Madison Keys vs Sloane Stephens (3-6, 0-6)
The long road back is indeed sweet for Sloane Stephens.
Ranked 83rd in the world and 934th last month, sports betting pundits didn’t even expect her to make it to the US Open finals, more so win it.
Not to mention that betting odds and betting tips weren’t really in her favour, having just returned from a foot injury after 11 months off.
However, despite everything and everyone writing her off, she wrote the best underdog and fairytale story that we only see in Hollywood.
Unseeded in the tournament, Stephens beat her childhood friend and 15th-seed Madison Keys to claim her first Grand Slam title, becoming only the fifth unseeded woman to win a major in the Open era.
Both players were making their Slam debuts, but Keys clearly had the jitters as she was hardly in the match after struggling on her serve at the start.
Stephens took advantage of it to fully dictate the pace of the contest, going up 5-3 over Keys without any unforced errors. She was rock-solid defensively and built an identity on the counterattack to close out the first set.
It was the same one-sided story in the second as the Florida native jumped into a 4-0 advantage after getting a pair of breaks from the start. Keys tried to regain her rhythm with her serve, but Stephens’ defence – anchored by her strong legs and quickness – was just too tough for the 22-year-old to overcome.
Keys hit 18 winners in the match, eight more than Stephens who also had zero aces. However, the ugly side of play for Keys was her 30 unforced errors while the 24-year-old Stephens only had six in 61 minutes of action.
It also didn’t help Keys that she seemed bothered by a leg injury throughout the match, with her right thigh heavily strapped.
“I had surgery in January and if someone had told me then that I would win the US Open, I would have said it was impossible,” Stephens said after the game.
“This journey has been incredible and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
With the victory, Stephens also became the first American woman other than the Williams sisters to win a major since Jennifer Capriati 15 years ago.
She will return to the top 20 when the WTA rankings are updated next week.
For the latest sports update, promotions and betting picks with SBOBET get social with our official Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Facebook accounts. Visit SBOBET and join us now. Start placing your bets today!
Click for more tennis betting options.
