Sloane Stephens beats Madison Keys to win US Open in straight sets
| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary. |
Unseeded Sloane Stephens completed a spectacular return from injury by beating fellow American Madison Keys to win the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
Stephens, ranked 83rd, beat 15th seed Keys 6-3 6-0 in the final.
The 24-year-old was ranked as low as 957th six weeks ago, having only returned from 11 months out with a foot injury at Wimbledon.
She becomes only the fifth unseeded woman to win a major title in the Open era.
Both women were making their Grand Slam final debuts, and their combined ranking of 99 was the lowest for a US Open final since the rankings began.
Close friends since childhood, they shared a long hug at the net after Keys netted a forehand on the third match point, and Stephens then headed into the crowd to embrace her mother.
- Reaction to US Open women’s final
- Live scores and results from all the courts
Keys, 22, had played superbly to win her semi-final against Coco Vandeweghe, making 24 winners to just nine errors and moving to the top of the aces chart with a display of controlled power.
Stephens had come through a far more tense encounter against Venus Williams, with her athletic defensive skills all the more remarkable as her foot had been in a protective boot as recently as May.
It was her calm consistency that prevailed in a final that became something of a horror show for Keys.
Over the course of 61 minutes, she made 30 unforced errors to just six from the rock-solid Stephens.
After the first four games went quickly with serve, Keys was broken when a forehand flew long, and a similar error gave up the set after half an hour.
Keys offered up another opportunity early in the second with a woeful backhand volley, and Stephens grabbed her chance with a rasping backhand winner followed by a cross-court forehand.
The final appeared as good as over when Keys double-faulted to fall 4-0 down, and even when she finally earned break points – three of them at 0-40 after 47 minutes – Stephens would not buckle.
The third of them was seen off with a dart to the net and a confident forehand volley, leaving Stephens to serve for the match.
There was a final flurry of resistance from Keys but she could only find the net on match point number three, as Stephens reeled off eight games in a row to clinch her first major title.
More to follow.
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