Shelby Rogers stuns Serena to reach Top Seed Open semifinals

LEXINGTON, KY, USA (WTA) — It came down to the wire, but Shelby Rogers earned an thunderous upset at the Top Seed Open presented by Bluegrass Orthopaedics on Friday, ousting top seed Serena Williams 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in an all-American affair to claim a spot in the semifinals.

In her first-ever meeting with Williams, Rogers fought back from a set down to grab the win after a hard-hitting two hours and seven minutes of play, collecting her third career victory over a Top 10 player in the process.

“It was important for me going onto the court thinking I could win that match, and knowing I could take care of my service games,” Rogers said, during her post-match press conference. “Because [Williams] has probably the best serve of all time, and when she wants to, she can win a point on her serve.”

“I just tried to control what I could control, and that’s mostly my service games, and then if I had an opportunity, I tried to capitalize,” Rogers added. “I think the few that I did have today, I was able to do that.”

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The stunning result continues a sterling run this week for the the former Top 50 player and 2016 Roland Garros quarterfinalist, who is currently ranked World No.116. Rogers missed over a year of action in 2018 and 2019 due to knee surgery, and was unranked at one point in 2019.

“Six months after [I had] surgery, I didn’t think I was going to be able to play again, ever,” said Rogers. “I’m pretty thankful to gain that perspective after going through that, and be grateful to be on the court competing again.”