That Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys have made it to a Grand Slam singles final is no surprise to anyone who has followed their careers from the start.
“Everybody always knew they had the ability,” said Mary Joe Fernandez, their former Fed Cup captain and Olympic coach. “It was just a question of where and when.”
What is shocking is the timing: Stephens and Keys, good friends and now prominent rivals, have reached Saturday’s United States Open final in grand style in a season they began on the couch instead of the court.
“That’s the really impressive thing, that both of them are having their hardest season in terms of injuries, and yet they’ve been able to do it this fast,” Fernandez said.