The first day of the U.S. Open ended in heartbreaking fashion for one American, as former tournament champion Sloane Stephens blew a sizable lead en route to another first-round exit.
Burel won the second and third sets by a score of 7-5, despite trailing 5-4 in both.
The French-born Burel repeatedly broke Stephens’ serves to complete her improbable comeback. Burel is set to face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the second round on Wednesday.
Stephens, 31, won the U.S. Open in 2017 but has not advanced past the quarterfinal since. That 2017 title remains the Florida-born Stephens’ lone Grand Slam win.
Monday marked Stephens’ fourth first-round exit out of 13 times competing at the U.S. Open. She lost in three sets to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round last year.
This year’s loss came hours after fellow American — and defending U.S. Open champion — Coco Gauff cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win in the first round against Varvara Gracheva.
Gauff, who is also from Florida, endured a summer slump, dropping difficult matches at the French Open and the Olympics before being upset in the first round of the Cincinnati Open — a tournament she won last year — by unranked Yulia Putintseva this month.
“The last couple of weeks were tough, and I was like, ‘I have to do this and do that, but I don’t have to prove anything to anyone except myself,’ ” Gauff, 20, said Monday.
“I have many more years coming back here and I’m not going to win every year,” she said. “Just that perspective and just having the belief that I can — but not the expectation that I should.”
Burel Bounces Stephens
Sloane Stephens suffered a collapse of epic proportions to crash out of the U.S. Open.
It marks the third straight tournament Stephens dropped her opener after getting bounced in Washington and Toronto.
The 2017 US Open champ, Stephens dominated the first set and appeared in complete control under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
But after taking a 6-0, 3-0 lead, the wheels came off for her. Stephens dropped seven of the next nine and ended up having to play the third set.
After both players took a break before the third set, Stephens held serve and then broke to go up 2-0.
But in a set that had six breaks, Burel broke back to knot it at 2-all.
Stephens broke to serve for the match at 5-4. But she got broken again to let Burel level at 5-all.
Stephens dropped the last two games — opening the final game with a catastrophic double fault — and was sent packing.
“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning. Sloane Stephens was making it (tough) for me,” Burel said in an on-court TV interview. “I just kept fighting. I found a way
“I think that was the turning point when I tried to be more aggressive, I started to win more points…it started to pay off.”
Stephens Falls to Burel, Who Finds Form After Slow Start
Sloane Stephens’ US Open run came to a swift and sudden close on Monday.
The American tennis star suffered a shocking three-set defeat to Frenchwoman Clara Burel, an unranked talent who has never advanced beyond a third round in a major tournament.
Stephens’ loss was made all the more stunning by the fact that she opened the match by winning six straight games. Stephens showed off a venomous forehand and impressive court presence, flying from end to end with reckless abandon. A positive result appeared on the cards for the 31-year-old, whose sole major tournament win came in the 2017 iteration of the competition.
Unfortunately for Stephens and all her supporters, however, Burel found her rhythm as the match wore on. The 23-year-old looked in anguish for much of the first 33 minutes of the match, dropping each of her first nine games. Then, she found life, overcoming a 3-0, 1-4, and 2-5 deficit in Set No. 2 to level things up at one set apiece.
Set No. 3 was a pearler of a watch, with both Burel and Stephens having moments of brilliance...and madness. Ultimately, though, it was Burrel who made fewer mistakes. As Stephen's returns — once fiery and precise — danced outside the baseline, it was clear she was on the precipice of an epic collapse.
Stephens’ 7-5 defeat in the final set resigned her to one of her worst finishes in her US Open career. She’ll have to wait until next year’s Australian Open to get a chance at another piece of major championship hardware. Burel, meanwhile, will face Belarusian standout Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday.
A Story of Two Sets
The first set was a masterclass in dominance. Stephens won every game, serving with precision and hitting winners with ease. She was in a zone, and Burel looked lost. The second set was a different story. Burel came out firing, hitting with more aggression and finding her rhythm. Stephens, on the other hand, started to lose her focus and made more unforced errors. The momentum had completely shifted. Burel’s comeback was a testament to her resilience and her ability to turn things around when it seemed all was lost.
Stephens has faced difficulties in recent months, with her form seemingly on the decline. Her loss against Burel suggests that she’s still a work in progress. This performance won’t inspire confidence heading into the next Grand Slam. However, this loss might be just the catalyst she needs to regroup and get back on track for the rest of the season. Burel will be looking to continue her momentum in the second round.
