Serena vs. Sloane in battle of best frenemies

Serena vs. Sloane — the showdown is set.

After Serena Williams asserted her dominance again last night, with a 75-minute, 6-3, 6-1, destruction of Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova — which finished past 1 a.m. this morning at Arthur Ashe Stadium — the defending champion delighted fans and TV executives by ensuring the most anticipated fourth-round match in recent U.S. Open history would happen, against 20-year-old Sloane Stephens.

"It's something I think everyone is looking forward to,'' said Stephens, who won earlier in the day but had already been expecting to see Williams in the next round. "I think it'll be epic. I'm really looking forward to it.''

EPA (above; Getty Images (inset)

AMERICAN WOMEN: Serena Williams (above) returns a shot during her 6-3, 6-1 win over Yaroslava Shvedova last night at the U.S. Open which set her up to play fellow American Sloane Stephens, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Jamie Hampton earlier (inset).

When the 15th-seeded Stephens dispatched friend and training partner Jamie Hampton, 6-1, 6-3, it seemed inevitable that the second-ranked American would take on the tournament's top seed, matching up tennis' top frenemies.

Stephens and Williams were once believed to have a mentor-protege relationship, but after Stephens' upset of Williams at the Australian Open earlier this year, the lack of a relationship between the two players soon surfaced. Stephens is one of just three players to beat Williams this year.

When the two played in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Williams was hobbled by a sprained ankle. Stephens came from behind for a breakthrough 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 upset, breaking Williams' 20-match winning streak and breaking open the truth of the relationship. In a May story in ESPN The Magazine, Stephens painted Williams as unhelpful and unfriendly.

"She has said not one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia," Stephens told the magazine. "And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.

"Like, seriously! People should know. They think she's so friendly and she's so this and she's so that — no, that's not reality! You don't unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?"

Stephens, widely and wrongly assumed to have been strongly influenced by the Williams sisters, has cited Kim Clijsters as her favorite player growing up. As a 12-year-old, Stephens was snubbed in her attempt to get an autograph from Venus and Serena.

Recently, though, Stephens has taken a more diplomatic approach regarding the world's top player.

"Obviously we're co-workers, we're Fed Cup teammates, but other than that, everything else is private," Stephens said yesterday. "That's all old news now. We've moved on. We're fine, so I think that's all that matters. ... [I] love her. She's a great competitor, one of the best players to ever play the game. Like I said, [she's a] co-worker, teammate. There's not much else you can say.''

Williams has taken a similar route.

"I mean, I've always really liked Sloane," Williams said. "I have a lot of respect for Sloane. I think she's a great girl. I think she's great for tennis, as well.

"I definitely don't feel like I'm going in there as a favorite because she's playing great, even though I'm playing good, too. She really has nothing to lose and she excels in situations like that. So I think she'll be really good.

After a tight first match, Stephens has lost just six games in the past two rounds, and Williams has dropped only eight games in the tournament.

Stephens, who is 17-15 in regular WTA tourneys, is 15-3 in majors and one of just three women to reach the Round of 16 at every major this year, including Williams.

"I guess Grand Slams are just showtime,'' Stephens said with a shrug.

Now comes the showdown.

brian.lewis@nypost.com

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