By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, March 27, 2018
A biting breeze blew a plastic bag high above the court as Sloane Stephens stood at the baseline waiting patiently to serve.
Taming tricky conditions and a streaky Angelique Kerber, Stephens was in complete control even when the ball wasn't in play today.
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In a clash of the current and former US Open champions, Stephens crushed Kerber, 6-1, 6-2, soaring into the Miami Open semifinals—and the WTA Top 10—for the first time.
"It's awesome," Stephens said of her arrival in the Top 10. "Obviously something I have wanted to do for a while, and I think it's just -- it's not easy. It's really not easy.
"Getting to 11 was hard, and so getting into the top 10 is pretty special. I'm super excited about that. Something I have worked hard for for a long time. I couldn't really be any happier."
Mastering challenging conditions, the 12th-ranked Stephens made a career breakthrough defeating Kerber for the fourth time in five meetings.
"It, was uncomfortable but you gotta get out of your comfort zone to get your best result," Stephens told Andrew Krasny afterward. "A little adversity never hurt anyone."
It was Stephens' 16th victory in her last 18 matches on American soil.
The reigning US Open champion raised her record to 7-4 on the season. Stephens will face either fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or three-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the final.
A trio of former world No. 1 players—Kerber, Pliskova and Venus Williams—reached quarterfinals at both Indian Wells and Miami.
Depleted by her epic two hour, 51-minute win over Yafan Wang yesterday, Kerber lacked the legs and precision to hang with Stephens in extended exchanges today.
"I was really feeling a little bit tired today," Kerber said. "I mean, of course it was windy, it was tricky, but I have played so many matches in the last three months that I was feeling it a little bit today in my body.
"Yeah, the conditions were really tricky and tough, but at the end yeah, of course I was also not really 100 percent because I was a little bit tired. But at the end she plays good."
On a breezy afternoon, Stephens' topspin gave her more margin for error than the flat-hitting Kerber. She played cleaner tennis throughout extending her dominance of the left-handed German to eight straight sets.
Picking her opponent apart with depth and angle, Stephens moved her forehand around effectively breaking in the fourth game.
The US Open champion worked through a deuce hold to confirm the break for 4-1.
Former world No. 1 Kerber lacked the closing speed she typically shows on balls. Making a half-hearted approach attempt, Kerber was out of position as Stephens spun a forehand pass breaking again for 5-1 after 21 minutes of play.
Stephens sped through the opening set in 22 minutes closing with a clean topspin forehand down the line.
The 10th-seeded German slapped a forehand into net facing triple break point in the fifth game of the second set. Kerber dug in and denied the threat then staved off two more break points.
Every time Kerber made a stand, Stephens posed another challenge.
On her sixth break point, Stephens swooped forward, ran down a drop shot and bumped a backhand pass breaking for 3-2.
When Kerber sailed a forehand, Stephens broke again for 5-2.
"I always believe I can win the match or turn around matches," Kerber said. "But at the end, also I saw it that I was trying to pushing, I was trying to being aggressive, but at the end, one step was too slow every time. I was always one step too far away from the balls, and then I make the mistakes.
"But I try the best what I can do today, and at the end, I'm happy about the last three months. I'm looking forward now to going home, making a little bit rest and getting ready for the clay season."
Fittingly, Stephens slid her signature shot, the forehand, into the corner on her second match point to secure her Top 10 spot.
Stephens has won both prior meetings with 2016 US Open finalist Pliskova. Azarenka is 3-1 vs. Stephens, though the 25-year-old American won their most recent clash at Indian Wells earlier this month.