Keys acknowledged afterward it was all a bit much for her, and it showed: She wound up with 30 unforced errors. Stephens made only six.
Stephens’s late father, John Stephens, was the 1988 NFL offensive rookie of the year for the New England Patriots. And her mother, Sybil Smith, was Boston University’s first allAmerican in women’s swimming. In addition to being a super athlete, Stephens seems to thrive in the spotlight: She’s now 5-0 in tournament finals.
Her ranking, up to 83rd at the start of the U.S. Open, will climb to No. 17 Monday. Note: Amanda Anisimova won the girls’ singles title, preventing 13-year-old Cori Gauff from becoming the youngest champion of the event at the U.S. Open. Anisimova, 16, won 6-0, 6-2 in the third straight grand slam junior final between Americans.