Sloane Stephens reaches Rogers Cup semifinals

US Open champion Sloane Stephens romped into the Rogers Cup semifinals Friday, beating Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-2.

The 25-year-old Stephens, ranked No. 3 in the world, won a hard-court title in Miami in March and lost the French Open final to top-ranked Simona Halep. In the semifinals, the American will face fifth-seeded defending champion Elina Svitolina.

Svitolina beat 14th-seeded Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-3 in the late match.

The top-seeded Halep advanced with a 7-5, 61 victory over sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia. Halep will face 15th-seeded Ashleigh Barty, a 63, 6-1 winner over Kiki Bertens.

Preparing for the US Open, Stephens also reached the event semifinals last year in Toronto.

“When you’re playing good matches in big tournaments like this, I don’t think it’s peaking too soon. It’s just getting confidence and playing good tennis,” Stephens said. “Leading up to the US Open, obviously last year it worked pretty well.”

Sloane Stephens of the United States celebrates her victory over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia Photo: AP