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US Open 2017: Sloane Stephens wins first career Grand Slam title

By Maxwell Ogden

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 09: Sloane Stephens of the United States and Madison Keys of the United States pose before their Women's Singles finals match on Day Thirteen of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 09: Sloane Stephens of the United States and Madison Keys of the United States pose before their Women's Singles finals match on Day Thirteen of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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In one of the most improbable US Open finals of the Open Era, Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys to win her first career Grand Slam title.

Entering the 2017 US Open, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens were viewed as fan favorites. American tennis fans were optimistic about their odds to make a respectable run, but few would have been surprised had they come up short of the quarterfinals.

Instead of crumbling beneath the weight of doubt and uncertainty, Keys and Stephens reached an all-American final that put the future of the sport on full display.

The 22-year-old Keys and 24-year-old Stephens each reached their first career Grand Slam final at the 2017 US Open. With a chance to put the finishing touches on a brilliant run, it was Stephens who cashed in on the golden opportunity.

In the biggest match of her career, Stephens defeated Keys by a count of 6-4, 6-0 to win her first career Grand Slam title.

In the final Grand Slam event of the 2017 calendar year, it was an American woman who officially arrived on the scene of the world’s elite.

Stephens joins Serena Williams and Venus Williams as the only American women to win Grand Slam titles since Jennifer Capriati in 2002. She adds that honor to a resume that includes a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open and a trip to the quarterfinal at Wimbledon.

It also comes during an incomparably brilliant summer, during which she’s returned from a severe foot injury that required surgery to dominate the WTA Tour.

In a span of roughly one month, Stephens won the US Open and reached the semifinals at both the Rogers Cup and the Western & Southern Open.

Keys meanwhile, has nothing to hang her head about. She joins Stephens as the first American women besides the Williams sisters to reach a Grand Slam final since Lindsay Davenport, her coach, achieved the feat in 2005.

While the result may not have gone in her favor, Keys has justified the years of hype surrounding her status as the future of the American tennis scene.

Congratulations are in order for Madison Keys’ incredible run.

Must Read: The future has arrived in the surprising US Open final

As for Sloane Stephens, she has been crowned as the 2017 US Open champion—and perhaps, the future face of the WTA Tour.

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