It will be an all-American final at the U.S. Open on Saturday.
Of course, that much was guaranteed even before Thursday’s semis. All four semifinalists–Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams, Madison Keys, and Coco Vandeweghe–hailed from the host nation. Now two–Stephens and Keys–remain.
The two relatively surprising finalists will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers when they battle for a Grand Slam title in front of what will undoubtedly be a buzzing American crowd. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the hard courts of Miami, where Stephens prevailed 6-4, 6-2.
To say it has been a rocky road for the 24-year-old since then would be a gross understatement. To put it simply, she disappeared from the WTA Tour for basically an entire year. Due mostly to being absent because of a foot injury, Stephens did not win a single match in between Wimbledon in 2016 and Toronto just last month. She did not even play in between the 2016 Rio Olympics and Wimbledon in 2017.
“Eventually I will beat someone,” Stephens said after falling to Simona Halep in Washington, D.C. for her second consecutive opening-round loss of her comeback.
Well, it’s safe to say she is beating someone now. She has beaten 14 opponents to be exact over her last three tournaments, including this one. The unbelievable stretch includes back-to-back semifinal showings in Toronto and Cincinnati plus U.S. Open wins over Roberta Vinci, Dominika Cibulkova, Ashleigh Barty, Julia Goerges, Anastasija Sevastova, and Venus Williams. Less than a month ago, Stephens was ranked as low as No. 934 in the world.
Although Keys’ appearance in this final is far less surprising, these two countrywomen sport somewhat similar resumes. Prior to this U.S. Open, both had reached exactly one major quarterfinal and one major semifinal in their careers. Not too much unlike Stephens, Keys’ 2017 campaign had been a disappointment–at least at slams. She missed the Australian Open following left-wrist surgery and lost in the second round of both the French Open and Wimbledon. The 22-year-old, however, laid the groundwork for her run in New York by winning the Stanford title and holding match points against upcoming world No. 1 Garbine Muguruza in the Cincinnati third round (Muguruza ended up lifting the trophy).
Keys has dropped only two sets this fortnight–to 17th-seeded Elena Vesnina and No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina–while Stephens has needed a quartet of three-setters to advance. While Stephens survived a thriller against Williams on Thursday night, Keys annihilated Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2.
“I played really, really well,” the world No. 16 said following her semifinal victory. “It was kind of one of those days where I came out and I was kind of in a zone, and I just kind of forced myself to stay there. I knew I was going to have to play really well in order to beat her, and I feel like once things started going it just kind of fell into place…. It feels absolutely amazing. You know, these are the moments growing up that you dream about.”
Stephens’ dream run in New York has been hard to believe, but she may be up against it on Saturday. Her defense ultimately got the best of Williams, but Keys’ offensive firepower is superior even to that of the 37-year-old legend. Keys has been the best player throughout this tournament and there is no reason to think that will change in the championship match.
Pick: Keys in 3
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