Sloane Stephens falls to Simona Halep in 2014
By Dedrick D. Henry, Sr.
Sloane Stephens of Coral Spring, Florida, lost to fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open’s fourth round leaving no American singles players in the tournament.
The 15th-seeded Stephens made 35 unforced errors and simply could not hold serve, getting broken in six of nine games.
Over the last two seasons, Stephens has been 21-5 (.808 winning percentage) in Grand Slam matches and 32-29 (.525) at run-of-the-mill tournaments. She’s made it to the second week at each of the past six majors, a run that began with a semifinal appearance at the 2013 Australian Open and stands as the longest active streak among women.
Stephens has had trouble week-in, week-out on tour – she’s never won a WTA title and made it as far as the quarterfinals anywhere only once.