MANILA, Philippines – Sloane Stephens has reached her first Grand Slam final, edging Venus Williams 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 in the first of two all-American semifinals.
Stephens became just the fourth unseeded player to reach the US Open women’s final in the Open era, which began in 1968, and the first since Roberta Vinci in 2015.
The third set was tense tennis after two lopsided ones, with Stephens continuously running down balls to win long rallies.
She will face either No. 15 Madison Keys or No. 20 CoCo Vandeweghe.
Williams was trying for her third major final of the year and her first at the U.S. Open since 2002.