French Open 2018: Sloane Stephens to face Simona Halep for the title

Sloane Stephens spent 11 months sidelined by a left foot injury and the surgery that followed never dreaming that less than a year after her return she would be one match from a second Grand Slam title But the 25yearold American who had reached only one major semifinal before her injury woes could do just that by beating Simona Halep in Saturdays French Open final to add to her US Open crown from last yearJust six weeks after being ranked 957 in the world Stephens claimed her maiden Grand Slam title by thrashing good friend Madison Keys 63 60 at Flushing Meadows last September She saw off her compatriot again on Thursday in straight sets at Roland Garros to set up the clash with world number one HalepAfter not playing for 11 months its some great results said Stephens who also won the Miami Open title earlier this year Obviously a lot of hard work went into it a lot of adversity a lot of ups and downs A lot of emotions like you know am I ever going to be the same Am I ever going to play good again at a high enough level Am I a protected ranking There were so many things that went into itAnd I think now Ive kind of matured a little bit and have recognised the opportunities when they have been presented When she started her injury comeback at Wimbledon last July with a firstround loss to Alison Riske even a return to the top 100 seemed a long way offBut she found form with backtoback semifinals in Toronto and Cincinnati before winning the US Open as the world number 82 It hasnt all been plain sailing since though as she suffered a severe hangover after her New York triumph and failed to win in the rest of 2017Stephens only managed to end an eightmatch losing streak at a lowlevel event in Acapulco in February but claimed her sixth WTA title in Miami the following month That determination when things arent going her way has served Stephens well again at Roland Garros she arrived in Paris after a poor claycourt season that had yet to yield a quarterfinalFor me staying calm is the most important thing added Stephens who called herself a real fighter after the US Open And then being able to take advantage of the confidence that you do have when youre playing deep into a Slam is super key Stephens only broke into the worlds top 10 for the first time by winning in Miami but will leave Roland Garros ranked fourth no matter what happens on SaturdayWith very few points to defend until the return to North American hardcourts later this summer Stephens could well continue that rise further in the coming months a remarkable turnaround for a player who said she cant remember what she was doing when Jelena Ostapenko stunned Halep in the French Open final 12 months ago I have no idea what I was doing But I remember like the first week of French Open I was at a wedding in Ireland So that was pretty cool Perhaps her ability to always get through tough times on court comes from putting the importance of tennis into perspectiveStephens is the daughter of former NFL player John Stephens who played five seasons with the New England Patriots before joining Green Bay and Kansas City His final season came just months after Sloane was born He died in a 2009 car accident with his daughter turning professional just weeks later Tennis is very situational Stephens said last year Once you realise that its not life or death out there you can turn a tennis match around If you work really hard if you fight your way through and fight your way back you can make some things happen for yourselfAlso Read French Open 2018 Sloane Stephens Sails Into First QuartersCatch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever