At the end of last year, Alexandra Stevenson proclaimed that she still has the game to crack the top 5 and, most importantly, win a Grand Slam tournament.
She’ll have to wait until next season to get that chance again.
Hampered by a low-service percentage throughout the match, and a shoulder injury late in the third set, Stevenson fell to 0-9 at the US Open as she lost to Chin-Wei Chan, of Chinese Taipei, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the 2008 US Open qualifying tournament.
Despite possessing ample strength from the baseline, Stevenson, 27, found herself playing defensive tennis against the diminutive Chan, often seeming to be overpowered by someone who lacked power on their ground strokes. Despite not possessing a weapon, Chan’s impressive tactical play and sound volleys gave her an early break in the first set.
After trading service holds for the rest of the set, Stevenson began to take control of the long baseline rallies and move Chan around the court. She broke Chan while trailing 4-5 and then broke her to clinch the first set.
[ad#adify-300×250]
As the second set progressed, Stevenson’s first serve percentage dropped as her serves became increasingly softer. Chan took advantage of a clearly ailing Stevenson by punishing her weak serves and frequently moving forward to the net. Chan won six straight games in taking the second set 6-3, and storming to a 3-0 lead in the third set.
After taking a medical timeout for treatment on her right shoulder, Stevenson changed up her approach and began giving herself extra margin on her shots by hitting the ball down the middle of the court. Chan began to get tight in the later stages of the third set, failing to serve out the match as Stevenson leveled the final set at 5-5.
With the match nearing three hours, fitness became the deciding factor in the match as Stevenson was unable to maintain her foot speed in the New York summer heat. After failing to capitalize on two break point opportunities to serve out the match, a dejected Stevenson was broken at love, sending Chan into a second round qualifying match against No. 11 seed Yaroslava Shvedova, of Kazhakstan.
Stevenson burst onto the scene in 1999, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon as a qualifier. She achieved a career-high ranking of No. 18 in 2002. Shoulder problems and surgery have slowed her progress since 2005.