By: Jack Beck ’18

The U.S. Open was in full swing this past weekend for both men and women. On the women’s side, Sloane Stephens won her first Grand Slam in epic fashion by beating Venus Williams in the semifinals and then beating Madison Keys with a victory of 6-3, 6-0.
“I honestly had no idea who Sloane Stephens was before this U.S. Open,” Ella Jarvis ’18 said. “She really came out of nowhere but once I saw her play, I immediately realized how good she really was.”
This is not only Stephens’ first Grand Slam, but she is also the first American woman to win a major, other than Venus and Serena Williams, since Jennifer Capriati in 2002, according to Bleacher Report.
The 24-year-old was ranked No. 934 in the world last month and entered the tournament ranked 83rd, but she shocked everyone with the best two weeks of her career.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) season continues with several premier events still on the calendar leading up to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore.
The men’s side of the U.S. Open wasn’t blessed with the same type of Cinderella story outcome. Rafael Nadal won the 2017 U.S. Open 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson for Nadal’s 16th Grand Slam.
Anderson and Nadal were neck-and-neck through the first six games of the opening set. With the set tied at 3-3, Nadal put himself in the driver’s seat by breaking Anderson’s serve to go ahead 4-3. And after holding serve in the eighth game, he broke Anderson again to take the first set 6-3.
The remainder of the match played out pretty much the same: Nadal managing to win at everything he does.
“I had a feeling Nadal was going to win,” Kevin Lynch ’21 said. “It is always safe to bet on Rafael Nadal winning the big matches.”
After the victory, Nadal now trails Roger Federer by only three grand slam titles for the most in men’s history.
Nadal may have to wait until the 2018 French Open to earn his 17th major title. Although he reached the 2017 Australian Open final, his lone win at the event was in 2009.