Post by Admin on Sept 6, 2021 5:13:40 GMT
Shelby Rogers had never upset a world No. 1 and had never beaten Ashleigh Barty. She did both in the match of her life Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The young American earned her on-court, postmatch selfies the hard way. She rallied from two break points down in the final set, coming from behind to beat Barty, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), at a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Rogers had been 0-6 lifetime against top-ranked foes, and 0-5 vs. Barty — including four losses this year. But down 5-2 in the third, the last U.S. woman left in Flushing Meadows started hitting backhand winners, cheeky lob shots and stoked the partisan crowd into a frenzy. And she rode their energy to a stunning victory.
“I’m stunned. My heart rate is still very much elevated,” said Rogers, who had to scrap her game plan to win.
“Down 5-2, two breaks, not looking too good. I had thoughts of ‘Well, good try. Here we go again. … She got me again, [she is] too good.’ Then, I tried to brush that away and say, ‘Let’s try to make some balls here, get the crowd into it.’ … The crowd’s been nuts. I’m partially deaf after that [noise]. I said, you know what, if I’m going down, I’m going to give a last dying effort.”
A stunned Shelby Rogers celebrates her third-round upset win over Ash Barty at the U.S. Open.
The young American earned her on-court, postmatch selfies the hard way. She rallied from two break points down in the final set, coming from behind to beat Barty, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5), at a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Rogers had been 0-6 lifetime against top-ranked foes, and 0-5 vs. Barty — including four losses this year. But down 5-2 in the third, the last U.S. woman left in Flushing Meadows started hitting backhand winners, cheeky lob shots and stoked the partisan crowd into a frenzy. And she rode their energy to a stunning victory.
“I’m stunned. My heart rate is still very much elevated,” said Rogers, who had to scrap her game plan to win.
“Down 5-2, two breaks, not looking too good. I had thoughts of ‘Well, good try. Here we go again. … She got me again, [she is] too good.’ Then, I tried to brush that away and say, ‘Let’s try to make some balls here, get the crowd into it.’ … The crowd’s been nuts. I’m partially deaf after that [noise]. I said, you know what, if I’m going down, I’m going to give a last dying effort.”
A stunned Shelby Rogers celebrates her third-round upset win over Ash Barty at the U.S. Open.