Stephens rallies to meet moment
NEW YORK — Sloane Stephens never looked shaken by the setting or the stakes in her first Grand Slam final. Her opponent, Madison Keys, most definitely did.
Stephens easily beat her close friend Keys 6-3, 6-0 to win the U.S. Open on Saturday, capping a remarkably rapid rise after sitting out 11 months because of foot surgery.
“I should just retire now,” Stephens joked. “I told Maddie I’m never going to be able to top this. I mean, talk about a comeback.”
The 83rd-ranked Stephens, who beat Venus Williams in the semifinals, is only the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.
A year ago, she sat out the U.S. Open because of what turned out to be a stress fracture in her left foot. She had an operation in January and made her season debut at Wimbledon in July, exiting in the first round. She lost her next match too, in Washington.
Since then, she has gone 15-2, and her ranking has soared from outside the top 900 to what will be around No. 20 as of Monday.
“I mean, things just have to come together,” Stephens said, “and the last six weeks, five weeks, they really have.”
This was only the second time in the Open era that two women were making their Grand Slam final debuts against each other in New York. Stephens most certainly handled the occasion better, claiming the last eight games and making only six unforced errors — Keys had 30 — in the entire 61-minute final mismatch.
Keys, 22, and Stephens, 24, have known each other for years. They texted and spoke on the phone early in 2017, when both sat out the Australian Open because of operations — Keys on her left wrist, Stephens on her left foot.
“Sloane is truly one of my favorite 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.” 2016: Angelique Kerber d. Karolina Pliskova,
6-3, 4-6, 6-4 2015: Flavia Pennetta d. Roberta Vinci,
7-6 (4), 6-2 2014: Serena Williams d. Caroline Wozniacki,
6-3, 6-3 2013: Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka,
7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 2012: Serena Williams d. Victoria Azarenka,
6-2, 2-6, 7-5 2011: Sam Stosur d. Serena Williams,
6-2, 6-3 2010: Kim Clijsters d. Vera Zvonareva,
6-2, 6-1 2009: Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki,
7-5, 6-3 2008: Serena Williams d. Jelena Jankovic,
6-4, 7-5 2007: Justine Henin d. Svetlana Kuznetsova,
6-1, 6-3 2006: Maria Sharapova d.
Justine Henin-Hardenne, 6-4, 6-4 2005: Kim Clijsters d. Mary Pierce,
6-3, 6-1 2004: Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 7-5 2003: Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Kim Clijsters,
7-5, 6-1 2002: Serena Williams d. Venus Williams,
6-4, 6-3 2001: Venus Williams d. Serena Williams,
6-2, 6-4 2000: Venus Williams d. Lindsay Davenport,
6-4, 7-5 1999: Serena Williams d. Martina Hingis,
6-3, 7-6 (4) 1998: Lindsay Davenport d. Martina Hingis,
6-3, 7-5 1997: Martina Hingis d. Venus Williams,
6-0, 6-4 1996: Steffi Graf d. Monica Seles, 7-5, 6-4 1995: Steffi Graf d. Monica Seles,
7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-3 1994: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario d. Steffi Graf,
1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 1993: Steffi Graf d. Helena Sukova, 6-3, 6-3 1992: Monica Seles d.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-3, 6-3 1991: Monica Seles d. Martina Navratilova,
7-6 (1), 6-1 1990: Gabriela Sabatini d. Steffi Graf,
6-2, 7-6 (4) At USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; New York; Arthur Ashe Stadium WOMEN’S DOUBLES FINAL 1 p.m. EDT #2 Martina Hingis & Yung-Jan Chan vs. #7 Lucie Hradecka & Katerina Siniakova MEN’S SINGLES FINAL Not before 4 p.m. EDT #1 Rafael Nadal vs. #28 Kevin Anderson #1 RAFAEL NADAL R1: Dusan Lajovic, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2 R2: Taro Daniel, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 R3: Leonardo Mayer, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 R4: Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 QF: Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 SF: Juan Martin Del Potro 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 #28 KEVIN ANDERSON R1: JC Aragone, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 R2: Ernests Gulbis, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 R3: Borna Coric, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 R4: Paolo Lorenzi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 QF: #17 Sam Querrey, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-3,
7-6 (7) SF: Pablo Carreno Busta, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4