Sloane Stephens might have complained about the brand new, $150 million Louis Armstrong Stadium earlier in the week, but she seemed right at home on the grand stage of Arthur Ashe on Friday afternoon — and even benefited from a mid-match closing of the roof.
The defending champion beat former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the U.S. Open.
When Azarenka was battling back in the second set — up a break and about to serve while leading 4-3 — a slight drizzle began to fall. The match was halted for about 15 minutes while the roof closed. When the two came back, Stephens won three straight games to take the victory and advance to face No. 15 Elise Mertens in the fourth round Sunday.
“I mean, of course it was a change of momentum,” Azarenka said. “I won’t be sitting here finding excuses. It’s just what happens. You just have to accept [it]. I just think from the tournament side, if they [are] expecting the showers, I think it might be better to just close the roof right from the beginning. I think it would just be smarter. Hopefully they will do it in the future. But I’m not going to be sitting here finding any excuses. Not at all.”
Stephens, who is seeded No. 3 after her career-changing victory in Flushing a year ago, had said her first match of the tournament out at Louis Armstrong was difficult because of all the distractions, including overhead planes and passing subway trains. But she found it pretty easy to downplay the fact that this match was actually interrupted while the roof closed.
“I changed my dress and I was like, ‘All right, keep fighting, keep playing,’” Stephens said about the impact of the delay. “That was pretty much it. I won the next three games. I played some really good points those games. I was happy with that. I played much better the last three games. I don’t think it was much of the roof closing, but more just kind of refocusing.”
Before the delay, it seemed like Azarenka was going to make a real match of it. After Stephens pretty well dominated the first set, Azarenka broke her twice early in the second set, taking advantage of Stephens’ three double-faults. The change in momentum was palpable, but a couple wayward shots from Azarenka after the roof was closed ended up being the difference.
“I thought that there were some points that were very crucial,” Stephens said. “When you win or lose those points, sometimes that’s how the matches go.”
Azarenka could have been a heartfelt story if she had advanced. The 29-year-old from Belarus had gone through a difficult custody dispute over her 1-year-old son, Leo, that kept her from this year’s Australian Open — where she won both of her career Grand Slam titles, back to back in 2012 and 2013. She had also beaten Stephens in three of their previous four matches, the only loss coming in March in Miami.
But Stephens, the 25-year-old from Florida, has seen a massive increase in confidence since her victory a year ago.
“I’m definitely older, more mature,” Stephens said. “A lot of things have happened in my life, my career, and what have you. But I’m playing well now. Definitely different than last year coming in as a higher seed. And last year, a lot of things have changed. Just happy with the progress I have made over the year.”
Asked if coaching has helped, Stephens had a simple answer.
“I think that’s just growing up,” she said.
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