Let's hope this is just the beginning for a new chapter in women's tennis

It was not a three-set match. Nor was it a nail-biter. There was not much suspense in determining a winner. But the women's U.S. Open final still ended with a great moment between American foes and friends, No. 15 seed Madison Keys and unseeded Sloane Stephens.

The Saturday-afternoon match ended with a shot into the net from Keys. On the other end of the court, it wasn't a display of emphatic or vocal emotion. Stephens looked up toward her box seemingly in disbelief. She had just won her first grand slam in her first trip to a final, beating Keys 6-3, 6-0.

As she made her way to the net for the customary handshake with her opponent, the two friends embraced for a long few moments. Tears were shed. They had both fought nerves at the beginning of the match, each stepping onto the big stage in Flushing Meadows for the first time. Not to mention there's the pressure of it being the U.S. Open, the slam in their home country.

When I watched them hug at the net, I could feel the relief. The happiness for Stephens. The disappointment for Keys. And still, the accomplishment for both of them. I certainly hope this is the start of something great for them and the women's tennis landscape in general.

Expect the unexpected
It was a much better women's tournament than I expected. As I outlined in my preview, the women's draw had some key players like Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka out. Plus, players seem to get upset a lot. That still happened; No. 2 seed Simona Halep lost in the first round to Maria Sharapova, the qualifier on the comeback tour.

I did make mention of Keys and Stephens in my previous post, also mentioning that it's anybody's guess as to the two women that would step up to compete for the title.

"A couple other Americans that fans are familiar with: Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens. Keys is seeded at No. 15 while Stephens is unseeded. I'm still waiting for these two in particular to raise the level of their game to carry the torch for American women's tennis. It just hasn't worked out that way so far."

In the past, Keys and Stephens haven't always matched the pressure of the slams. They've bowed out in early rounds when they had a higher seed next to their names. This time though, they just kept winning.

The semifinal matches were already historic. Stephens beat Venus Williams; Keys beat CoCo Vandeweghe. The all-American affair marked the first time since 1981 that it was four American women left standing at the U.S. Open. I think I also saw that with Stephens' win, she's the first American female winner of a grand slam not named Williams, since Jennifer Capriati won the Australian Open in 2002.

Women's tennis scene has been the same for a while 
That isn't some insignificant statistic. Women's tennis for the past decade or more has been dominated by the Williams sisters. Sure, there were others in there. Capriati had her time. Then there was Lindsay Davenport - now the coach for Keys. But I keep waiting for someone else to step up and dominate; Venus had re-surged as a 37-year-old, and sister Serena, with a ton of titles, is 35 and just had a baby. They've had plenty of success, but in sports, that doesn't last forever.

I've seen some flashes in the pan over the years. The big one that comes to mind is Melanie Oudin, who made it to the quarterfinals of the Open in 2009 when she was just 17 years old. She beat Sharapova in her prime. But she wasn't heard from much again, going through some health issues before officially retiring from tennis last month.

So, I figured Stephens and Keys could fill the void. They've had their share of upsets though. I wasn't sure if they'd be here to stay, or if they'd be players you'd hear about getting bounced in the first round more often than not.

Of course, maybe the expectations were too high. After all, Keys is just 22 years old, Stephens is 24. Still plenty of time for these gals to have their spotlight in tennis. That's what makes this tournament so encouraging. In the semi against Venus, it took Stephens three sets in an odd match. Stephens cruised to a first-set win as Venus seemed out of sorts. Venus took the second set without any trouble. In the third set, Stephens dug deep and pulled off some spectacular shots to give her the edge for the 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 victory.

Focus on the bigger picture, not the final Xs and Os
Again, the final match wasn't the thriller everyone might have expected. Keys just had too many unforced errors while Stephens hardly made any. Keys seemed to find her game again down 4-0 in the second set, but she let three break chances slip away.

The specifics of the match really weren't the story though. There are the rankings, of course, with Keys ranked No. 16 in the world and Stephens 83 - apparently the lowest rankings for the two players in the title match at the U.S. Open since computerized rankings were a thing. But even more amazing is the fact that both players were injured earlier this year.

Oh, and they each had surgery. They both sat out the Australian Open in January. Stephens had surgery on her foot that month. She was ranked No. 957 in the world on Aug. 1. Keys dealt with a wrist injury and a pair of surgeries.

If you like rankings drama, consider that with the win Stephens will be ranked No. 17 come Monday. From 957 a littler more than a month ago to 17. Numbers aren't my strong suit, but I'd say that's pretty good.

Sure, there was no Serena in this tournament. No Azarenka. Both players with slam titles under their belts. I'm still encouraged by what I saw from Keys and Stephens throughout the tournament. I'd like to think it will give them both a confidence boost to keep improving their games so Stephens can add more slam titles to her list, and so Keys can be hungry to come back and win a slam, too.

I wouldn't mind seeing these two in a few more grand slam finals over the next few years.