Best buddies Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys to vie for US Open title

New York, September 9: When the Grand Slam season at the Australian Open back in January, neither Madison Keys nor Sloane Stephens was anywhere near being ready to play a tennis match.
Keys had just started hitting balls, a few months after a surgery on her left wrist that she would need another procedure on in June. Stephens was sitting on a couch, unable to move around in the days after an operation on her left foot.

The two friends who traded texts and phone calls, commiserating while recuperating, will face each other on Sunday (September 10) in the first all-American US Open final in 15 years.

"I was actually just laughing and thinking, Who would have thought in Australia that Sloane and I would be the finalists at the US Open? Neither one of us were playing at the time, both just having surgeries," the 15th-seeded Keys said.

"To be able to play her in both of our first finals is a really special moment," Keys said.
Might seem counter-intuitive to think that their injury absences somehow helped them become better tennis players, but both Keys, 22, and Stephens, 24, say that's exactly what happened.

So happy and privileged to be playing in my first @usopen final tomorrow. I hope to see you all there 🇺🇸
— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) September 9, 2017

For Keys, the time away reminded her how much she cares about competing _ especially the feeling of working her way out of tough situations within a match _ and it also made her decide she needed to not put too many expectations on herself.

"Not being there, it just made me realize how much I love it and not to put so much pressure on myself," Keys said, "which I think helps me enjoy being out there a lot more."

As for Stephens, who edged seven-time major champion Venus Williams 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 in the semifinals, being forced off the tour for a total of 11 months provided a chance to renew how much she cared about succeeding in her sport.

"It was just kind of, like, eye-opening," Stephens added.

Stephens' game is predicated in large part on her speed and an ability to track down opponents' shots.

Keys' game is power-based, built around a booming serve and forehand that have been perfectly on-target this week. Who'll win?

There are NO words to describe how proud and how happy I am for @Madison_Keys keys and @SloaneStephens for making the US open finals.
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 8, 2017