"You just reached your first Grand Slam, does that give you the motivation to try to get a second Grand Slam?"
"Does it still need to be said, you didn't see how many zeros I just got on the check, you don't have to think about it, if this doesn't allow you to continue your tennis career, what else can you do?"
"Just thinking about the check is beautiful, and I'm perfectly motivated to win the next Grand Slam right now!"
This is a conversation between American player Stephens and media reporters at the post-match press conference when he won the women's singles title at the 2017 US Open, from which the nickname "Miss Zero" came from.
The prize money for the MEN's and women's singles champions at the U.S. Open that year was as high as $3.7 million, or about 24 million yuan, even after deducting taxes.
Stephens was born on March 20, 1993 in Florida, USA, and recently celebrated his 29th birthday, which is not a small age for professional players.
So has Stephens achieved so far met the expectations of her?
As early as the 2013 Australian Open, Stephens was already famous in one game, when she was the 29th seed of the tournament, winning consecutive victories over Halep, Mladenovic, Robson and Jovanowski to reach the quarter-finals.
Her opponent in the quarter-finals was her compatriot Serena Williams, who, despite being the No. 3 seed, agreed that Serena Williams would fall straight behind in the 2012 season, given Serena's highlights in the 2012 season.
However, stephens, who was under 20 years old, won 2-1 to advance to the final four, a victory that instantly opened her up in the tennis world.
Although she was eliminated by Azarenka in the subsequent semifinals, Stephens, as the first American youth player to reach the final four of a Grand Slam since the 2001 US Open, undoubtedly made the outside world full of expectations for her.
After waiting for three or four years, Stephens finally reached the top of the 2017 US Open, bearing in mind that Stephens was only 957th in the world rankings a month ago (foot injury).
At the 2018 French Open, Stephens reached the Grand Slam final for the second time, when he lost to former tournament runner-up Halep, and missed the opportunity to win his second Grand Slam title.
On July 16, 2018, Stephens' world ranking reached the current highest third place, and the World Ranking of the American star, who has accumulated 9 weeks, has now slipped to just 30 meters above the TOP30.
Whether it is the next Serena, the new era of Capriati, Stephens' achievements after becoming famous are indeed far from what the outside world expects, of course, the results of the Grand Slam championship and the first place have been quite outstanding.
Look forward to the 29-year-old Stephens can still bring surprises to the fans! (Source: House of Tennis Author: Barbie)