9:55 PMNEW YORK — Two years ago, the semifinals of the 2017 US Open featuring Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Venus Williams was historic, marking the first time that three African American women had advanced that deep in the tournament.

There’s still a chance that history, and Black Girl Magic, can be duplicated this year. But only Keys from that trio of two years ago has a chance to be a part of it.

Keys, the runner-up to Stephens in 2017, hit her stride after a slow start in Wednesday’s second-round match against Lin Zhu of China for an easy straight-sets win (6-4, 6-1) to advance to the third round on Friday.

Williams was competitive against the tournament’s fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, but wound up losing in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). Williams, who had played in the semifinals of two Slams in 2017 (making the final of the Australian Open and the semifinals here), hasn’t reached the second week of a major since losing in that historic 2017 semifinal against Stephens.

And Stephens was stunned in her late-night first-round match on Tuesday against Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya (6-3, 6-4). Stephens has lost in the first round of two Slams she has played since winning here in 2017 and hasn’t won a tournament in more than a year.

Stephens, ranked 10th in the world, was hoping that reuniting with the coach who helped her win that 2017 US Open title, Kamau Murray, would help her get back to championship form. She never had a chance late Tuesday, getting outplayed by a player who had never cracked the top 100 (currently ranked 127th) in her four-year career. It was Kalinskaya’s first win in a Grand Slam match.

“It’s disappointing, but just keep going,” Stephens said. “There’s a couple of more tournaments left. I’m just going to try to do my best there, finish out the year decently.”

If you only watched Williams lumber around the court at times during breaks in her match against Svitolina, you might have wondered how many more years the 39-year-old has left. But once the ball was in play, Williams, who played her best match of the year in the first round, was extremely competitive and fought off five match points while down 5-3 in the second set.

Williams has won seven Slams in her career, including two here in New York. Despite having not won here since 2001, and not winning a Slam since the 2008 Wimbledon, Williams said she still has a strong desire to continue playing.

“There’s a lot to build on,” Williams said. “I’m excited to get to my next matches and sad it had to end early here.”

Keys gets to play on in a field that still includes Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, Taylor Townsend and Naomi Osaka as the women of color still alive in singles. For Keys, playing the US Open is sentimental: It’s the site of her first Grand Slam match win and her first Grand Slam final.

“I love playing here,” Keys said. “The crowd is always amazing; there’s been matches where I’ve been pretty much down and out, and the crowd has stayed behind me.”