(September 28, 2012) -- Working with her new USTA-appointed travel coach this week, 19-year-old American Shelby Rogers scored a solid 6-3, 6-4 win over former world Top 15 player Elena Bovina of Russia on Friday at the Party Rock Open, a women’s $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event sponsored by Redfoo of the hit group LMFAO and being played at the Darling Tennis Center.

 

Rogers said teaming with her new coach Sylvan Guichard from the USTA has been huge for her game in just the short one week they’ve worked together. “He’s just been incredible with me this week,” Rogers said. “I think he’s helped my serve this week. I’ve just been having fun and going after my shots.”

 

Rogers, from Charleston, S.C., and ranked No. 243 in the world, will play qualifier Adriana Perez of Venezuela in the first semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. Perez turned in an impressive performance beating American teenager Jessica Pegula, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5), in another three-hour plus match on Friday.

 

In the other Party Rock Open semifinal it will be No. 2-seeded Lauren Davis meeting No. 4 seed Anastasia Rodionova of Australia, in the 6 p.m. semifinal. In the late match on Friday, it was Davis beating Mallory Burdette, the No. 7 seed, 6-3, 7-5.

 

Rogers is playing her third Las Vegas USTA Pro Circuit event and said she just loves all things Las Vegas. “It’s definitely a nice change having the tournament at the Darling Tennis Center,” she said. “It’s been a fun tournament. I’ve been relaxed which has been huge. It’s been good for me to keep it relaxed and fun.”

 

Rogers held a 5-2 lead in the second set but Bovina held serve and came back to make it 5-4 before Rogers broke serve to win the match.

 

Rogers said she was aware of the fact that Bovina – a former US Open quarterfinalist – was down 5-1 in the third set in her second-round match against American Chi Chi Scholl but came back to win. “I knew she would give it her all to come back and wasn’t going to give me anything,” she said. “So I was ready for it, but I couldn’t do much about it until 5-4. She’s so experienced so this was nothing new to her.”

 

Rogers found her self down 4-1 yesterday in the first set to Stephanie Dubois but came back to win the set in a tiebreaker and the match in straight sets.

 

“Trust in my game is one of the key factors,” she said. “I won my first pro tournament earlier this year winning the Yakima USTA Pro Circuit. I’m feeling good now and healthy.”

 

In the doubles semifinals on Friday, the top-seeded team of Anastasia Rodionova and Arina Rodionova beat Pegula and Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Sunday final. They will oppose Bovina and Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania.