Sloane Stephens fell in the opening round of the US Open despite holding a 6-0, 4-1 lead and serving for the match twice.
Some were surprised by the decision to put Stephens’ match during the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her match preceded 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic’s opening contest in New York.
Many thought the defending champion, Coco Gauff, would play the first match of the night session. Instead, she had a dominant victory against Varvara Gracheva during the day session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Gauff responded to some of her doubters with that victory. The 20-year-old proved many people have written her off too quickly, and she is a genuine contender for the title at Flushing Meadows.
Even 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick predicted Gauff would not reach the quarterfinals after her slump in form. That is a big claim to make, and fans certainly will not forget Roddick’s words if Gauff has a deep run in New York.
Many fans questioning whether she deserved the night match on Arthur Ashe Stadium would have certainly motivated Stephens to prove them wrong. It seemed like she would answer those critics before the contest became complicated.
Stephens, who had only managed three wins in the previous four months, played like a woman still inside the Top 10 in the opening set. She established her authority from the start by electing to receive and immediately breaking her opponent, Clara Burel.
As good as Stephens was, Burel found life incredibly difficult on the biggest stage at the US Open. After losing that first game, Burel’s body language quickly became negative, and her lack of belief was palpable for the first nine games.
Stephens hardly missed a shot in the opening set. Her forehand was particularly impressive, regularly hitting the baseline with it or finding winners. It seemed like nothing would stop her from prevailing.
Stephens did not face a break point and broke twice more to take the opening set 6-0. Burel did not leave the court after the set to compose herself, which looked like a mistake in the opening games of the next set.
When Stephens raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set, a double bagel was on the cards. Burel did not have a game point in the opening nine games, and the match was becoming messy.
The 23-year-old avoided that fate by breaking Stephens in the next game by staying in the rallies longer. The crowd, which clearly thought Stephens would finish the match quickly, gave her a loud cheer.
Burel’s level greatly improved afterward. She hit her groundstrokes faster and rushed Stephens for the first time in the match. The Frenchwoman won three more games to get to 4-5 down and put the American under pressure to serve out the match.
Suddenly, Stephens’ level dropped and she could not cope with Burel’s groundstrokes. The crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium were shocked when the home favorite lost the next three games, and the set 5-7.
Unlike Burel, Stephens did go off the court for an extended period. That proved wise, and she won the opening two games of the set to steady herself and regain some confidence.
The 2017 winner got to 4-2 up, recovering from being broken by winning another game against her opponent’s serve to reclaim the advantage. That gave Stephens another chance to finish the match.
But Burel would not give up. She continued to fight hard and make the crowd nervous. Stephens was left serving for the match again at 5-4 up.
Incredibly, history repeated itself. Stephens imploded, losing the final three games, allowing Burel to seal the match 0-6, 7-5, 7-5, after one of the most remarkable comebacks seen in the opening round of the women’s singles at the US Open.
