Sport
U.S. Open 2013: Serena Williams defeats Sloane Stephens to advance to quarterfinals
Sloane Stephens (l) salutes Serena Williams after she fell to Williams 6-4, 6-1 on Sept. 02 2013. PHOTO/Tim Clary/AFP
Defending champion Serena Williams won her much-anticipated US Open showdown with Sloane Stephens on Sunday while Li Na avenged a painful loss in Rome to join the world number one in the last-eight.
Serena defeated U.S. 15th seed Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-1 to reach the US Open quarter-finals, winning eight of the last nine games in avenging a loss that ousted her from the 2013 Australian Open.
“It definitely felt like a bigger match because Sloane is such a great player, but I had to stay focused in the moment,” said Serena.
Stephens said she was simply outplayed by the world’s best.
“She’s number one for a reason,” said Stephens. “She played pretty well. She did a lot of things well.”
Serena booked a quarter-final against Spanish 18th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who upset German eighth seed Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Copyright 2013 AFP