Stephens: anything seems possible

To reach her second major final less than one year into her comeback was not to be sniffed at.

Sloane Stephens Roland-Garros 2018©Corinne Dubreuil/FFT
 - Alix Ramsay

It is probably best not to cross Sloane Stephens – not in a final nor in a press conference. It is unlikely to end well. 

Until she ran into Simona Halep at Roland-Garros, Sloane had never lost in a final. It did not matter what the level of the tournament, if she got to the last match, she won it. From Washington in 2015 (her first trophy) to the US Open last summer and Miami earlier this year (her fifth and sixth bits of silverware), no one was able to get between Sloane and that nice, shiny cup. Oh, and the winner’s cheque. That is all important, too, but more of that later.

For a set and two games, Sloane was cruising. She was always three moves ahead of Simona, she covered the court every inch of the court with effortless ease and she was winning. But then Simona relaxed and changed her tactics. She began to tempt her rival into errors and Sloane duly obliged, eventually losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. But was she devastated? Not a bit of it. She even had the grace and the good humour to give Simona a few tips on how to show of a Grand Slam trophy.

"You have been waiting for this," Stephens explained. "So you better put it up in the air and show them what you got today." 

From injury to Grand Slam trophy

A year ago, the American had been back at home watching the French Open unfold on television. Still recovering from surgery to repair a stress fracture in her foot, she had not played for 11 months and had no idea what the future held. Little did she know that a couple of months later she would be the US Open champion and that nine months after that, she would be the Roland-Garros final.

It is not that she was unused to the limelight – she had announced herself on the world stage by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2013, beating Serena Williams to get there. It was just that this time, she was older, wiser and more appreciative of what she had achieved.

When she was 19, she was – as she happily admits – still “a baby”. The money, the attention, the photo-shoots and magazine covers were all fun. And then after the Rio Olympics, it was all taken away from her with that foot injury.

To reach her second major final less than one year into her comeback was not to be sniffed at. Sloane was disappointed not to win, but she was happy nonetheless.

Sloane Stephens et Simona Halep, Simple dames Roland-Garros 2018 ©Philippe Montigny / FFT
"I'm not satisfied, but I am proud of myself"

“Not very many players ever get to a Grand Slam final,” she said. “So the fact that I have won one and been in another final in such a short period of time, I'm very optimistic and very pleased with myself. I'm not satisfied, but I am proud of myself.”

Yes, she has matured as a person and a player but Sloane will never truly change. There is still a spiky side to her and as she sat before the world’s press, she had a score to settle. She may have been smiling as she said it, but she wanted to make her point.

“Can I just state for the record that all of you guys in here were Tweeting that I had a losing record anywhere except for the United States,” she said with a smile. “So I think I have done very well to make the finals of the French Open. So if any of you want to Tweet that, I would be very happy, give you guys a like, a reTweet or something.

“Because you seem to only want to say, She's 0 and 8 in the other countries, and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, it's you and you and a lot of you.”

Pointing to certain members of the press corps, she made them sit uneasily in their seats for a moment. Sloane knows who has written what about her – and when. And she remembers it. For a long time. 

“I do things on my own time when I want to do them, how I want to do them, how I think it fits me best and what I would like to do"

She will also not change her life completely for the sake of her job. She enjoys the trappings of success and she enjoys living a normal life with friends, parties and shopping. The work is hard and she takes it seriously but she is still a normal young woman who wants to do normal things.

“I do things on my own time when I want to do them, how I want to do them, how I think it fits me best and what I would like to do,” she said.

“So I'm going to continue to do that, and hopefully in that I make some good decisions and I'm able to have some good results at Wimbledon and take care of myself, more importantly, and put myself first above everything else.

“When I do that, I have the best results, so I'm going to try to do that.” 

Roland-Garros 2018, 1/4 de finale, Sloane Stephens©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT
Honest about the future

Pocketing €1.12 for reaching the final, she was a little sad that the cheque was not larger and had not come with a bigger trophy, but it was enough to be going on with. She would find a good use the cash. Sloane, unlike most players, is happy to talk about the rewards for playing. Not for her the ‘I’m just happy to be a part of history’ line; Sloane wins, Sloane smiles and Sloane increases her bank balance.

When she won in New York last year, she could not stop grinning. “Did you see that cheque that lady handed me?” she gasped. “Like, yes. Man, if that doesn't make you want to play tennis, I don't know what will.”

In Paris, she felt much the same.

“You do it for the love of the sport, not so much for the money,” she said. “But the money does in fact encourage you to want to get to another Grand Slam final. Yeah, it's not bad.”

At least she honest about it. And she is honest about the future, too. She knows she is playing well and even if the grass courts may not bring her another major final (although she is not counting anything out), there is the American hard court swing to come. Anything seems possible.