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Four years ago, Sloane Stephens had a breathtaking run to the US Open title as the 83rd player in the world. If the 28-year-old American continues to play the way she did on Wednesday night, there is no reason why the unlikely history should not repeat itself in the coming week.
Amid the constant din of heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that pounded the roof above Arthur Ashe Stadium, Stephens relied on compound service, a military-grade forehand and veteran poise. throughout a 6-4, 6-2 professional victory for 21st-seed Coco Gauff in an all-American second-round blockbuster.
Gauff, the youngest top 100 player in the Women’s Tennis Association and one of the faces of the tournament, was headlining the night session at the world’s largest tennis stadium for the first time since she reached the third round of her main draw debut in 2019 It turned into a night she would have preferred to forget: a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Naomi Osaka that left her in tears.
The 17-year-old has come a long way since then, reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros this year and climbing to career 23rd. But on a night when there wasn’t much to separate the two, it was Stephens who managed to raise his level at critical times. “I feel like I’m just missing an experience,” admitted a dejected Gauff in the wake. “I really think it shows. I think I just need to play more matches to feel more comfortable in times of pressure.
After both players made their way through their opening serve plays with little resistance, it was Gauff who first betrayed his temper by serving at 4-all, falling back in three consecutive baseline rallies for score the point before giving play with a premature double fault. After the change of sides, Stephens coolly served the set in 34 minutes.
Stephens’ athleticism and ability to recover from powerful groundstrokes, along with his mature variety and understanding of point building, gave him a decisive advantage in longer rallies. So it’s no surprise that she opened up the second frame hammering flat, deep groundstrokes down midfield in an effort to prolong the rally and cause unforced errors from her young foe. Moments after saving the only breaking point she would have had to face all night at 2, Stephens tightened her grip on the procedure by breaking Gauff for love in the span of about two minutes.
It got late early from there for the teenager. Stephens held on to love to extend an 11-point winning streak, then made a double break at 5-2 when Gauff improperly pulverized a forehand behind the baseline. Stephens didn’t mince words late in the game, scoring four quick points to stay in love and close the show in 66 minutes, shortly before.
Stephens’ remarkable average ground forehand speed of 78 mph was faster than any male or female player on Ashe this year, according to advanced stats only available on the tournament’s main exhibition ground. “The forehand was the key today,” said Stephens, who had 84% of his first serves in play and earned 80% of those points. “I wanted to come here and really perform and play my game and I was able to do it well so I’m really happy with the way I played.”
Stephens, then 25, had been out for 11 months due to injury and was ranked 957th in the world a month before the 2017 US Open, only to survive an extremely unpredictable fortnight in which the top eight heads Women’s series were knocked out in the quarterfinals for the first time in a major tournament since the grand slams allowed pros to compete with amateurs in 1968. That was enough for some critics to dismiss her surprise triumph as a blow. Luckily, but Stephens backed up his first slam with a formidable 2018 campaign that included the Miami Title and a run to the Roland Garros final while peaking at No.3 in the standings.
She has fought familiar battles with inconsistency ever since, dropping to 66th in the world this season despite the last 16 at Roland Garros and the third round at Wimbledon. Arriving at Flushing Meadows with an unusual singles record of 15 wins and 14 losses this year, Stephens came back from behind in a third-set tiebreaker to defeat Madison Keys in a high-profile first round before the affair. simpler Wednesday night.
In terms of style, Stephens has always defied easy categorizations. It is not endowed with devastating power but is more than solid on both wings even if it favors the forehand for the winners. Her speed isn’t blinding, but the American remains one of the best players on the tour, fast and apparently never out of position. Nothing in the package is considered exceptional, but when everything clicks, Stephens is as complete as it gets.
It won’t be easier from here. Stephens’ third-round opponent may well be No. 16 seed and 2016 US Open champion Angelique Kerber, whose evening game against Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina was postponed until Thursday afternoon after The relentless downpour began to seep through the openings in the facade of Louis Armstrong Stadium, ahead of a potential meeting with Osaka in the round of 16. But there is no doubt that Stephens, who from an early age gained a reputation for performing best on the biggest stages, is feeding off the atmosphere at the site of his greatest triumph.
“It’s so much fun in there,” Stephens said of Ashe. “It’s like a good place, it’s a happy place. I think I kept a lot of good memories there. For me, it is a well-being. I think being in that position, trying to work my way through the tournament, having tough games, like it’s nice to have that comfort, those moments to look back on. OK, I’m comfortable here, I’m happy here.
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