Stephens: Ran Out Of Steam

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NEW YORK—Sloane Stephens extended her US Open run rallying past Anastasija Sevastova last year.

A savvy Sevastova ended Stephens' reign today.

Watch: Sevastova Slams Stephens

The third-seeded Stephens ran out of steam converting just two of nine break points in bowing to Sevastova a year after she rallied from a 1-3 third-set deficit in the US Open quarterfinals to break the Latvian's heart.

The third-ranked Stephens, who said she stricken by a sinus infection, but felt fine before the match, credited Sevastova for coping with the severe conditions and stiff pressure better.

"I think today I just really couldn't get anything to connect," Stephens said. "Even when I did have my break opportunities, I just wasn't playing the points well at all. Mentally, physically, I just wasn't connecting. It just was a really tough day. The heat doesn't make it any more fun."

The 28-year-old Sevastova deployed the drop shot beautifully at crunch time in dethroning the defending champion.

"Nothing was wrong with me before the match," Stephens said. "I was excited to play, happy to get out there and compete.

"Like I said, today was a bad day. I wish I could have played better. The better player won."

The loss leaves No. 8-seeded Karolina Pliskova as the lone Top 10 ladies' seed still standing. Pliskova, the last woman to defeat Serena Williams in New York, faces the 23-time champion in tonight's quarterfinal with the winner playing Sevastova.

After seeing her 11-match Flushing Meadows win streak snapped, Stephens said she will draw positive from the fact she battled into the quarterfinals.

"I could have shit the bed in the first round, and that would have been really bad," Stephens said. "So the fact that I made it to the quarterfinals and played some really good matches and I just competed as hard as I could, I mean, a lot to be proud of. And obviously defending a title is very hard, very difficult.

"If you were defending, you'd be playing the same exact people all over again, which I didn't. I made the most of it this week or the last, whatever, 10 days, whatever it was."

A year ago, Stephens, who does not drink, suffered a competitive hangover after winning the US Open. She went winless the rest of the season dropping all six matches she played.

The Roland Garros runner-up said she will play the Asian swing and try to build on this experience.

"I can be proud of a lot of things that happened the last couple, the matches that I played, so I'm not going to dwell on it," Stephens said "Just keep building. There's four more tournaments left. I'm just going to try to play the rest of the season as hard as I can and hopefully have some more good results."

Photo credit: Getty

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