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Sloane Stephens Shocks The World
8 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Serena Williams stated earlier this year that she believes Sloane Stephens will someday be the world’s best tennis player. Those were words of extremely high praise, which may have floated by the ears and not taken seriously by some veteran pundits.
Now after losing to Stephens in an astonishing upset in the Australian Open quarterfinals, the probability of Stephens fulfilling Serena’s prophecy looks entirely realistic.
Serena was in lethal form all year, until she ran into Stephens who matched her from the baseline, while perhaps outshining her in the important attributes of competitive spirit and grace under pressure.
Stephens has proven beyond any doubt she is a phenomenal player and well worthy of the honor of holding a major title trophy and maybe someday, the WTA #1 ranking.
(Photo by Jayita Belcourt)
Mitch · January 23, 2013 at 10:48 am
Sloane deserves a lot of credit, but you can’t ignore the fact that Serena appeared to seriously injure her back during the second set. Serena recovered somewhat in the third, but I would say that Sloane was the better player from the baseline throughout, and definitely had the advantage in the longer rallies.
Andrew Miller · January 23, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Mitch is right about Serena’s injury…no injury, Serena wins this match. Chris Evert said the same thing today but Evert and Gilbert also said Stephens is for real – Evert was more measured (given that she knows how good Serena is and has been proven wrong by Serena in the match), but you could tell they both felt Stephens is the real deal and could win the tournament if she stays focused. That said…man, I saw the highlights and after reading Scoop’s suggestions took a look at the highlights from their previous match. Stephens seems to have gotten better than she was when they played. I was going to say “Stephens reminds me of MJ Fernandez and Mary Pierce” but I think she’s actually a powerhouse like Capriati with better movement. She guns the ball and has some finesse. Not the same tricks as Serena (no one on tour does). I’d like her to beat Azarenka and then take the title. It would be huge. So yes, I like her game, I like her courage, and I’d like her to win the AO.
Scoop Malinowski · January 23, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Mitch do you really think it was an injury, or was she trying to psyche out the young gun with trickery? I tend to suspect the latter.
Scoop Malinowski · January 23, 2013 at 10:16 pm
She has it all Andrew, some nice touch around the net too. Very composed, very mature player. She sure can win this thing. And like Serena says, she will be the best someday. That day may be coming sooner than anyone expects. She can beat Azarenka but you have to think she will have a letdown after knocking off Serena. We’ll see. I really believe she can and will win the tournament, she has the head for this, wise and mature beyond her years and she’s also got a game that his difficult for anyone.
Andrew Miller · January 24, 2013 at 7:05 am
Scoop, your note that “you have to think she will have a letdown after knocking off Serena” is 100 percent on target…Stephens lost to a very composed Azarenka today. Call me crazy, but to me today’s WTA is super-skilled. There seems to be a lot more variety now than ever before. I just watched Sabine Lisicki – Luc. Safarova highlights from Brisbane and I got to hand it to both of them, if I played tennis like that I would win a lot of matches. But seeing Lisicki play raises some questions about Stephens. Lisicki has a pretty lethal game, that like Stephens puts some heavy pressure on opponents. But Lisicki is often injured and her ranking is no where near the top. This to me is why tennis is so hard: players like Stephens and Lisicki must often destroy each other for a chance to be run over by Azarenka. On any given day they win that match, but not when they have to play another top player in an earlier round and burn all their energy and emotion to get that out of the way.
This is what makes it so hard for Stephens or Lisicki – they have to be able to beat each other quickly and save the energy and emotion for other big matches. That’s why it’s so hard for an underdog on tour – you got to get rid of all your other rivals first (all of who want it just as badly) before you can get a shot at a Serena or an Azarenka, whereas they have been moving through relatively easier matches to make it to the promised land.
Scoop Malinowski · January 24, 2013 at 9:01 am
Andrew, These players have to be so physically strong to last through seven matches, Li Na, Maria, Azarenka, Serena are all very big strong and physical women. Stephens is too but she is not battle tested and her body has never been through seven grand slam matches and how physically demanding they are. The game of Stephens is certainly there, it’s obvious, but the physical stamina and physical confidence may not be yet. Kerber, Lisicki, Kuznetsova are also very physically powerful women. Will we ever see someone almost dainty like an Evert, Hantuchova or Hingis snatch a major title again? You would think not but then again, Schiavone surprised us all. Madison Keys looks to be physically strong enough and she also has a great head and a fantastic game. Samantha Crawford is also a big strong girl as is Taylor Townsend.
Harold · January 24, 2013 at 10:15 am
Tennis has to do away with 10 minute injury timeouts..Its gamesmanship 99% of the time..Its an individual sport, you have to be able to continue, as it is unfair to your opponent…Its a physical game and thats part of it..mental toughness is also part of it..you cant take a 10 minute timeout if you miss three forehands in a row..
Would love to see Tiger Woods miss 3 putts on 15, 16 and 17 and then ask for a medical timeout before playing the 18th hole..
Azarenka is a nasty drama queen(still remember her yelling some nasty shit in Sharapovas direction after taking a set)…never rooted for her and never will..bull**** way to act like the number 1 player
Scoop Malinowski · January 24, 2013 at 11:13 am
It’s a cutthroat business at times and Azarenka seems to do her business in this regard on occasion. Nadal does it too, on occasion, like at Wimbledon to Petszchner. Many champions take advantage of the rules, it’s part of the modern game. Azarenka has created this illusion that she is physically fragile and prone to fainting and injuries and breathing difficulites. But after some of her defaults/retirements, she has been seen just a few days later on the practice court at the next tournament, like nothing ever happened. No doubt Azarenka is a very smart and crafty competitor, but will she ever be a beloved champion like Federer, Sampras, Evert, Agassi, Clijsters or Seles? Probably not.