Defending champion Sloane Stephens became the latest big name to fall at the US Open.

In stiflingly hot conditions on Tuesday, the American went down 6-2 6-3 to Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who is through to her first grand slam semi-final.

The exit of the third seed means Karolina Pliskova is the only member of the world’s top 10 remaining ahead of her last-eight clash with Serena Williams.

Stephens and Sevastova met at the same stage last year, with the American coming from a break down in the final set before winning on a deciding tie-break.

It was arguably the closest she came to defeat in her remarkable run, but this time she could not extricate herself from her predicament.