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By Franklin L. Johnson | Sunday, August 9, 2015

 
Sloane Stephens

In her first career final, Sloane Stephens will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a match of unseeded finalists in Washington, D.C.

Photo credit: Citi Open

Sloane Stephens took an important step on the career learning curve defeating Samantha Stosur, 7-6 (4), 6-0, to reach her first career final in Washington, D.C. where she will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova later today.

The result raises the question: Is the 35th-ranked Sloane rising toward the Top 10? Or is this result a brief spike in a career trending toward chronic underachievement?

More: Stephens Stops Stosur to Reach First Final in D.C.

Today's final is a crossroads match in terms of what path Sloane takes to define her competitive identity. Today's final is important because I believe Sloane would respond badly and possibly regress should she lose, whereas a win will improve both her confidence and ranking.

In my view, here are the Top 5 challenges Stephens must address before she can make a serious move on the Top 10.

1. Clarity on Court
Stephens earned an important semifinal win against a former U.S. Open champion, but the opening set was hardly impressive. Stephens lacked both clarity and positive energy at the start. In fact, Sloane tried her best to give the first set to Sam. However, Stosur was trying harder the other way when she blew a 4-2 tie break lead missing her best shot, the forehand, repeatedly, in coughing up the lead. Even after she won the set, coach Nick Saviano had to come on court to help Sloane sort out of her confusion and reassure her. If Sloane had a real clear idea of what was happening out there, she wouldn't need coach Nick to come running out to make sure she didn't implode. The flip side, of course, is Stephens didn't lose another game after consulting with coach Nick. The point is: She's got to learn to have a clear plan and problem solve on her own and on the fly. Too often, that is lacking in Stephens now.

2. Poise Under Pressure
Here's a major stumbling block for the former Grand Slam semifinalist: Sloane has not performed well under big-match pressure. Yes, she owns career wins over Grand Slam champions Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur. But until last night Stephens was an unsightly 0-6 in semifinals. Great players all have the three Gs in their competitive DNA: Game, Grit and Guts. Game is having strong fundamentals. Guts refers to playing bravely on the big points. And grit is resiliency in the face of adversity. Currently, Sloane has only one of these very important qualities. That ain't enough to scare the top players.

3. Drop the Defensive Attitude
For a woman with so many gears to her game have you noticed Stephens tends to throw it in reverse when the race gets tight? Sloane continues to revert to her defensive default mode when the heat is on. Stephens is one of the fastest players in the game, but she still uses her speed more to chase and defend rather than racing up to the ball quicker to play large and in charge on crucial rallies. The defensive attitude isn't only confined to her court positioning, it's on her face too. Even in early stages of her semifinal win over Stosur, Stephens flashed that deer-in-the-headlights look a few times. When Sloane learns to use her speed as an offensive weapon and play an entire match with positive energy rather than looking like someone just stepped on her foot, we'll know she's truly maturing.

4. Develop Killer Instinct
Sloane is highly talented player with no killer instinct as a competitor. When you have as much natural talent and electric power as Stephens does, you should be smoking most opponents from the first ball. When Serena or Maria get an opponent down, they don't help them up with donations, they lower the lumber on them. Sloane is nowhere near the level of fierce fighter she needs to be to reach the Top 10. The elite players are ruthless; they take no prisoners on court. The pro circuit is not a charity organization. Despite the tie break gift she got from Stosur last night, no one is going to give Stephens anything other than a hard time. It's time Sloane learned this fact and developed the killer instinct.

5. Ignore the Hype
Understanding the immense success of the Williams sisters is vital for perspective as Stephens, Madison Keys, CoCo Vandeweghe, Taylor Townsend and the rest of the young American women work to develop their own careers. In short, don't believe the hype. Sloane Stephens is a very talented young player, but she is not the second coming of Althea Gibson nor is she the honorary third Williams sister—this we know. The last thing Stephens needs as she develops her own career is the added pressure of folks high on hype trying to shove her into the Venus and Serena stratosphere. Understand all the high hoopla in the media won't turn any player into a true champion. Results, not potential, define a champion. The media is cheering because Sloane made it to her first final in her 84th career tournament. I say: What took you so long?

Let's be honest: Stephens should have been winning titles years ago.

She is that good, but while her upset of Serena in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals thrust her into the spotlight, her game has receded into the shadows for much of this season until this week in the nation's capital.

Reaching her first final in D.C. is a milestone of some merit, but one good week does not make a Top 10 player. I say we all should take a deep breath, remain cautiously optimistic and, as her coach said on court last night, let Sloane Stephens "be Sloane Stephens."

Stephens is a far better player than the No. 35 rank next to her name suggests, but the 0 next to her career title count is a reminder talent doesn't add up to titles. For now, Sloane is a player with enormous potential and a glaring lack of a killer instinct. Tennis is a true meritocracy; you earn your place.

Is Sloane Stephens running toward higher rank or running from the pressure that has inhibited her progress to this point?

Today's final in the nation's capital won't define Sloane, but it will certainly shape her status as either a true power player or just another lobbyist pretender in the WTA hierarchy.


 

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