NEW YORK: There were 22 American women in the draw at the start of the American Open. Among them were rising stars, teenage phenomena and even a former champion.
But on Saturday night, there was only one country girl left, and frankly, it wasn’t any of that stuff.
After defeating world number one and two-time major champion Ash Barty in a dramatic third-set tiebreaker, 28-year-old Shelby Rogers left the last woman in the United States triumphant.
Rogers was behind 5-2 in the final set and his fate among the rest of his teammates seemed sealed. For the first time in the history of the open era, it looked like there would be no American women in the round of 16.
But point by point, and then game by game, Rogers put himself back in the game with amazing variety and relentless energy driven by the support of the local people. When she won the final point of the match 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (5), she put her hands over her incredulous mouth before raising her arms above her head, retired. As he walked around the Arthur Ashe Stadium track, greeting and recognizing the attendees, he couldn’t help but smile.
More than an hour later, at the press conference, the smile had not yet faded.
“I’m stunned,” Rogers told reporters. “My heart rate is still very high. I am very excited about this victory.”
Several of the best American women, such as Serena Williams, Sofia Kenin and Jennifer Brady, were unable to play in the US Open due to injury and illness, and few would have predicted that Rogers, number 43 in the world, would be the upward election in his absence. Not with players like a resurrected Sloane Stephens or rising superstar Coco Gauff in the mix.
But while Rogers has flown well under the radar, Saturday’s victory isn’t entirely unexpected. Since returning from the tour last year after a five-month hiatus due to the pandemic, Rogers has achieved some of his best results. She defeated Serena Williams in the first tournament after the break and then reached her first quarterfinal at the 2020 U.S. Open, after eight previous appearances, defeating No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova in the fourth. round. He lost to eventual champion Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals, but the experience in the second week gave him new confidence.
He reached the fourth round at the Australian Open for the first time to start the 2021 season and achieved a 40th race ranking over the summer.
Still, he entered the game with a 0-5 career record against Barty, who has been one of the most consistent players on the tour and won five titles in 2021. The two had met four times this season and Rogers never had an answer Barty.
But on Saturday he took advantage of previous meetings.
“I think tonight going to the track I told myself I didn’t want to lose the same way I lost the last five times against her,” Rogers said. “I just tried to do things a little differently. In the first set I mixed with some high balls, I had a lot of patience with his slice because he won’t miss it very often. I know that very well.
“In the second and third [set], definitely raised her level, as she does. That is, she is the number 1 player in the world for a reason. But I started wanting to hit the ball a little harder, looking for some winners if I could. It’s the tennis I like to play, it’s what she wants me to do. He wants to redirect me and finish me off the yard, waiting to be missed. Tonight I was just happy and I was proud to solve problems, if you will … It ended up working somehow. “
The two shared a warm hug at the end of the match, and even received a cordial greeting when Barty left the press conference and Rogers came in to speak. Admired by her WTA tour colleagues for her enthusiasm and positive attitude, despite some devastating setbacks, including a 2018 knee injury and surgery that kept her away from home for nearly a year, Barty said she was disappointed with the result of the night, but that she couldn’t be too upset to lose against Rogers.
“Tennis is a pity that every day there is a winner and a loser, but sometimes you don’t mind losing with certain people,” Barty said. “I think Shelby [because of] his personality and character is definitely one of those for me. “
Rogers will face 18-year-old Emma Raducanu on Monday in a place in her consecutive quarterfinals. She never made it to the semifinals in a major event, but she didn’t think about that Saturday or think much about being the only hope the country had left in the women’s draw. Rogers just wants to catch him one day and one opponent at a time.
“I do not try to think about it [being] the last one in the draw because there are also a lot of other non-American players I’m trying to beat, “Rogers said.” I’m moving on. Tomorrow I have doubles, I focus on that and then I move on to the next singles match. “