By Erik Gudris | Sunday, January 15, 2017
American Shelby Rogers handed No. 4 seed Simona Halep a surprise opening round loss at the Australian Open.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
For unseeded Shelby Rogers, her Australian Open first round match ended with a unexpected delight. For No. 4 seed Simona Halep, it was a familiar, yet not welcomed result.
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Rogers powered past Halep with a surprise straight sets win thus handing the Romanian another opening round loss in Melbourne for the second year in a row.
The 52nd-ranked Rogers, who reached the French Open quaterfinals in 2016, stayed level with Halep right from the start on Rod Laver Arena. Rogers, with heavy pace and depth, matched Halep’s trademark baseline defense.
Though Rogers missed out on three early break point chances, the American soon made her move. At 3-all, Rogers punched a high forehand winner to earn yet another break point. Halep soon netted a forehand of her own handing Rogers a 4-3 lead.
Strong serving from Rogers allowed her later to serve out the set at love for 6-3.
Before the start of the second set, Halep requested a visit from the trainer who gave the former Roland Garros finalist some tablets. Halep, who looked weary, could not find answers to stop Rogers’ momentum.
Rogers, with more strong hitting, soon enjoyed an early service break after Halep sent another shot wide.
From there, it was just up to Rogers to keep her composure while continuing to hit her shots and keep up her strong serving. She did just that by blasting a down the line forehand winner to earn another break for 4-1.
Halep offered little resistance as Rogers marched to the final game. Roger broke Halep’s serve in the final game to seal the convincing 6-3, 6-1 win.
Halep racked up 19 unforced errors while Rogers struck 26 winners.
For Halep, it’s the second year in a row that she has lost in the opening round of the Australian Open. Halep has also lost in the opening round of the major four out of the last six years.
Rogers, after the match, spoke about the special victory considering she did not play in Melbourne last year.