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ROGERS CUP

August 9, 2018

Sloane Stephens

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

S. STEPHENS/C. Suarez Navarro

6-2, 7-5

Q. Being pushed in the second set, is that something that can benefit you moving forward?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I thought I had a little bit of a lapse, but I was happy to get back and win the last two games. Obviously you play a sport, you're playing against an opponent. She played a couple of good games, kind of threw me off. I was happy to get through in the end.

Q. Not having to play two games today, getting your game in yesterday, how do you think that will work for you?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, it's going to be tough for those girls. I think obviously we've all been in that situation before. So I'm sure there will be some good matches, there will be some battles. Just a lot of tennis.

Q. You're talking about a lapse in the second set. Is it a matter of looking ahead, you're thinking ahead at 5-1? What is going on in your mind when things like that happen?
SLOANE STEPHENS: No, I think she just raised her game a little bit. She started playing better. She called her coach out at 5-2. She started playing a little bit different. I mean, it kind of happens sometimes.

Like I said, I was happy to get back, play the last two games really hard, yeah.

Q. Would you consider it maybe a case of just having some more experience under your belt to be able to right the ship in the last two games? Maybe in the past it might have taken a little bit longer.
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, definitely. I mean, it was 5-1, yeah, but she held at 5-1. I got broken, whatever. She called her coach at 5-2. She played two really good games. It kind of just gets away from you.

I don't think it was a matter of, like, holy hell, it's going to shit. Oh, sorry (smiling). Yeah, it's just like a couple of good games that she played. Like I said, maybe the old me would have kind of freaked out. I was kind of, like, Okay, it's fine, she's allowed to play well. Just kind of regroup. I did that. I was happy with that.

Q. Carla is a former top-10 player. Is that what everyone talks about: anyone can beat anyone on any given day?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, exactly. She's a great player. I thought she played really well. We played a good match today.

Yeah, anyone can beat anyone. Doesn't really matter your ranking is.

Q. Your thoughts on Sevastova or Goerges next?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, both would be good matches actually. I played both at the US Open. I played Sevastova in Zhuhai last year.

I played well against both of them. They're both playing well. It would be a good match either one.

Q. Do you approach the hard court season now leading up to the US Open differently, having won? Is your mental focus different knowing what's at the end of it?
SLOANE STEPHENS: No. I have a few goals that I still want to reach. I think US Open or not, if I do really great, if I do really bad, it really doesn't matter. I still have to play five more tournaments.

I think now, just kind of taking it all in stride, trying to play my best, compete, get a lot of matches under my belt.

Q. Has your approach to the game changed at all since winning the Open? Has your life changed since winning the US Open?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I mean, yeah, but not really. Like, just kind of -- I mean, it's normalized now.

Q. Are you still playing doubles?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah.

Q. I want to ask a question about the shot clock. Is that any change at all in the way you play? Is it distracting? Is it comforting? How does it suit your way of approaching the points?
SLOANE STEPHENS: I think it's okay. I think some people play under the shot clock, then some people take their time and wait till the last minute.

I definitely think you have to pay attention. It's a lot of human -- can I say human error? If the umpire doesn't start it right away, you think, If they started it five seconds earlier, the person you're playing would have got a serve warning. It's things like that you don't really want to be thinking about. It just adds another element if something goes wrong, it can go terribly wrong.

I don't know. I just kind of think if they're clocking it at 25 seconds, they're taking too long, tell them to speed up. If not... If they start taking money away from people, I'm sure they'll move their asses, so...

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