Nonchalant reaction to Wimbledon loss a blessing and curse for Sloane Stephens

WIMBLEDON -- Her Wimbledon campaign lasted all of 71 minutes.

For the second straight year, Sloane Stephens, the top-ranked American woman in the world, is out at Wimbledon in the first round. And she's not at all concerned by that fact. "I don't hang on to things very long," Stephens said afterward. "I let go of it and move on."

The first American player to drop, Stephens lost Monday afternoon in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to unseeded Croatian Donna Vekic, the No. 55-ranked player in the world. Stephens never found her rhythm, struggled with her footwork and committed 22 unforced errors to only six from Vekic.

But after the loss, Stephens didn't betray disappointment; she didn't storm off the court or cut short her postmatch news conference. "I said to my coach, 'Man, that was unfortunate. She played well.' Not too much you can do. I'm not going to, like, go cry and bang my racket. Can't dwell on it. Can't take it back."

Time and again, Stephens has demonstrated the short-term memory of a home run hitter, not allowing a strikeout to stand in the way of a grand slam in her next at-bat. In the five Slams she's played since returning from a foot injury last July, Stephens has either made the final or lost in the first round, but she hasn't fizzled out early at two tournaments in a row.

In fact, she's followed her fizzles with finals appearances, her early tournament losses less panic-inducing than pattern. What she hasn't figured out how to do is handle the added media attention and pressure that comes with playing deep into the draw and ride the high of that success into the next Slam.

"We play a very long season," Stephens said. "There's no one that is going to win every single week. Even the No. 1 player in the world loses. Sometimes people overreact, say 'I need a new coach, new physio.' I believe that if you just work on yourself and focus on yourself, you'll allow yourself to have success, no matter what else is going on around you. Life does go on."

Stephens had the same message for the media after her first-round loss to China's Zhang Shuai at the Australian Open in January -- her eighth straight loss after winning the US Open in September. "I have learned to not panic. It will be OK," she said then. That nonchalant attitude has arguably served her well over a long season, but it has also caused many to question her hunger to be the best player in the world.

"I question whether she has a burning desire to win more Grand Slams or be No. 1," ESPN analyst Chris Evert said after Stephens' loss in Oz. "I don't see it as much as I do with other players."

In the months after Melbourne, however, Stephens showed fire. She won the Miami Open and played in the final at the French Open, where she lost to world No. 1 Simona Halep in three sets. Stephens then opted out of the grass-court warmup events, but said she arrived at Wimbledon feeling confident and prepared.

She didn't expect to lose so quickly here. But she didn't expect to repeat her French Open performance, either. For the first time in her career, she entered Wimbledon as a Grand Slam champ and on the heels of a stellar performance at Roland Garros, aware that the added pressure might prove heavier than expected. That's a weight she's going to have to learn to carry if she hopes to pocket another Grand Slam win.

"I came in here feeling not too bad," Stephens said. "I thought I'd have not a great tournament, but I was feeling good about myself, the way I was playing. It's unfortunate I lost today. I totally don't want to be in here talking to you guys about losing in the first round of Wimbledon. It's not fun, not what I want to be doing."