Sloane Stephens: More Mature More Gutsy

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss Matt Cronin's article "Sloane Stephens: More Mature More Gutsy"

[10stchr]

After reviewing the article on "Aggressive Margins" and watching the French Open final I would really be interested in what the "margins" would've been in the Stevens - Halep match. There seemed to be a very noticeable disparity in the aggression displayed by Stevens after the first set.

[johnyandell]

Yes that would be interesting...maybe eventually this stat will make it into the pro game.

[stotty]

Her final against Halep was a mystery to me. I don't know Sloane's game all that well but for a set and bit she was significantly better than Halep. She had Halep in her handbag and was positively cruising. I can only assume she must have panicked at the thought of winning and simply lost her way. By the third set she had dissolved to nothing and there was no way back.

She was really great in that first set, though. So the game is there if she can just hold it together next time.

[arturohernandez]

There is something very deceptive about her game. She is aggressive but then can retreat into being defensive. My sense is that she likes it better when she is attacked and can counterpunch.

She seems on the surface to be too passive. Just not enough fire there to be one of the best.

I almost get the feeling that she is trying to protect herself much like Richard Williams argued would have happened had Serena and Venus had played juniors.

All this protection (ranking, game, etc) does not allow a player to develop fully according to the Williams approach.

This is the feeling I get when I watch Sloan. Like she is always protecting something and has been for so many years.

Just my observations knowing that it's easy to criticize a pro player. We don't see all that goes into their preparation and the effort it takes.