News for today's 2018

Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014

7:20 PM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/595523header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014" border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/595523header.jpg" title="Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014" /></a>Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday.<br />
<br />
The Pole, who has 13 career titles to her name, has struggled to make too much of an impact this season, but was convincing in disposing of Williams at the WTA Premier hard court event in Montreal.<br />
<br />
Third seed Radwanska won four games in a row in the first to storm into a 4-1 lead after Williams had claimed the opener.<br />
<br />
Williams battled hard to break back in a tight game six, but was unable to complete a comeback after seeing two break points come and go at 4-3 down.<br />
<br />
The American struggled on her first service throughout and that fact was emphasised by a second set in which she mustered only a 42 per cent success rate.<br />
<br />
Combined with an inability to win points on her second serve - Williams won just one out of 12 in the second set - it proved to be a recipe for disaster.<br />
<br />
Radwanska claimed the opening game of the second on Williams' serve to put the former world number one on the back foot from the off.<br />
<br />
Williams broke back to level matters at 2-2, but Radwanska won the next game to love as the seven-time grand slam winner's chances of coming away with the win grew ever slimmer.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, Williams would not win another game, leaving Radwanska to emphatically serve for the title.

Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday. The Pole, w...

Tsonga into top 10, Halep climbs to second

7:18 PM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/11/595783header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/11/595783header.jpg" /></a>Jo-Wilfried Tsonga climbed back into the ATP's top 10 for the first time in five months after his Rogers Cup triumph.<br />
<br />
The Frenchman more than deserved his rise from 15th to 10th in the rankings, as he downed four top-10 players - including Roger Federer in the Toronto final - to clinch his second career Masters title.<br />
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The only other change in the top 10 was David Ferrer of Spain rising one spot to sixth, at the expense of Canada's Milos Raonic (seventh).<br />
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The top five of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych remained.<br />
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Feliciano Lopez rose to his highest ranking since May 2012 - 16th, up nine spots - after his run to the Toronto semi-finals.<br />
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South Africa's Kevin Anderson - a Rogers Cup quarter-finalist - rose four places to 17th, his equal-highest career standing first achieved in July.<br />
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Such is the fickle nature of sport, Anderson blew match points in his last-eight match against Grigor Dimitrov - had he converted, Anderson would have reached a career-best ranking.<br />
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Big sliders in the top 50 were Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov - down five to 22nd - and Canada's Vasek Pospisil, who fell 19 spots to 46th.<br />
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Australia's Nick Kyrgios continued his rise, climbing 12 spots to 58th, while Poland's Jerzy Janowicz dropped 13 places to 65th.<br />
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Kyrgios' compatriot Marinko Matosevic was shuffled 30 places down the pecking order to 89th.<br />
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Back inside the top 100 was Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis, who won a Challenger-tour event in Aptos to catapult 24 places up to 82nd.<br />
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In the WTA Tour rankings, Romania's Simona Halep is officially the new world number two, assuming the mantle virtually due to Li Na's inactivity.<br />
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Li, of China, has already flagged her withdrawal from the US Open due to a knee injury, which has seen her out of competition since Wimbledon.<br />
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Returning to the top 10 was Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, up from 11th, with Serbia's Ana Ivanovic falling out.<br />
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Rogers Cup finalist Venus Williams moved to 20th from 25th, while her fellow American Coco Vandeweghe - who had to qualify for the main draw in Montreal - rose 13 spots to 38th.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Rogers Cup tennis Tsonga into top 10, Halep climbs to second

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga climbed back into the ATP's top 10 for the first time in five months after his Rogers Cup triumph. The Frenchman mo...

Tsonga to meet Federer in Rogers Cup final

3:48 PM Anonymous 0

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/594807header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/594807header.jpg" /></a>Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made it through to his first final in three years after disposing of Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets at the Rogers Cup.<br />
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Tsonga - seeded 13th - was too strong for Bulgarian seventh seed Dimitrov in the semi-finals, easing to a 6-4 6-3 win after an hour and 24 minutes in Toronto.<br />
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The Frenchman won three break points, saved all four presented to Dimitrov and won 88 per cent of his first service points as he reached his first ATP Tour final since finishing runner-up at the BNP Paribas Masters in 2011.<br />
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Tsonga - coincidently - lost that match-up to Roger Federer, who he will face in Sunday's decider after the Swiss second seed accounted for Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4.<br />
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"I'm feeling good," said Tsonga.<br />
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"I have been waiting for this moment for a couple of years now.<br />
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"It's good because I have always believed in myself during all these years.<br />
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"It will for sure make me stronger and keep my motivation at the highest level."<br />
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A day after eliminating Andy Murray, Tsonga continued where he left off against Dimitrov, taking the opening set.<br />
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Tsonga, though, did not have it all his own way in the first stanza after being forced to save four break points as he attempted to serve for the set with a 5-4 lead.<br />
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The 29-year-old Frenchman ramped up the pressure in the second set, breaking twice as progressed to his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final.<br />
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Standing in Tsonga's way is Federer, who leads the head-to-head record 11-4.<br />
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Federer - Rogers Cup champion in 2004 and 2006 and runner-up in 2007 and 2010 - made light work of Lopez as he wrapped up proceedings in straight sets.<br />
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The 33-year-old sent down 13 aces and won 86 per cent of his first services points.<br />
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Federer also broke twice throughout the encounter, while he did not face a break point against Lopez.

Federer Grigor Dimitrov Jo-Wilfried Tsonga news sports Rogers Cup tennis Tsonga to meet Federer in Rogers Cup final

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made it through to his first final in three years after disposing of Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets at the Rogers Cup. ...

Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014

3:45 PM Anonymous 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/595523header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/10/595523header.jpg" /></a></div>
Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday.<br />
<br />
The Pole, who has 13 career titles to her name, has struggled to make too much of an impact this season, but was convincing in disposing of Williams at the WTA Premier hard court event in Montreal.<br />
<br />
Third seed Radwanska won four games in a row in the first to storm into a 4-1 lead after Williams had claimed the opener.<br />
<br />
Williams battled hard to break back in a tight game six, but was unable to complete a comeback after seeing two break points come and go at 4-3 down.<br />
<br />
The American struggled on her first service throughout and that fact was emphasised by a second set in which she mustered only a 42 per cent success rate.<br />
<br />
Combined with an inability to win points on her second serve - Williams won just one out of 12 in the second set - it proved to be a recipe for disaster.<br />
ews<br />
Radwanska claimed the opening game of the second on Williams' serve to put the former world number one on the back foot from the off.<br />
<br />
Williams broke back to level matters at 2-2, but Radwanska won the next game to love as the seven-time grand slam winner's chances of coming away with the win grew ever slimmer.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, Williams would not win another game, leaving Radwanska to emphatically serve for the title.

Agnieszka Radwanska news sports Rogers Cup SPORTS tennis Venus Williams Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014

Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday. The Pole,...

Venus through to Montreal final

1:09 PM Anonymous 0

<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5AOauiV6bs/U-fQ6Pmz3AI/AAAAAAAAAFA/YAf00Vjt1rQ/s1600/594795header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Venus through to Montreal final" border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J5AOauiV6bs/U-fQ6Pmz3AI/AAAAAAAAAFA/YAf00Vjt1rQ/s1600/594795header.jpg" title="Venus through to Montreal final" width="320" /></a>Venus Williams booked her spot in the Rogers Cup final, at the expense of her top-seeded sister Serena on Saturday.<br />
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In the 25th career meeting between the Williams sisters, it was Venus who earned bragging rights with a shock 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-3 win after just over an hour in Montreal.<br />
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Venus' triumph - her 11th against Serena - was her first over a reigning world number one since upstaging Dinara Safina in the 2009 Wimbledon semi-finals.<br />
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The 34-year-old fended off 19 aces from Serena to advance to Sunday's decider, where she will face Agnieszka Radwanska after the third-seeded Pole overcame Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3).<br />
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"The level of game we played was pretty high," said Venus<br />
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"We're both serving well, returning well, moving well - everything is happening so well that all of our matches seem to be very competitive."<br />
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Venus stormed out of the blocks to take a 3-1 lead only for Serena to hit back, levelling the match at 3-3, before eventually closing out the opening set in a tie-break.<br />
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Two breaks of serve in the second stanza - the first coming in the opening game - set the tone as Venus forced a third set.<br />
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It was a similar story in the deciding set, with Venus breaking Serena's serve in the sixth game to reach her second final of 2014, having won the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.<br />
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Following Venus into the final was Radwanska, who finally got the better of Makarova in straight sets after two hours and four minutes on court.<br />
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Radwanska had lost her past two meetings against Makarova, slipping up at the US Open in 2013 and Wimbledon in June.<br />
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But the 2012 Wimbledon finalist exacted revenge, making the most of Makarova's 43 unforced errors.<br />
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Radwanska finished the match with 28 winners and just 14 unforced errors.<br />
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"I think it was a great match," Radwanska said.<br />
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"Two hours of fighting and long rallies and tight games - I had to really run a lot to win that match because she's so good. I had to give 100 per cent today.<br />
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"I think I was just better on a few points today. I'm really happy with the win."

2014 Championships news news sports Rogers Cup SPORTS tennis Venus Williams Venus through to Montreal final

Venus Williams booked her spot in the Rogers Cup final, at the expense of her top-seeded sister Serena on Saturday. In the 25th career mee...

Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014

1:06 PM Anonymous 0

Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHcqRx3mxYk/U-fQPQu0q3I/AAAAAAAAAE4/lGcW1fEHR5s/s1600/595523header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014" border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHcqRx3mxYk/U-fQPQu0q3I/AAAAAAAAAE4/lGcW1fEHR5s/s1600/595523header.jpg" title="Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014" width="320" /></a>The Pole, who has 13 career titles to her name, has struggled to make too much of an impact this season, but was convincing in disposing of Williams at the WTA Premier hard court event in Montreal.<br />
<br />
Third seed Radwanska won four games in a row in the first to storm into a 4-1 lead after Williams had claimed the opener.<br />
<br />
Williams battled hard to break back in a tight game six, but was unable to complete a comeback after seeing two break points come and go at 4-3 down.<br />
<br />
The American struggled on her first service throughout and that fact was emphasised by a second set in which she mustered only a 42 per cent success rate.<br />
<br />
Combined with an inability to win points on her second serve - Williams won just one out of 12 in the second set - it proved to be a recipe for disaster.<br />
<br />
Radwanska claimed the opening game of the second on Williams' serve to put the former world number one on the back foot from the off.<br />
<br />
Williams broke back to level matters at 2-2, but Radwanska won the next game to love as the seven-time grand slam winner's chances of coming away with the win grew ever slimmer.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, Williams would not win another game, leaving Radwanska to emphatically serve for the title.

2014 Agnieszka Radwanska news sports Rogers Cup tennis Venus Williams Radwanska beats Williams in Montreal for first title of 2014

Agnieszka Radwanska claimed her first silverware of 2014 as she beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday. The Pole, w...

Sloane Stephens: The Teenage Star Who Beat Serena Williams

8:29 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><iframe height="360" id="kaltura_player_1359001422" src="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/1_utr00pz2/uiconf_id/3775332/st_cache/23218?referer=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/sloane-stephens-19-beats-serena-williams-18297379&autoPlay=false&addThis.playerSize=392x221&freeWheel.siteSectionId=nws_offsite&closedCaptionActive=true&addThis.playerSize=640x360&closedCaptionsOverPlayer.fontsize=18" style="border: 0px solid #ffffff;" width="640">Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.</iframe> <div style="margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Sloane Stephens, 19, Beats Serena Williams</span></div><div style="font-size: x-small;"></div><div id="date_partner" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; height: 32px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 150px; min-height: 30px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 490px;"></div><div class="byline_date" style="float: left; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 490px;"><div class="byline_date_inner" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 485px;"><div class="byline" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By JENNIFER ABBEY and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/author/ron_claiborne" rel="author" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">RON CLAIBORNE</a></div><div class="date" style="margin: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px;">Jan. 23, 2013</div></div></div><div style="font-size: x-small;"></div><div id="sponsoredByAd" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; left: 430px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 0px; text-align: right; top: 404px;"><span id="sponsoredbylogo1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="_fw_container_sponsoredbylogo1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Some may call it the shock heard around the tennis world.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sloane Stephens defeated one of the greatest players to lace up tennis shoes, Serena Williams, a tennis player whose poster once adorned Stephens' bedroom wall.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The 19-year-old can now say she is the only American younger than Williams to beat the 31-year-old. Stephens, with a giant white smile from ear to ear, won 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals Wednesday.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The match was the farthest Stephens has ever gotten in a Grand Slam tournament. Williams, on the other hand, is a 15-time major winner, a five-time Australian Open champion and was on a 20-match winning streak.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately for Williams, she suffered injuries in her ankle and back during the game. She called a trainer onto the court and had a three-minute medical timeout.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When asked about the win, all 29th-seeded Stephens could manage to say was, "I don't even know. Oh, my goodness."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"While it's not good for Serena, it's a great development for U.S. tennis. They've been waiting for a long time for someone to come to the forefront," said Christine Brennan, a sports columnist for USA Today and sports consultant for ABC News. "It's too early to know what this will all mean, but it's possible that they may have found the next up-and-coming female star."</span></div><div class="rel_container g_4" id="rel_image_feature" style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; line-height: 23px; margin: 20px 50px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="rel_content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="rel_thumb" style="line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Image]&lid=view[Image]" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="PHOTO: Sloane Stephens of the US hits a forehand return to compatriot Serena Williams during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 23, 2013." border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_sloane_stephens_kb_130123_wg.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.5px; padding: 0px;" title="" width="199" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/image_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="photo_credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Andy Wong/AP Photo</span></div><div class="photo_caption" style="margin: 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sloane Stephens of the United States hits a... <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="lpos=widget[Left_Rail_Image]&lid=view[Image]" style="color: #336699; 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margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/WNT/abc_wn_hasan_130123_wl.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="200" /><span class="image_icon" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/play_icon_35x35.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 35px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: 5px; top: 73px; width: 35px;"></span></span></a></div><div class="rel_headline" style="line-height: 15px; margin: 3px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Prince Harry Returns Home to Storm of Controversy Watch Video</span></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Even before Stephens started playing tennis, she had posters of both Williams sisters -- Serena and Venus -- up in her bedroom, her mother, Sybil Smith, told ABC News. When she began playing tennis at age 9, she began looking up to their game.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"The funny thing about it is we kind of have a joke with Team Sloane, with my family," Smith said. "We say, 'We think you can beat everyone but Serena because she's the best.' And that's a little bit of a joke, because she is the best. Sloane said she's arguably the greatest of all time. So Sloane always had in her mind that Serena would be extremely tough to beat."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stephens played against Williams before in Brisbane, but this time around she was ready for the match-up.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"She wasn't so paranoid about playing Serena. She was excited to play Serena," Smith said. "She wasn't so concerned about the hype and playing the greatest of all time. She just changed her mind-set and said, 'You know, it's just another tennis match. I've got to go compete, no matter who I'm playing against.'"</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Off the court, Stephens, originally of Plantation, Fla., but now living in Bel Air, Calif., is a typical teenager. She texts, she tweets, she loves spending time with friends, and she has a serious shopping addiction.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"I said I was going to buy one thing but now I'm going to buy two," she said in an interview just after the big win. "I was begging my mom for these pair of shoes, but I'm sure she'll have them waiting when I get home -- so I have to think of something quick so I can tell her, so she can have it when I get home."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stephens told ESPN she had 145 text messages after her win. She added she hoped the win would get her more Twitter followers. Her followers shot from 17,000 before the competition to 46,300 and counting.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stephens is also getting attention from Hollywood and other sports greats after her win.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Just found out her dad is John Stephens from the Pats. (that's my real name) I had his football card when I was a kid. I was so proud, ha ha," John Legend tweeted. Stephens' father is a former New England Patriots player who died in a car accident in 2009.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"@sloanetweets congrats on a great match. Excellent focus n poise. Keep it goin. When u defeat a legend you become a legend. Keep it going," Shaquille O'Neal tweeted.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Wow. What a win for Sloane. Some amazing defense. She gets every ball back," Dallas Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki tweeted.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The real test now is to see how Stephens can handle the pressure of the main stage of tennis and if she can keep rising.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Could Sloane put back-to-back matches together? How's she going to react?" Brennan wondered. "There are a lot of unknowns. Sloane is now going to enter a new phase of her career."</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stephens' mother said her daughter has a good head on her shoulders. She's determined to play her game the best that she can but she also schedules valuable time with friends and family.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"She called home last night right after the match. She was getting ready to go into press, and she goes, 'What are you guys doing?'" Smith said. "It was three minutes of what's going on at home right now. It wasn't even about tennis."</span></div><div class="story_pagination" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase;"><ul style="display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><li style="background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/bullet-999.gif); background-position: -5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 13px; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><a class="previous" href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/sloane-stephens-teenage-star-beat-serena-williams/story?id=18296642" name="lpos=widget[Story_Pagination_Previous]&lid=view[Link]" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/story/pagination_arrows.png); background-position: 0px -50px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #336699; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; top: -5px; width: 103px;"><span style="font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 8px; top: 5px;">PREVIOUS PAGE</span></a> </li><li class="pager" style="background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/bullet-999.gif); background-position: -5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 13px; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/sloane-stephens-teenage-star-beat-serena-williams/story?id=18296642" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">1</a> </li><li style="background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/bullet-999.gif); background-position: -5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 13px; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><span class="pipe" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; position: relative; top: -1px;">|</span></li></ul></div><div class="story_pagination" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase;"><ul style="display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><li style="background-image: url(http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/icons/bullet-999.gif); background-position: -5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 13px; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;"><span class="pipe" style="color: #cccccc; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; position: relative; top: -1px;"><br /></span></li></ul></div><div style="font-size: x-small;"></div><div style="font-size: x-small;"></div></div></div>