Evening all, and welcome to the final!

So there we go: SLOANE STEPHENS is the champ! Not words anyone supposed to write, but she is, she deserves it, and what a story. It's going to be brilliant seeing how she develops from here and how this rivalry develops.

Night!

FYI chaps, Serena will be back in Australia.

The quality of Stephens' serving was probably the key to her victory. It meant that Keys couldn't get her game going - she just didn't have a sniff. The two players are now sitting together chatting ; Keys looks ill, as you would.

Stephens hugs her mum and cries, as you might. She so nearly wasn't even here, and what an incredible job she and those around her have done to help her recuperate and hold it down. Wow.

Mindful that she's playing her mate, Stephens is understated in her expressions of joy, and the two players hug long and hard at the net. That's nice. Keys must be hurting like billy-o as Stephens goes to her box and hugs the everything out of her coach. She looks unbelievably ecstatic.

Keys starts the game well, considering, a decent serve facilitating an easy winner. But at 30-15 she goes hard at a ball that isn't there to be hit, and at 30-all hits a forehand into the sideline! Championship points! And Stephens dominates the rally, but Keys hangs in there and eventually Stephens nets; well done her. Except she then goes for a backhand down the line and hits it wide; championship point number two! And this one is saved, at the end of another long, tense rally, with a forehand winner! Then she gets to game point, but another loose backhand, this time into the net, means she has to do it all again ... and she can't. Stephens finds a lovely angle for her forehand, Keys can't return, and faces a third championship point! AND KEYS NETS A FOREHAND! SLOANE STEPHENS, SIX WEEKS AGO RANKED 957 IN THE WORLD, WINS THE US OPEN 2017, HER FIRST GRAND SLAM, WITH A BRILLIANT, FAULTLESS PERFORMANCE!

Keys hits lovely forehand to go 0-30 ahead; she cannot waste what, by the standards of the match, constitutes a chance. They play a long rally, and eventually Stephens goes wide, a rare error; three break points, Keys' first of the match. Stephens saves one with a volley, another with an almighty forehand, and the final one with another volley at the end of a long rally. Keys tried a drop shot, a decent one too, but Stephens was just so quick to it, setting her for the winner. and after two goes at deuce, another error on the return puts Stephens just one game away! It's not that it's been easy, of course it hasn't, she's just played perfectly and Keys has had a bad night.

Stephens is flying now, turning Keys' power against her by glancing a backhand winner, inside-out, for 0-30. And she plays another fine point to earn three shys at the double break; the first goes with a service winner, the second with a very good high backhand down the line. Here we go, one last effort ... and Keys serves a double fault! This is basically did, and Keys knows, kicking air, looking gutted, bouncing about like it's all good. But it's not.

Keys gets herself to 0-30; she really needs to do something here, but Stephens serve-volleys and handles herself beautifully before yet another first serve lands Keys thrashes her return wide. Seconds later, two more errors - the second of them returning a second serve that demanded treatment - they're back sitting down and Stephens is at five games in a row. Keys will be panicking now, it's slipping away fast.

Another crap forehand from Keys and it's 0-15, then with the next point in the bag she plays an unnecessarily precise volley, or tries to, is marginally wide and in trouble. Oh dear; Keys plays a great forehand, comes to the net, plays a softarse forehand, and is deservedly passed; three break points. The first is saved via a beautiful forehand onto the baseline, the second thanks to a service winner ... and then Stephens crunches a cross-court pass as Keys comes in! Four games on the spin and something will need to change, else we're all done within 20 minutes.

At no point of that first set was Stephens under pressure; the question is how Keys changes things. Perhaps she can stay in rallies longer and wait for her chances rather than force them, but at 30-all she leaps into a forehand return and hits the net. Bad news for her, that. Still she does close to deuce, only to do nothing in the game thereafter.

Stephens is giving out nowt - Keys is having to fight for everything - and at 30-all a monstrous forehand onto the baseline brings up set point. Keys plays it well, though, a shoulder-high forehand encouraging a response into the net. We then enjoy a deuce exchange before Keys flings herself into a backhand cross-court, but seeking the line, she's marginally wide; another set point. And again, Keys goes for too much and misses! What a great set that is from Stephens, while Keys has made 16 unforced errors!

Two more holds and Stephens has the set ... and she really doesn't look like being broken. Keys has been nowhere near, making 13 unforced errors so far, relative to Stephens' 0. Which is to say that to win a point, Keys has to hit a winner, which she does twice at 40-0 ... only to then net a backhand return. Stephens is one away from the set.

Lovely from Stephens, using a squash shot to get her into play, but a well-directed one, then smacking a forehand down the line for a winner. They end up at 30-all, and Keys is finding the points hard when she doesn't get her first serve in, but then plays two excellent ones to take the game.

Stephens mishits and Keys goes to nail a forehand but overhits; she's not into this yet. But she plays the next point well, a forehand wide and then cleanup into the vacated space. This is more like it from her, a forehand into the corner then a calm drop cranking up the pressure ... but she nets a backhand so we're at 30-all. Stephens is serving pretty well here, raising game point with a second effort, and when Keys nets a backhand the break is consolidated.

Keys finds herself 0-30 down, so unleashes a backhand which cuts the sideline about halfway. Great stuff. But Stephens takes the next point and has two goes to break ... she only needs one! Keys goes long with a forehand, and there we are! Stephens is looking good.

Keys isn't steaming hot like she was against Vandeweghe, who didn't actually play that badly. The thing also is that Stephens is far quicker, so able to get to more - and she anticipates better too - so again holds easily.

Keys again loses the first point of the game, she's hitting the ball so bloody hard - you can tell the difference when she opens her shoulders - and Stephens can do nothing. She'll need mistakes to break; Keys has the option of winners.