| place: Flushing Meadows, New York date: August 30 – September 12 |
| coverage: Daily radio commentary on the BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra / BBC Sport website and app, with selected live text commentaries and matching reports on the website and app |
World number one Ash Barty fell in the third round of the US Open after Shelby Rogers made an impressive comeback in front of a raucous crowd in New York.
Wimbledon champion Barty led 5-2 in the final set and made two appearances in the match but home favorite Rogers returned to the competition.
Then the world number 43 came through the tiebreak to stun the top seed 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5).
She will face British teen Emma Radocano next.
Barty was off-beat in the first set but seemed to have found, if not her best form, enough to take her into the fourth round.
However, with the crowd’s help, Rogers put in an impressive shot-making display to defeat Barty for the first time in six attempts.
It’s only Barty’s eighth loss in what has been a sterling season.
“You guys are in control of the tournament,” Rogers told the fans.
“You were great and didn’t want to leave. I just wanted to make balls and stay in the game.”
Barty swings along the house
Barty did all the hard work, overcoming a slow start to control the match, but her form deserted her again as she served for a spot in the round of 16.
Despite possessing a double break pad, Barty looked cramped when she first served in the match, and a confining forehand that gave Rogers the break triggered a loud “ongoing” from her opponent and the crowd.
Rogers signaled to the crowd to make more noise and they responded, and this helped her fend off Barty in her 30-30 service game, and the American quickly created another breakout opportunity the next day.
A forehand from Barty kept her in the match but Rogers, out of nowhere, upped her game, and was rushed by the crowd as she made her way to 5-5.
The tiebreak was a tense affair at first, both players lost their routine shots as they tried to finish points quickly, but it was Barty who closed his eyes first.
The two players exchanged a warm word and hugged the nets before Rogers poured tears into the air and cheered from the crowd.
Barty is a pragmatic character but she will know this match is on her racket.
She also got warm support from the fans as she recovered from a poor start that made her send four double faults to break early in the opening set.
The Australian couldn’t find her on her radar, and a forehand in particular looked off, and she finished the first set with 17 non-compulsive fouls, compared to just seven winners.
Although she forced herself back into some form, the resilience of Rogers – and the Arthur Ashe crowd – proved too far for Barty.
Presented by Andreescu and Pliskova
Earlier, Champion 2019 Bianca Andreescu He only needed 67 minutes to clear out lucky loser Gret Minin and reach the fourth round of the US Open.
The Canadian sixth seed, who is recovering from a long knee injury, beat the Belgian 6-1, 6-2.
The 21-year-old has so far won the past 10 tiebreakers in New York.
She is facing an exciting match in the round of 16 against the semi-finals of the French Open Maria Scary After the Greek beat Petra Kvitova incomplete 6-4, 6-3.
Czech 10th seed Kvitova committed 34 unforced errors compared to just 16 winners as she struggled for consistency.
Scari and Andreescu last met at the Miami Open in April, with the Canadian winning the third set in the third set in a match that ended at 01:30 local time.
Wimbledon final Carolina Pliskova She highlighted her meeting with Australian Agla Tomljanovic.
The Czech fourth seed, runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2016, took just over an hour to win 6-3 6-2.
Olympic gold medalist Belinda Pensic She also advanced to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over American Jessica Pegula.
Switzerland’s Bencic won the French Open last year Iga Swiatek Next, the Pole beat Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Swiatek is the only WTA player to reach Week 2 of every Grand Slam in 2021.
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