Flocking into the US Open final, Madison and Sloane have been soaring as friends for sometime

Women’s Final Preview || Keys, Stephens headline All-American final || Pre-Match Analysis Presented By Ralph Lauren

FRIENDLY FINALS

This afternoon Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens go head-to-head, seeking their first Grand Slam title in the All-American, 2017 US Open Women’s Singles Championship in the monument to diversity, Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This is the first All-American US Open women’s final [with the finalist being of African ancestry] since Serena Williams defeated Venus in 2002 and the 60th anniversary of Althea Gibson capturing her first US Open title in 1957.

Having met only once in their careers, with Stephens winning the second round affair in Miami two years ago, meeting number two will end with one of the friends crowned the 2017 US Open Women’s Singles Champion.

“I thought about Althea Gibson and about Zina Garrison and then about Venus and Serena,” said Martin Blackman, general manager for player development at the United States Tennis Association.

“There’s a ripple effect for sure.”

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