Sloane Stephens Goes Far At The Aussie Open

Written by: Staff on 23rd January 2013

Sloane Stephens Goes Far At The Aussie Open

epa03552697 Sloane Stephens of the USA in action during her match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the women's singles semifinals of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2013. EPA/JOE CASTRO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Serena Williams hadn’t lost a match since August. She had never lost a match to a younger American on the pro tour. At the Australian Open, she had never lost a match after winning the 1st set.

On Wednesday night, all of the above happened. Young compatriot Sloane Stephens stunned the 31-year-old, and moved on to her first ever grand slam semifinal – setting up a meeting with world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

Having won the last 27 sets she played, Williams looked to make it number 28 as she quickly jumped ahead 6-3, 2-0 in the match. But a sudden back injury crippled Serena, giving Stephens the slight opening that she needed to take the match to a decisive third set.

“I think I was convinced I was able to do it when I lost serve in the first game in the second set and went down 2-0,” Stephens said. “I was like, ‘Hmm, this is not the way you want it to happen. But just fight and just get every ball back, run every ball down, and just get a lot of balls in play. I think you’ll be okay.'” And okay she was. The 19-year-old booked a spot in her first ever grand slam semifinal match, which will be played under the lights on Rod Laver Arena Thursday night.

While Victoria Azarenka is undoubtedly a great player, she has an awful losing record against Serena Williams. So if Sloane Stephens was able to take out the player who is 11-1 against Azarenka, does that mean that she actually has a shot at making her first grand slam final, and dare I say, winning the entire tournament? You bet it does. There’s no better motivator than a win over the player you’ve called “a tennis god” in the past. And Na Li (who unexpectedly decimated Maria Sharapova in the first semifinal match of the day), while a good player, can crack under the pressure. And if there’s anything that Stephens proved against Serena Williams, it’s that the pressure is what makes her thrive. I won’t say it’s a certainty that Stephens will make the finals, but I’m also not counting her out. Her chances are as good as any of the other remaining players – maybe even a little better. She has an almost naiveté sense about her. And that’s much more of an intimidator than most people realize.

Topics: Australian Open, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka