SUN BELTED

Sloane wilts in heat as Open defense ends in quarterfinal

Sloane Stephens’ title defense at the U.S. Open is dead. It died Tuesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, done in by heat, illness and one stubborn, upset-minded foe.

Fighting the effects of a cold, exacerbated by brutal heat and humidity, Stephens first lost her poise then the match. Anastasija Sevastova gutted her way to a 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinals win and her first Grand Slam semifinal.

“I’ve been sick since Monday, bad sinus infection — whatever, you’ve got to play,” Stephens said. “I’ve been playing well the last matches. Just was a tough day. I didn’t play my best. I wish I could’ve played better, but it just wasn’t the day.

“When you don’t play big points well, the match can get away from you. That’s what happened. I didn’t convert. I didn’t play the big points well, and you don’t win matches when you don’t take your opportunities.”

Stephens had rebounded from foot surgery to win last year’s U.S. Open, beating Sevastova in the quarters. But on Tuesday, she wilted against her Latvian foe and in the heat that reached 93 degrees, topping 100 oncourt.

Small wonder just three games were won in the sun, but 14 were won in the shade, including Sevastova getting to triple match point. Stephens saved the first two but not the third, when her return fell harmlessly into the net.

“I lost my nerves a little bit. I think she lost also her nerves a little bit. It’s normal, I think. It’s for semifinals of U.S. Open. It’s OK to show some emotions,” said Sevastova, who picked a great time to get payback for last month’s 6-2, 6-2 loss to Stephens in Montreal.

Serving at 1-1 in the first, Sevastova saved four Stephens break points to hold in an 18point, 10-minute, 27-second game, all in the heat. The Latvian staved off three more Stephens break points to go up 4-1. The American, who has converted 51.5 percent of her break points this year, went 0-for-7 in the first set.

“Mentally, physically, I just wasn’t connecting,” Stephens said. “It just was a really tough day. The heat doesn’t make it any more fun.”

It’s clear Stephens wasn’t having any fun, dropping to her knees, gesticulating and cutting loose with profane outbursts to nobody in general.

“I saw that she was struggling. I was struggling also a little bit, but I didn’t show it that much,” said Sevastova, who insists she didn’t use her drop shots to frustrate and flummox her foe — they just seemed to work that way.

Even after Stephens broke Sevastova and was within 4-3 in the second set and serving up 40-15, the Latvian broke back and served out the match.

Stephens joined Monday’s up- set victims Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova but took solace in a quarterfinal run, saying, “I could’ve [expletive] the bed in the first round, and that would’ve been really bad.”

Meanwhile, Sevastova moved on to face Serena Williams or Karolina Pliskova. It’s more than she could have hoped for when she came out of retirement after back woes.

“I’m relieved that the match is over in this heat. … You feel happy. You need some time then to look, to look at this journey. It was an amazing journey, this three, four years,” Sevastova said. “In the end, it’s amazing, yeah? You can’t believe, yeah. So after I stop at some point, I will look at it and I will be proud of myself, for sure.

“I had not many goals. Maybe top 100. I was thinking, ‘OK, maybe a couple of years, play top 100. Enjoy the game.’ But now, obviously when you win more, you have higher goals.”