Yes, Sloane Stephens should be concerned with recent slump

his was Sloane Stephens four months ago: standing center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York as the newly crowned US Open champion with a wide smile, a big check ($3.7 million — by far the biggest of her career) and an amazing story of becoming the lowest-ranked player to win that event.

And this was Stephens on Saturday morning in Australia as she sat before the media just days before her opening-round match against Zhang Shuai of China on Tuesday: solemn, defensive and wound way, way too tight.

Winning your first title — whether it’s the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals or a tennis Grand Slam — is a grueling process.

Some use that journey as a stepping stone to sustained greatness.

Others find remaining at that high level of greatness to be more challenging.

In 2017, Stephens went from being ranked No. 934 in the world to US Open champion in just over a month.

And since that amazing moment? Stephens hasn’t won a singles match, including losses to the likes of Aryna Sabalenka (No. 78 in the WTA rankings at the time of their November match in the Fed Cup), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 87 going into their Fed Cup match) and most recently Camila Giorgi (No. 100 at the time of their match in Sydney last week).

Maybe that’s why ESPN analyst Chris Evert threw a little shade at Stephens during a conference call last week when she was told the 24-year-old US Open champion hadn’t won a match since New York.

“I question whether she has a burning desire to win more Grand Slams or to be No. 1 in the world,” Evert said. “I don’t see that burning desire as much as I see it with other players. I’m sure that’s just my opinion; maybe I’m wrong.”

We know Evert has been wrong before when she has taken this journey. Who can forget her “open letter” to Serena Williams back in 2006 when she questioned the commitment of arguably the best player in the history of women’s tennis. “I wonder whether 20 years from now,” Evert wrote, “you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 percent of yourself into tennis.”

But here’s the difference: At the time, Williams had seven Grand Slam titles under her belt.

Last year was the first time Stephens had appeared in a Grand Slam final.

Asked how her life had changed since winning the US Open, Stephens initially claimed “it hadn’t changed that much because I don’t like to do much.”

But when pressed later, she admitted to the adjustments in her life over the past …

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