Tennis News • Sloane Enjoys Quick Zoom Press Conference, Looks Ahead Toward Serena Match At 2020 U.S. Open Tennis

By 10sballs Staff
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Updated: September 4, 2020

By Ricky Dimon

Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, demolished Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2 in the second round on Thursday afternoon.

But that wasn’t her favorite part of the day. She had even more fun at her post-match press conference; or, more accurately, she had more fun leaving it after a grand total of just four minutes! Press conferences in 2020–the era of the coronavirus–are held via zoom meetings and therefore they generally do not last as long as they used to in normal times. Stephens’ presser following her rout of Govortsova lasted all of five questions. And she was quite happy about the whole thing when she left.

She joked, “Oh my God, can we do this all the time?! That was like four minutes. This is the best part of the tournament by far!”

Her next match, however, will be no laughing matter. Next up for Stephens is none other than seven-time U.S. Open champion Serena Williams. Serena leads the head-to-head series 5-1, including 1-0 in New York (thanks to a 6-4, 6-1 victory back in 2013). They have not squared off since 2015.

Serena Williams on the second day of the US Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2020.

“I know if there were fans it would be so lit,” Stephens said, “and I’m kind of sad that we’re not playing in front of fans because it would be so fun. But (it’s) another good opportunity to play…. Obviously (with) no fans the atmosphere won’t be as big, but obviously a big opportunity to play against the greatest player in the world. So, yeah, unfortunate but still fortunate.”
“She’s a great competitor,” Williams said of her upcoming opponent. “It’s an incredibly interesting match, because she’s actually a U.S. Open champion. She’s a great player. You can’t win a Grand Slam and not be really, really, really, really, really good. Wow, it’s a lot. I have a lot of things that I need to go home and focus on and do to get ready for that.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.