Sloane Stephens was eliminated by Anastasija Sevastova
Defending champion Sloane Stephens was eliminated Tuesday from the U.S. Open, beaten by Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Stephens beat Sevastova in the same round last year en route to her first Grand Slam title, but she missed numerous chances to grab an early lead in the rematch and could never get back into the match.
Sevastova, the No. 19 seed from Latvia, will play either Serena Williams or 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova in her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Three-quarters of Arthur Ashe Stadium was in the sun on another day of more than 90-degree temperatures in New York, and Stephens seemed to lack some of her usual sideline-to-sideline court coverage in the heat.
But her serve was the bigger problem. The No. 3 seed was broken five times in the 84-minute match.
