By Michael J. Lewis
Enquirer Contributor
NEW YORK – With a roaring crowd of 14,000 cheering her on, Mason’s Peyton Stearns did not seem at all awed by the moment Monday at the U.S. Open.
The 21-year-old had never been in the fourth round before, never been on the second-biggest court here at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and certainly never had a Grand Slam champion on the ropes.
But the Cincinnati kid was holding her own and then some against No. 9 seed Marketa Vondrousova, winning a first-set tiebreaker and coming very close to her first major quarterfinal.
But the Wimbledon champion rallied and Stearns wobbled just a bit, and that’s all it took. Vondrousova rallied for a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory that ended Stearns’ marvelous week here in Queens, a run that vaulted the Ohioan into the Top 50 in the WTA rankings.
Not bad for a woman who was playing college tennis 16 months ago.
“I think the nerves on my end started creeping in; she played pretty steady and made me work,” Stearns said. “Because of the nerves I was forcing my body into overdrive and I started getting fatigued pretty quickly. When I’m not moving, I can’t hit my shots the way I want to, so I got sloppy, made some unforced errors, and she took it from there.”
Stearns, who began her tennis career playing at Harper’s Point, then later trained at Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton, admitted the nerves of the occasion started getting to her Sunday afternoon on the off day. To help prepare for the lefty Vondrousova, Stearns’ brother, Preston, who plays for Ohio State, flew in to New York Sunday and warmed his sister up on the court Monday morning.
The family assist seemed to help at the start; the former University of Texas star jumped out to a big early lead on Vondrousova, breaking serve in the second game and racing to a 4-1 advantage.
But the Czech came back strongly to win the next three games and quiet the crowd, tying it at 4.
The two competitors battled into the tiebreak, and that’s where Stearns, who 16 months ago was still playing college tennis, pounced. She jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the breaker, and on set point Vondrousova sailed a backhand long. Stearns pumped her right fist toward her player’s box and screamed with joy.
In the second set, though, Vondrousova steadied herself, going out to a 3-0 lead, closed out the set, winning it 6-3, and Stearns couldn’t get the momentum back.
The Ohioan saved five break points in the opening game of the third set before being broken.
Stearns, who smacked 27 winners but made 52 unforced errors Monday, lost her form a bit in the third as Vondrousova broke serve twice and pulled away
“She’s been winning lately and going deep in every tournament, so (taking a set off her) makes me feel like I’m playing well right now,” Stearns said. “I’d hit a really good shot and feel like it wasn’t going to come back, and then it did. And I got a little deer in headlights out there.”
Stearns, who came into the Open ranked No. 59, cruised through the first three rounds in only her second U.S. Open.
In three matches here at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Stearns had won all six sets and lost only 17 games.
“I don't think I've wrapped my mind around the fact where I am right now because I'm honestly trying not to think about it too much,” Stearns said. “I just try not to think about it too much in the sense of where I am, what's happening, who I'm playing or where I'm playing kind of thing.”
“She’s such a hard worker and an incredible young lady,” said Kathy Rinaldi, the USTA Director of Player Development for Women’s Tennis. She wants to learn and has such a growth mindset.”
Stearns had a fabulous two-year run at University of Texas, winning the NCAA individual championships and helping lead the Longhorns to the 2022 team title.
Denise Stearns, Peyton’s Mom, said a big part of her daughter’s college experience was about maturing off the court.
“The kids need to be alone,” Denise Stearns said. “It’s a good experience to be alone, stay in dorms. I think it’s great for them and it was very healthy and good for Peyton.”
Despite the defeat, Stearns sounded hopeful about the near future. “I’m ready to go into the next tournament, guns blazing. I have a lot of things to work on, and I think that’s great that I’m doing so well and still have so much to improve.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: US Open Tennis Peyton Stearns makes fourth round appearance
