INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Serena-Sloane IV is in the books, and the takeaway from Williams' 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round win is that maybe this complicated ball of yarn is something of a rivalry after all. The reasons had less to do with their résumés and more about the energy they bring to the court.
Each player pushes the other, and in Williams' case, it's a supreme compliment. By the end of the match, when she and Stephens enjoyed a warm smile at the net, Williams had re-established her championship bona fides, finding the reserve to overcome an afternoon when she really didn't have it. Williams lost the first three games of the match and produced nine double faults. In the end, despite 14 aces, her first-serve percentage was just over 50 percent for the match.
Still, none of this stopped Williams from taking over the match after losing a first-set tiebreaker. After two hours, the signature moment was an old one. Serving at 5-2, 30-all, she hit a thundering 128 mph ace. On the next point, Stephens netted a forehand and the match was over.
In Stephens' case, the afternoon revealed her enormous talent, but it also showcased the depth of her enigmatic game. We saw just how far she really needs to go to be a great player instead of a great talent. Over three sets, especially early in the first, Stephens' ability shone through. Williams was unsettled by her opponent's easy power. Stephens has one of the biggest forehands -- down the line, inside out and crosscourt -- in the game. She tracks balls, plays great defense, and on several occasions showed why she can be so dangerous. Shots that Williams would traditionally punctuate with a verbal exclamation point came back over the net.
Williams was ripe for a defeat, but Stephens seemed not to sense it. Her body language sank with a prime opportunity in front of her. After a stirring tiebreaker that showed Stephens has the game to stand up against the world's best, she never played with the same urgency and fight again. "Yeah, I thought I played a really solid first set," Stephens said. "Obviously, I was playing the No. 1 player in the world, so it was going to be a little tough. She played well in the second and third set. You know, you win some, you lose some. It was a good effort by me."
The heat of the afternoon should have played to Stephens' advantage against a player 12 years her senior. But it was Stephens who wilted; she was broken in the opening game of the second set. She not only lost the set but also barely forced Williams to expend any energy for the winner-take-all third.
Instead, Williams powered her way through, breaking early in the third, turning what could have been a compelling decider into another coronation.
Still undefeated in 2015, Williams, who will play Timea Bacsinszky in the quarterfinals, was subdued against Stephens but had enough to move a step closer to the title. The 19-time Grand Slam champ never yelled once, not a single exhortation to raise her game.
"Yes, I was fine," Williams said of her reserve. "I just felt like if anything, I could just stay out there and just stay focused and take it as an experience to get used to a three-set match."