Tennis Prose




Jan/13

1

Belcourt Sisters Cover Brisbane: Stephens Aiming For Serena Showdown?


By Jayita Belcourt and Louise Belcourt

American Sloane Stephens is on a collision course to meet her tennis inspiration Serena Williams, the 15–time grand slam champion, in the quarter final of the Brisbane International tennis event.

Sloane was dominant in her dismissal of Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-3 in the first round of the Brisbane tournament in Australia. With her strong serve, aggressive forehand and composure on court it was a one sided affair.

Sloane will take on Sofia Arvidsson, world number 41 from Sweden, who ousted hometown hero Samantha Stosur in two sets 7-6 7-5. Should Sloane win that match and Serena win her match today against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, they will meet for an enticing encounter.

The similarities between Serena and Sloane have been frequently written about. They both are confident, aggressive and powerful players, and on the court it does seem you are watching a young Serena. The 19 year old has idolized both Serena and Venus with posters of them covering her bedroom walls when she was growing up. They are now good friends and played together for the first time in April 2012 in their Federation Cup 5-0 win against Ukraine.

2012 has seen Sloane rise to number 36 in the world, and there is no reason she cannot break into the top 20 by the end of the year. Americans are looking for another champion like the Williams sisters, with hopes resting on the young but strong shoulders of Sloane Stephens.

With Sloane’s poise, grace and determination, the youngster is sure to rattle a few cages along the way. Can the up and coming face of American women’s tennis topple the woman who has dominated the sport for over a decade?

Note: Jayita and Louise Belcourt are the Australian correspondents for Tennis-prose.com. They will be providing frequent coverage of the professional tennis events in Australia in 2013.

(Photo credit: Jayita Belcourt)

3 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · January 1, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    Awesome report Jayita and Louise, I’m very very impressed by Sloane Stephens in many ways, I believe she will be a major title winner within three years. She’s a very nice girl with an excellent head on her shoulders and capable of amazing tennis. Just a matter of time. Can’t wait to see her take on Serena. Hope you can be courtside for that match and pick up all the minute details.

  • Dan Markowitz · January 1, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    I disagree with you, Scoop. I don’t think Stephens has the motor to win a slam. Also, she’s not that big. How many women players are winning slams at 5-7, which it looks like she is? I just don’t think Stephens is a slam-winning candidate until I see a lot more hunger and drive from him.

    I am impressed she’s come this far, but I remember reading an interview with her last year at the Open and she was talking about how she was upping her training and fitness programs. But it seemed that it was something she was being forced to do rather than she was itching to work harder.

    So I’ve got to see much more from Stephens before I anoint her a slam contender.

  • Scoop Malinowski · January 2, 2013 at 10:17 am

    Dan, with your many many hours of studying and analyzing the complex intracacies and ongoing tactical evolutions of womens’ tennis, you may have a point. But I think Sloane may have the X factor that separates the champion from the challengers. I can’t quite put my finger on why I have this feeling, other than how I like what I see on the court and her poise in interviews and also that I sat with her and Roger Smith and her mom on the 7 train back to Manhattan three years ago, while mostly talking with Smith about his Rios memories, Sloane impressed me with her personality, intelligence and a mature seriousness. It’s a long way to go but we’ll learn some things in her QF showdown with Serena. I like how Sloane is coming in under the radar, under Oudin and McHale, this will help her.

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