2021 US Open: Sloane Stephens, 2017 champ, loses first round to Clara Burel in straight sets.

2017 US Open champ Sloane Stephens lost to French player Clara Burel in the first round of this year's US Open, marking her second consecutive first-round elimination. Despite winning the first nine games, Stephens ultimately fell 0-6, 7-5, 7-5. Burel staged a comeback, strategically targeting Stephens' backhand and focusing on one game at a time.