PARIS: Sloane Stephens showed on Sunday how phenomenal her game can be when her “heart and body” are “connected”, as unlucky Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus discovered in the first round of the French Open. The American, who embarked on a forgettable eight-match losing streak immediately after her U.S. Open triumph last September, was at her destructive best as she walloped Rus 6-2 6-0 to chalk up her first win at a major since joining the grand slam winners’ club herself. With the benefit of hindsight, Stephens now believes she should have known better than to put her body through that five-month losing run, which included a first-round exit at the Australian Open in January. “I tried to do way more than I should have after the US Open and I should have just shut it down,” 10th seed Stephens, who missed the claycourt major last year while recovering from a foot injury, told reporters. “My heart was there but my body wasn’t. So when the two things aren’t connected, it’s never a good thing.” However, when the two things are connected, it is not a good thing for her opponents. Published in Daily Times, May 28th 2018.