Sloane Stephens shocks Serena Williams at Australian Open 2013

Roger Federer played up to his own mythology in the men’s semifinal of the 2013 Australian Open, winning tiebreaks in the second and fourth sets to push Andy Murray to his limit. But in the end, the British No. 3 seed dominated in the fifth set to pull off a victory over the No. 2 seed Swiss legend 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2. Murray will face No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday at Rod Laver Arena.

In the fifth set, Murray won the first game easily, then broke Federer to go up 2-0. He easily backed up his break, and Federer was on the ropes. Federer was able to win his next two service games, but the advantage Murray gained was decisive and he finished off the match by dominating his own service games and ended it with one last break.

Just 24 hours after their quarterfinals matches, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka will meet in the second women’s semifinal on Day 11 at the 2013 Australian Open. Stephens’ upset of Serena Williams was the highlight of the quarterfinals stage, but she has little time to enjoy the potentially career-catapulting win as No. 1 Azarenka comes calling.

Stephens, still a teenager, has steadily improved at each major, and she had encountered relatively little trouble through the first four rounds in Melbourne. But her stay was supposed to end in the quarters, facing her idol in Serena. Williams, however, was bothered by back spasms, and Stephens took advantage by winning the last two sets to pull off the upset.

You can see it. In every tournament Sloane Stephens enters, the “dialed in” to “in a funk” ratio (the fire-to-funk rate?) shifts ever-so-slightly in a more positive direction. Her footwork is just about perfect, her touch and her speed are top-notch, her groundstrokes are just fine, and her power is easily above average. Her knowledge of the game is, as with any 19-year-old, still in development, but it has improved dramatically in just the last year. She has gone from prospect (she has been the “youngest player in the Top __” for a while now) to soon-to-be Top 20 player when the new rankings come out after the Australian Open, and it seems only a matter of time until she enters the Top 10. She is more composed than a 19-year-old probably should be, and after spending quite a while as the future of American tennis, she appears ready for the present tense.

Make no mistake: If Serena Williams doesn’t tweak her back in the second set of Stephens’ eventual 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Stephens probably doesn’t win. Williams is still the more athletic of the two players, but back spasms took away just enough of her mobility and made her just unsure enough in her movement to even things out in that regard. But Stephens’ defensive capabilities and her ability to steer Williams into as many unsure changes-of-direction as possible won her the match. Williams fought a number of ailments in the last two weeks, from a turned ankle to a self-inflicted racquet-to-the-face accident, but she still had enough game to plow into the quarterfinals nearly unchallenged. Stephens challenged her, immediately overcame a break of serve at 3-3 in the third set with a break of her own, then closed out the match with another break.

Sloane Stephens did what no other teenager has ever done in a Grand Slam: She beat Serena Williams. The massive upset came in the quarterfinals of the Australian open on Tuesday night.

After dropping the first set, Stephens was able to win the last two as Serena suffered through back spasms. Williams used an injury timeout in the second set and appeared to be hampered by the injury throughout the last half of the match.

Like many, Sloane Stephens grew up watching American star Serena Williams dominate the tennis world.

Unlike most, the 19-year-old stood on the court Wednesday in Melbourne, faced with the task of putting all the film study to work at the Australian Open women’s quarterfinals.