KABUL (SW): Unseeded Sloane Stephens completed a spectacular return from injury by beating fellow American Madison Keys to win the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
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.
The first American woman from outside the Williams family to win a major singles title since Jennifer Capriati at the 2002 Australian Open, Stephens collected £2.84m in prize money, the BBC reported. 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 tenser 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, it added.
ENDS
