Introducing Sloane Stephens

One of the breakthrough stories of the 2013 Australian Open was written by American Sloane Stephens. The world's best teenager played unbelievable tennis throughout the fortnight, upsetting the odd en route to her first Grand Slam semifinal. 

Stephens started the week strongly, quickly dismissing Romanian Simona Halep 6-1,6-1 in the first round. She followed that up with another comfortable win over fellow teen, Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4,6-3. Hoping to reinforce her credentials as the best youngest on the tour, Sloane took on Briton Laura Robson. Laura, coming off a huge triumph over Petra Kvitova, could not find a way to break the American's solid game and ended up losing the battle 7-5,6-3. After the match, Stephens said she hopes the two will emulate the 'Federer-Nadal' rivalry one day: "Laura and I are good friends. She's obviously a good player. We're going to have a rivalry, all that good stuff. We're turning into the Fed-Nadal rivalry."

Playing in the second week of a Slam for the second time in her career (she reached the fourth round at last year's French Open), the American delivered her best tennis, coming from behind to eventually overcame another bright prospect, Serb Bojana Jovanovski. She won a tight three-setter, 6-1,3-6,7-5 to book her place in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. 

Although no one fancied her chances against the great Serena Williams, Sloane was confident she can cause the upset. Taking advantage of her opponent's back injury, she turned the tables in the second set, pushing the match into a decider. As Serena struggled to serve, she basically annihilated her biggest weapon. This opened the door to her younger compatriot who seized the initiative serving out a tremendous 3-6,7-5,6-4 success against her idol. "This is so crazy," a shocked Stephens said in a post-match TV interview. "Oh my goodness. I think I'll put a poster of myself (up) now."

Her popularity hit sky-high after the victory, her twitter followers doubling immediately after the match (from around 17k to approximately 40k). Her newly gained supporters comprised some famous figures. John Legend offered to sing at her wedding, Shaquille O'Neal messaged her saying "When u defeat a legend you become a legend", while Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki was amazed by her "amazing defence".

Sloane is a really mature player for her age though. Not letting fame get in her way, she got back to business in her semifinal against world number 1, Victoria Azarenka. The defending champion started strong, cruising through the first set, 6-1. However, Sloane was not done yet. She fought her way back in the second set, saving five match points at 3-5 on Azarenka's serve before saving the game. Visibly irritated by her inability to close out the match, the Belorussian suffered a 'panic attack'. She called out the trainer, accusing chest problems that prevent her from breathing. The lengthy medical time out turned the momentum in her favour and she was able to break Stephens decisively when the play resumed. She won the match 6-1,6-4 to book her place in her second consecutive Australian Open final.

Gracious in defeat, the American refused to get caught in the controversy, opting to take out the positives from her sensational adventure Down Under. "I've obviously had three losses in three weeks, but Serena is one of the greatest players to me, and Vika, No.1 player in the world, not bad - and Vesnina, who won the tournament in Hobart last week. I'm obviously coming out of the Australian summer with amazing momentum, knowing I can pretty much hang in there with anybody out there and even beat some of the best players in the world."

Hailed as the next big thing, Stephens now faces the though challenge of confirming her fairytale run at Melbourne.

In the battle of the teenagers, Sloane Stephens defeated Laura Robson to book her place in the last 16th. The win marked the second time the American reached the second week of a Grand Slam. She also did so at last year's French Open.

The young American pulled off the biggest victory of her career, stunning a suffering Serena Williams to reach the semis. Serena, who is Sloane's idol, injured her back in the second set and was visibly in pain throughout the encounter. All credit goes to her younger compatriot though for closing out the win.

Following a controversial medical time out, Victoria Azarenka eventually closed out her match against Stephens, winning 6-1,6-4 to reach her second Australian Open final.

photos: GETTY IMAGES