Sloane Stephens suffered a collapse of epic proportions and was eliminated from the US Open.

The struggling American won the first nine games and served to win the second and third sets, but then lost to Clara Burel.

The Frenchwoman took a stunning 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory and sent Stevens home from Flushing Meadows.

It is the third tournament in a row in which Stephens has lost her opening match after being knocked out in Washington and Toronto.

Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, dominated the first set and appeared to be in complete control under the floodlights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

But after taking a 6-0 and 3-0 lead, she began to falter. Stephens dropped seven of the next nine shots and ended up having to play the third set.

After both players broke before the third set, Stephens held serve and then broke to make it 2-0.

But in a set with six breaks, Burel managed a break and equalized at 2:2.

At 5-4, she managed a break to serve for the match win, but she managed another break, allowing Burel to equalize at 5-5.

Stephens dropped the last two games – starting the last game with a disastrous double fault – and was sent home.

“I was a little nervous at the beginning. Sloane Stephens made it difficult for me,” said Burel in a TV interview on the court. “I just kept fighting. I found a way to

“I think that was the turning point when I tried to be more aggressive, I started winning more points… it started to pay off.”