French Open 2014: American's last hope falls as Simona Halep drops Sloane Stephens

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The American's last hurrah on both the men's and women's side of the French Open ended on Monday when Sloane Stephens lost in her fourth round match agianst Simona Halep.

Stephens lost 6-4, 6-3 to Halep, the Romanian who was made famous locally by the now-defunct Sports by Brooks blog that showed pictures of her before breast reduction surgery. That's been a few years now, and Halep continues to climb the charts receiving the four seed in the French Open and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Hope for new great new American talent is small these days in tennis, but it's continuing to improve. The two stars on both sides are John Isner for the men and Stephens continues to emerge for the women. If there's anything we learned in the French Open this year, it's that Serena Williams' age is starting to show and it's only a matter of time before her dominance will dwindle like her sister, Venus. Both of them lost back-to-back early last week.

Stephens wasn't exactly thrilled from her match, but she was complimentary to her opponent afterwards (via ESPNW).

"It was a tough match, but she has played pretty consistent over the last nine months," Stephens said. "It's always tough against someone who is really consistent and has a lot of confidence and just plays a solid game. It definitely was tough, and there are a lot of things to take away from the match."

Stephens still continues to make a name for herself, reaching the fourth round in six straight Grand Slam events. But she's never made a final in any tournament yet on tour, a goal that's still on her radar and she won't be happy until she achieves it.

As her fame grows, media pressure will certainly align with it. At 21 years of age, her youth clearly shows as she snaps back at some reporter questions. Hopefully she'll become cooler and calm as she grows up, and winning would certainly ice the tension that will mount for her.