Sloane Stephens was beaten 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. (Source: AP)
Defending champion Sloane Stephens was eliminated on Tuesday from the US Open, beaten by Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Stephens beat Sevastova in the same round last year en route to her first Grand Slam title, but she missed numerous chances to grab an early lead in the rematch and could never get back into the match. “You don’t win matches when you don’t take your opportunities,” Stephens said.
Sevastova, the No. 19 seed from Latvia, will play either Serena Williams or 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova in her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Flawless tennis:
Anastasija Sevastova defeats Stephens 6-2, 6-3 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal!
She awaits the winner of Serena/Pliskova…#USOpen pic.twitter.com/VsqC6mhBld
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 4 September 2018
Three-quarters of Arthur Ashe Stadium was in the sun on another day of more than 90-degree temperatures in New York, and Stephens seemed to lack some of her usual sideline-to-sideline court coverage in the heat.
But her serve was the bigger problem. The No. 3 seed was broken five times in the 84-minute match. Her frustration became apparent, whether she was gesturing to her coach, staring in annoyance at deep balls that bounced off the baseline, or just screaming out in general. “I’m trying!” she responded to a plea from the crowd to pick it up in the second set.