Sloane Stephens sends Venus Williams to another early exit at French Open
Former world number one continues dismal run at Roland Garros
A loss by Venus Williams in the first round at a grand slam is no longer the rarity it once was.
And, as it happens, the woman who beat Williams at the French Open, Sloane Stephens, is making a concerted effort to focus less on who is on the other side of the net.
Still, it was hard not to see the 22-year-old Stephens’ 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 dismissal of seven-time major champion Williams, who at 34 was the oldest woman in the field, as a statement about the directions their respective careers are heading.
For the 15th-seeded Williams, it was her second opening defeat in three years at Roland Garros.
It also was the fifth time in the last 13 grand slam tournaments she’s entered that she exited in the first round. Before that stretch, it happened once in 37 majors.
The 40th-ranked Stephens, who has reached the French Open’s fourth round in the past three years, was consistently strong from the baseline, making only 14 unforced errors to Williams’ 30.
“I want her to play with a sense of joy ... and play everything as well as she can, relentlessly, and not be concerned with the result. Let the result take care of itself. And she did a good job of that today,” said Stephens’ coach, Nick Saviano.
“I have noticed that missing. For any athlete, in any sport, at any high level, they must have that passion and the joy to perform,” Saviano said. “Otherwise, it becomes onerous. It becomes too much of a job, so to speak.”
The biggest victory of Stephens’ career came at the 2013 Australian Open, when she defeated Williams’ younger sister, Serena, en route to the semi-finals.
This was the first time Stephens had faced Venus Williams, other than beating her in an exhibition as a teen.
“But,” Stephens said, “I don’t think that really counts.”
Now Stephens joins Lindsay Davenport as the only Americans to have beaten each Williams at a grand slam tournament. She will face Briton Heather Watson next.
Winners included No. 3 Andy Murray, who played with his wedding ring tied to his shoe and improved to 11-0 since getting married, and defending women’s champion Maria Sharapova.
She was jeered off Court Philippe Chatrier for skipping the customary post-match interview, citing a cold. Sharapova coughed repeatedly while getting past Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4, and when asked later about not talking to the fans, she said their reaction was “absolutely normal ... but I’ve got to do what I have to do.”
Stephens was reserved during her on-court interview, referring to Williams as “someone we all looked up to for so long”, but hardly celebrating as if this meant a lot to her.
World number one Novak Djokovic, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and double women’s title winner Serena Williams get their campaigns under way on Tuesday.
