MONTREAL — U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens romped into the Rogers Cup semifinals Friday, beating Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-2.
The 25-year-old Stephens, ranked No. 3 in the world, won a hard-court title in Miami in March and lost the French Open final to top-ranked Simona Halep. In the semifinals, the American will face fifth-seeded defending champion Elina Svitolina or 14th-seeded Elise Mertens.
Preparing for the U.S. Open, Stephens also reached the event semifinals last year in Toronto.
“When you’re playing good matches in big tournaments like this, I don’t think it’s peaking too soon. It’s just getting confidence and playing good tennis,” Stephens said. “Leading up to the U.S. Open, obviously last year it worked pretty well.”
Sevastova, ranked 19th, won last month in Bucharest.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, seeded 15th, also advanced, topping Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-1. Barty will play the top-seeded Halep or sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia.