Williams to reach final
Sport at Flushing Meadows
Stephens is only the fourth unseeded woman to
reach the US Open final in the Open era
US Open
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York
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Unseeded Sloane Stephens held her nerve to beat
Venus Williams in three sets and set up a US
Open final against fellow American Madison
Keys.
Stephens, ranked 83rd after recently returning
from injury, won 6-1 0-6 7-5 in the first semi-
final in New York.
In another all-US contest, 15th seed Keys then
beat compatriot Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-2.
Both Stephens and Keys will make their Grand
Slam final debuts on Saturday.
It will be the first time since Serena Williams
beat Venus in 2002 that Flushing Meadows has
hosted a women's final featuring two American
players.
"Having four Americans in the semi-finals, I
think that says a lot about American tennis and
where we are right now," said Stephens.
"I don't think I would have had it any other
way. I'm just super proud and honoured to be a
part of what these four girls were, what we did
tonight."
Relive the semi-finals as they happened
Keys thrashes Vandeweghe to make final
Live scores and results
"I have no idea how I have done it.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Sloane Stephens
Stephens only returned to action at Wimbledon,
ranked 957th, after missing 11 months with a
foot injury.
Two months later the 24-year-old is on a run of
14 wins in 16 matches and through to her first
major final, with her speed of foot and
athleticism to the fore.
"I have no words to describe my feelings and
what it took to get here. I have no words," said
Stephens.
"I have no idea how I have done it. Your guess
is as good as mine.
"If someone had told me when I started my
comeback that I would make two semi-finals
and a Grand Slam final I would have passed
out. I don't know how I did it. Just hard work."
Williams, 37, misses out on returning to the US
Open final 15 years after her last, and the two-
time champion will end 2017 without adding
another major title despite reaching two finals
and a semi-final.
"For me, it's about putting myself in the
position all the time to get the titles, and that's
exactly what I did," said Williams.
"That's all I could do."
'I hung tough, gritted it out'
Williams was playing in her 23rd major semi-
final, as opposed to Stephens in her first, but
the seven-time Grand Slam champion made a
nervous start.
Seventeen unforced errors from Williams saw the
first set disappear in 24 minutes, and she was
in danger again facing three break points at
the start of the second.
However, she grew in confidence from clinging
on and began to attack the Stephens serve at
will, breaking three times to level without
dropping a game.
After 54 minutes of wildly uneven quality, the
third set proved to be a gripping decider.
Williams twice recovered from a break down and
appeared to be on the brink of victory at 5-5,
30-30, pushing Stephens back into the corner as
she advanced to the net.
It brought the best out of the younger player,
who found a magnificent backhand pass that
brought the 23,000 spectators to their feet and
wrenched the initiative her way.
Stephens would win six points in a row, including
chasing down two drop shots and making
spectacular winners, on her way to breaking the
Williams serve.
Both women had dropped serve five times, but
there was no wobble from Stephens as she moved
confidently to match point, before Williams
tamely netted a return.
"I hung tough, gritted it out," said Stephens. "I
worked my tail off. We played some incredible
points in the third set."
Analysis newsupdate Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
After two of the most one-sided sets you are
ever likely to see in a Grand Slam semi-final,
Williams threw everything she had at Stephens in
the decider.
The younger American's defence was
extraordinary, but it was matched by the
resilience of Williams who twice recovered a
break.
And then, as she served to stay in the match, at
4-5 30-all, Stephens hit one of the backhand
winners of her life to end a pulsating rally -
and went on to win 10 of the last 11 points.
She was ranked 957 in the world in late July,
after nearly a year out with a foot injury.
"Eventually, I will beat someone," she said
after a first-round defeat in Washington the
following week.
How right she was.
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