Stephens storms into semifinals

Sloane Stephens’ remarkable return to form continued as booked her place in the US Open semifinals with a nailbiting win over Anastasija Sevastova. Stephens, whose only previous appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal was at Australian Open 2013, was pushed all the way by the Latvian in the 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) win.

“I’m getting teary-eyed. This is just incredible,” Stephens said after the win. “When I started my comeback at Wimbledon I could have never even have dreamed of something like this happening, making the semifinals of my home slam.”

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The result caps off an incredible run of tournaments for the 24 year-old.

After a year on the sidelines with a foot injury, Stephens made her comeback at Wimbledon (1R), before going on a tear through the US hard court swing. Semifinal appearances at the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati has seen her ranking soar from No.957 in early August to No.34 (projected) in the space of six weeks.

In what was a high-quality match from outset, both players came out swinging in front of an enraptured Arthur Ashe crowd. After splitting sets, the pair traded breaks at the start of the decider. As they edged into the tiebreak both players tightened up, but Stephens was winning the points that mattered. In the end, a single ‘mini-break’ proved the difference as Stephens wrapped up the win in two hours 38 minutes.

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“A month ago I was really worried. I was worried about my protected ranking and not being able to play,” Stephens continued. “Once I realised I have it good, my life is good, I play tennis every day, that released a lot of the stress. And now, bam, through to the semi-finals.”

Stephens will play the winner of today’s second semifinal between Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova.