Sloane Stephens-The Next Serena

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Sloane Stephens defeated Mathilde Johansson of France, 6-3, 6-2.
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In Face of Success and Scrutiny, a Rising American Star Hasn’t Flinched
By GREG BISHOP NY Times
Published: June 1, 2012

PARIS — Sloane Stephens is a character, an original, a mixture of philosopher and comedian and tennis player caught somewhere between teenager and adult. She is 19 years old and practically grown up, and with each victory, each step forward in development, she looks more like a potential star.

There is a burden that comes with that, of course, for whichever player eventually assumes the mantle of “best female American tennis player” from Serena Williams, next year or five years from now or however many years hence. But Stephens seems unaffected by that prospect, or by all the attention here, or by the questions about her deceased fathers and her race.

On Friday morning, she stepped onto Court Philippe Chatrier, center court at the French Open, and bludgeoned another opponent in straight sets to advance to the fourth round. Her 6-3, 6-2 victory, over Mathilde Johansson of France, for the most part seemed inevitable, and while the opponents will get tougher, the magnitude greater, Stephens hardly even smiled afterward. She walked off the court as if this were the outcome she had expected all along.

In the interview room, Stephens described the two biggest perks of her advancement: a first-class plane ticket back to the United States and a likely bump in Twitter followers. She talked about how she recently kicked her two-a-day orange Fanta habit. She showed off her necklace and called out her mother, Sybil Smith, who sat in the back.

“She’s an interesting girl,” Smith said. “That’s my Sloane. She came out this way.”

In victory, Stephens became the fourth American woman to reach the fourth round here since 2005, joining Serena and Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport. Stephens also became the first unseeded American woman to survive the first week here since 2002.

Her fellow Americans Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko have advanced to the third round, so the competition for Olympic berths among the American women remained too close to call. McHale, ranked 36th, is the highest-ranked American woman left in the tournament.

Stephens preferred not to think about the selection criteria. “It’s too stressful,” she said. “It’s like, O.K., whatever.”

Smith said her daughter had always taken an unruffled approach to life. She took in large part after her mother. In her day, Smith was an all-American swimmer at Boston University in the late 1980s, a sprint freestyler who later became a psychologist.

Mother and daughter share the same facial expressions; the same calm, measured tone; the same graceful athleticism, albeit in different sports. “Spitting image,” said Roger Smith, Stephens’s coach.

Stephens knew less about her father, John, a running back for the New England Patriots and three other N.F.L. teams. They rekindled their relationship six years ago, mostly on the telephone, after the elder Stephens found out he had a degenerative bone disease.

He died in a car accident in 2009, during the United States Open. His death came two years after Stephens’s stepfather, who introduced her to tennis, died from cancer.

Looking back, Sybil Smith noted her daughter’s “mental fortitude,” as strong then as it is now. “She’s resilient,” Smith said. “She’s incredibly resilient.”

Roger Smith said he had watched Stephens mature in recent years, in part from “the trauma that she went through” and also through getting older and gaining experience.

On a recent trip to Barcelona, however, Stephens seemed overwhelmed. “I was being 19,” she said. “Now, I’m being 29.” Her mother flew to Spain, as did her aunt, Kalen Wright, who works for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Stephens has stopped drinking soda and cut down on her candy consumption. Her grandparents gave her a silver necklace with a heart pendant inscribed with the phrase “In calmness and confidence.” In the first week of this tournament, she displayed both.

Stephens showcased a baseline style that appeared more aggressive than in the past, a result, her coach said, of her maturation — along with, perhaps, her propensity to read books on leadership.

In a news conference, Stephens fielded the usual question about how the Williams sisters must have inspired her as an African-American. She said that race had nothing to do with it, that they inspired her, period, and that she decorated the walls of her bedroom with posters of them.

“That’s Sloane in a nutshell right there,” Roger Smith said. “That’s her outlook on a lot of things. Such a measured response. She appreciates all the questions about the Williams sisters. She and Serena have become friends. But she was just a kid when they started.”

In the fourth round, Stephens is scheduled to face Samantha Stosur of Australia, the sixth seed here and the 2011 United States Open champion. Stephens’s goal, Roger Smith said, was to make it to the second week here. Check.

The women’s singles draw has unfolded in a predictably unpredictable manner. Also Friday, Maria Sharapova crushed Ayumi Morita of Japan in a second-round match that had been postponed the day before. In four sets so far, the second-seeded Sharapova has lost four games. Yet both Williams sisters have already lost, and Agnieszka Radwanska, the third seed, lost Friday.

Stephens, meanwhile, told her coach that she planned to buy a Louis Vuitton purse here while she needled her mother about the car she had yet to receive, as promised, after last year’s United States Open.

“Oh, my God,” Stephens said. “Can someone please talk to my mom? She’s over there. She still hasn’t got me one.”

Her mother shrugged. That’s her Sloane.
 
Good question. What about her? At 29 looks like she's on the downside of her career, huh?
 
She's not ready for Serena yet. Serena is not to be fucked with right now. Anybody seen Stephens mom yet?
 
To be fair Serena wasn't at 100%. She fucked up her back in that match and that effected her first serve percentage. Great win for Sloane though. Hope she can go all the way!
 
I wish them both as much success as possible....but until they break out a cat suit ain't neither one fucking wit ReeRee
(the second one got potential doe)
 
I have hit with sloan and angie. Angie is a lefty with a nice kick serve. Sloan is on my shit list right now. She was being coached by rodger smith ex tour player, black by the way. He helped sloan when she was in a bad situation got her her equipment deal and got her on track going deep in he Wimbledon draw. She let the m same cacs that dissed her in the first place from the usta dirty mack Rodger out once they saw they fucked up and that she could play.

I wish her the best but as a black coach I knew it would happen, this is why you never see a top player with a black coach. smh I wish her he best but she got rid of her whole black camp that gave up a lot to work with her even their positions with the same usta program that dissed her just to cut them loose and run back to the cac cause he tennis world kept telling her the black crew wasnt good enough.

So until I stop being upset Fuck Sloan....now back to angie.

I coached angies boyfriend at the time he was trying to make it on tour he gave up the dream. Angie has a serena booty, in the pics she is in the best shape of her life. Both angie and sloan have delt with a lot of shit so I give them props for it.

The Usta is finally facing the cold hard truth in that the future is with black players. As with most things the sistas get more of a shot and support than the bros but thats how will be. the us is tired of losing so they are about to embrace the blackness in the William sisters followed by sloan, madison keys and a few others they are currently hating on in he jr ranks.

sorry for he rant folks
 
I have hit with sloan and angie. Angie is a lefty with a nice kick serve. Sloan is on my shit list right now. She was being coached by rodger smith ex tour player, black by the way. He helped sloan when she was in a bad situation got her her equipment deal and got her on track going deep in he Wimbledon draw. She let the m same cacs that dissed her in the first place from the usta dirty mack Rodger out once they saw they fucked up and that she could play.

I wish her the best but as a black coach I knew it would happen, this is why you never see a top player with a black coach. smh I wish her he best but she got rid of her whole black camp that gave up a lot to work with her even their positions with the same usta program that dissed her just to cut them loose and run back to the cac cause he tennis world kept telling her the black crew wasnt good enough.

So until I stop being upset Fuck Sloan....now back to angie.

I coached angies boyfriend at the time he was trying to make it on tour he gave up the dream. Angie has a serena booty, in the pics she is in the best shape of her life. Both angie and sloan have delt with a lot of shit so I give them props for it.

The Usta is finally facing the cold hard truth in that the future is with black players. As with most things the sistas get more of a shot and support than the bros but thats how will be. the us is tired of losing so they are about to embrace the blackness in the William sisters followed by sloan, madison keys and a few others they are currently hating on in he jr ranks.

sorry for he rant folks

damn that's some insight
 
I have hit with sloan and angie. Angie is a lefty with a nice kick serve. Sloan is on my shit list right now. She was being coached by rodger smith ex tour player, black by the way. He helped sloan when she was in a bad situation got her her equipment deal and got her on track going deep in he Wimbledon draw. She let the m same cacs that dissed her in the first place from the usta dirty mack Rodger out once they saw they fucked up and that she could play.

I wish her the best but as a black coach I knew it would happen, this is why you never see a top player with a black coach. smh I wish her he best but she got rid of her whole black camp that gave up a lot to work with her even their positions with the same usta program that dissed her just to cut them loose and run back to the cac cause he tennis world kept telling her the black crew wasnt good enough.

So until I stop being upset Fuck Sloan....now back to angie.

I coached angies boyfriend at the time he was trying to make it on tour he gave up the dream. Angie has a serena booty, in the pics she is in the best shape of her life. Both angie and sloan have delt with a lot of shit so I give them props for it.

The Usta is finally facing the cold hard truth in that the future is with black players. As with most things the sistas get more of a shot and support than the bros but thats how will be. the us is tired of losing so they are about to embrace the blackness in the William sisters followed by sloan, madison keys and a few others they are currently hating on in he jr ranks.

sorry for he rant folks
:yes::yes:....Inside scoop, good info

Sloane Stephens and her Ex Coach Roger Smith
Sloane+Stephens+Roger+Smith+BNP+Paribas+Open+a8RUvmvWmz3l.jpg
 
Serena was hurt throughout the match.

Still good to see a young Black woman coming up through the ranks.
 
Nope Serena has a sprained ankle and back spasms..Sloan beat a disabled Serena.

Good win for the youngster but don't try and christen her yet. She has a long way to go

Serena didn't look disabled when she was breaking that racket. FOH with that bullshit. She lost PERIOD! Everybody gets beat & it was her turn.
 
Yes, she beat an injured Serena. But it is good to see the next generation of tennis stars.....especially ones of color. You Go Sloan.. AND FOR THE MEN THERE IS Donald YOUNG
 
nigga please.

Serena's ankle.

media_26815867.jpg


Most of the folks here didn't watch the match. Serena had that shit wrapped up until she sprained her back. Combine that shit with the ankle and Sloane ESCAPED. If you can't beat the chick when she's healthy you CAN'T BEAT her.
 
Sloane Stephens rips Serena Williams in latest interview

Remember a few months back when Sloane Stephens went up against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and stories upon stories were made about how the student was finally getting to face her mentor?

Well, apparently that wasn't so much the case. In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Stephens held nothing back in how she feels about Williams, basically tearing apart any semblance of a relationship the two American tennis players might have had.

Here is a part of the story that comes out on May 13 ...

“She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia,” Stephens says emphatically. “And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.”

Her mom tries to slow her down, but Sloane is insistent. “Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?”

Stephens went on to pound on any rumor that Williams was the person she looked up to as she was becoming the tennis player she is today. Sloane mentioned the infamous poster of Serena that she had on her wall, saying she waited three hours as a 12-year-old for Williams to sign it, but both Serena and sister Venus walked by without so much as an autograph.

And speaking of all that mentor stuff? Listen to what Stephens said about who she really loved to watch as a child.

“I’ve always said Kim Clijsters is my favorite player, so it’s kind of weird,” she says.

It's rare to see an athlete like Stephens really let loose on a fellow competitor, but it seemed Sloane had an agenda with this interview with Marin Cogan and that was to let the world know she isn't a huge fan of Serena in any capacity.
 
Sloane Stephens rips Serena Williams in latest interview

Remember a few months back when Sloane Stephens went up against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and stories upon stories were made about how the student was finally getting to face her mentor?

Well, apparently that wasn't so much the case. In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Stephens held nothing back in how she feels about Williams, basically tearing apart any semblance of a relationship the two American tennis players might have had.

Here is a part of the story that comes out on May 13 ...

“She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia,” Stephens says emphatically. “And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.”

Her mom tries to slow her down, but Sloane is insistent. “Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?”

Stephens went on to pound on any rumor that Williams was the person she looked up to as she was becoming the tennis player she is today. Sloane mentioned the infamous poster of Serena that she had on her wall, saying she waited three hours as a 12-year-old for Williams to sign it, but both Serena and sister Venus walked by without so much as an autograph.

And speaking of all that mentor stuff? Listen to what Stephens said about who she really loved to watch as a child.

“I’ve always said Kim Clijsters is my favorite player, so it’s kind of weird,” she says.

It's rare to see an athlete like Stephens really let loose on a fellow competitor, but it seemed Sloane had an agenda with this interview with Marin Cogan and that was to let the world know she isn't a huge fan of Serena in any capacity.

:eek::smh:
 
Sloane Stephens rips Serena Williams in latest interview

Remember a few months back when Sloane Stephens went up against Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and stories upon stories were made about how the student was finally getting to face her mentor?

Well, apparently that wasn't so much the case. In an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Stephens held nothing back in how she feels about Williams, basically tearing apart any semblance of a relationship the two American tennis players might have had.

Here is a part of the story that comes out on May 13 ...

“She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia,” Stephens says emphatically. “And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.”

Her mom tries to slow her down, but Sloane is insistent. “Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?”

Stephens went on to pound on any rumor that Williams was the person she looked up to as she was becoming the tennis player she is today. Sloane mentioned the infamous poster of Serena that she had on her wall, saying she waited three hours as a 12-year-old for Williams to sign it, but both Serena and sister Venus walked by without so much as an autograph.

And speaking of all that mentor stuff? Listen to what Stephens said about who she really loved to watch as a child.

“I’ve always said Kim Clijsters is my favorite player, so it’s kind of weird,” she says.

It's rare to see an athlete like Stephens really let loose on a fellow competitor, but it seemed Sloane had an agenda with this interview with Marin Cogan and that was to let the world know she isn't a huge fan of Serena in any capacity.

Shit just got real.
 
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