It was her victory over Serena Williams during the Australian Open in January that brought Sloane Stephens into limelight. Of course her victory produced a shock result that was not expected by anybody, leave alone Serena Williams. By winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open against Serena, Sloane made a name for herself on the women’s circuit. However, it is not her win but her criticism of Serena that made the headlines. She gave an interview to ESPN where she said that Serena did not speak or say a word to her ever since she upset her in the Australian Open.
Advertisement
Sloane was also a part of the Fed Cup team that took on Sweden last month, and she says she was never approached by Serena who did not even give a glance in her direction, leave alone greeting or saying something to her. She said that the world thinks that Serena is a friendly player and that she must have been very nice to her but the reality is totally different. Sloane says that ever since she upset her idol at the Australian Open, she hasn’t heard a word from her. This is when the tennis world believes that Serena is like a mentor to her.
Not talking to Sloane was not the only thing that Serena did as she caused the ultimate burn in the heart of the rising 20 year old black American tennis star by unfollowing her on Twitter. Stephens feels hurt by a tweet made by Serena that simply read I made you though there is no mention of Stephens. Sloane believes this was directed towards her only. She says that her name was also deleted by Serena on Blackberry Messenger. She says that she could not take all this in the name of a friendly mentor and had to come up with the reality. This is why she has tried to bring the attitude and behavior of her childhood icon in front of all tennis fans. Sloane has said that if Serena was friendly and tried to be a mentor, she would have said something or helped her in some way. Sadly, nothing of this sort happened.
Sloane recalled an incident that took years ago when she was a 12 year kid and tried to get a poster autographed by the Williams’ sisters. She said that it was during a Fed Cup match that she and her friends tried to get the autographs of Williams’s sisters but the duo did not oblige despite coming their way three times during the match.
Serena has recently tried to break the ice by praising the rising American tennis star. She said that she is a big fan of Sloane Stephens and would root for her as she thinks that Stephens has the potential to be the best in the world. Not many American players are coming up in recent times, and all of us should encourage Sloane to make it big in women’s tennis.
Image Credit: http://www.hdsportswallpaper.com
Advertisement
