Sloane Stephens, Another Rising American

After Sloane Stephens upended Shahar Peer, the 23rd seed,Â*Â* on Thursday, Stephens seemed less enthused with advancing to the third round and more excited about the car she planned to buy when she returned home to California.She is, after all, 18.Stephens said her performance cemented "for sure" the car purchase, as soon as the season ends. Her mother wants Stephens to buy a truck; she wants a smaller vehicle. The kicker to all this, of course, is that Stephens also said she hates to drive."That's where it gets tricky," she continued. "See, the thing is I don't like traffic. It's very hard for me to drive in traffic. And my brother is the most annoying person to have in the car when you're driving."There you have it. gucci handbags Youth. For American women in particular, early into this tournament, it has been served here. On Wednesday, Christina McHale, 19, and Irina Falconi, 21, upset the No. 8 and No. 14 seeds. Stephens joined them in the third round on Thursday, as did Vania King, 22, and Serena Williams, 29. That makes it five American womenÂ* in the third round. Williams is now the elder stateswoman."Fun fact," Stephens said. "Christina, Irina and myself are all in the third round of the U.S. Open. We're ready to go to the top, baby. What's up?" Stephens is no stranger to success. Her father is the late John Stephens, the former N.F.L. running back. She won girls doubles titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010 and reached the girls quarterfinals or better in singles at all three, too.With her victory on Thursday, Stephens will crack the top 100 for the first time when the next rankings come out, becoming the youngest person in the top 100. The next youngest? McHale, whom Stephens will displace. "We're heading in the right direction," said Patrick McEnroe, the United States Tennis Association's general manager of player development. "I felt that this was coming. When we start lv handbags getting everyone into the second week, we'll be there."