Shelby Rogers notched an upset in the second round of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic on Wednesday, as the American knocked out No.8 seed and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada, 6-4, 7-5.
Stat corner: Big victories in 2021 are nothing new for World No.43 Rogers, who now has six victories over Top 20 opposition this year after powering past World No.20 Andreescu. Over her career, Rogers has collected 19 Top 20 wins.
Andreescu had won her last 11 matches against American opponents coming into her first meeting with Rogers. However, Rogers upended that record with victory in just under two hours.
Rogers had only 14 winners to Andreescu's 27, but the Canadian more than doubled Rogers's unforced error count, by 35 to 16. Each player had eight break points during the clash, but Rogers converted three of those chances, while Andreescu only made good on one.
Trust is key 🔑
— wta (@WTA) September 29, 2021
🇺🇸 @Shelby_Rogers_ after her win over the No.8 seed Andreescu.#ChicagoTennisFestival pic.twitter.com/308cXT7648
Key moments: Andreescu had many opportunities to take a very early lead, when she held five break points in a protracted 2-1 game in the opening set. Yet Rogers was able to serve her way out of trouble in that game and hold on for 2-2.
That gritty performance helped Rogers seal the first set, as Andreescu faltered in the next game, hitting two double faults while dropping serve. Up a break, Rogers refused to yield, and she did not face any more break points in the opening frame as she stormed to a one-set lead.
A backhand winner gave Rogers the early break in the second set as well, but after holding that lead all the way to 5-4, the American could not serve out the match, as Andreescu broke for 5-5 with a forehand crosscourt winner.
But a topsy-turvy tussle followed, where Rogers converted her fourth break point of the game to reclaim the break lead at 6-5. In her second chance serving for victory, Rogers needed only one match point in the next game to triumph.
Next up: In the round of 16, Rogers will face this week’s surprise package in Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama.
The 22-year-old Hontama, who is ranked World No.200 and is playing her first WTA main draw, cruised past former Top 5 player Caroline Garcia in the first round, 6-3, 6-0. She then moved into the round of 16 after No.11 seed Anett Kontaveit withdrew from the event due to a left thigh injury.
Hi @ChiTennisFest 🤗🎾
— Shelby Rogers (@Shelby_Rogers_) September 25, 2021
Some CLEAN ball striking from @Clijsterskim today 🙌🏼💥 pic.twitter.com/UeQWBcDAGa
Azarenka battles past Baptiste: In the final match of the day, former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka prevailed in a back-and-forth encounter, outlasting 19-year-old wildcard Hailey Baptiste, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
A whopping 20 of Azarenka's 21 career WTA singles titles have come on hardcourt, with nine of those being obtained in the United States. The two-time major champion is still in the hunt to add to those totals after her 2-hour and 7-minute victory over Baptiste.
No.14 seed Azarenka of Belarus will now face her fellow two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 Garbiñe Muguruza in the round of 16.
Head to Head
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Azarenka nearly did not make it to her meeting with Muguruza, as she let a hefty lead slip away before regrouping in the third set to triumph over rising American teen Baptiste, who is ranked World No.174.
After cruising through the opening set, Azarenka faced a sterner challenge from Baptiste in the second set. Baptiste exhibited some sturdy forehands to stay with the former World No.1 through 5-4 in the second set. In that game, Azarenka faltered, hitting four double faults -- three of those consecutively to lose the set.
Baptiste kept the momentum at the start of the third set, moving ahead 3-0. But Azarenka refused to succumb, and she pulled back on serve at 3-2 with an error-forcing forehand on break point. Experience won out from there, with Azarenka collecting the final six games of the clash to eke out the win.
Baptiste finished the match with 28 winners to Azarenka's 18, and had only one more unforced error than the Belarusian. However, Azarenka moved to victory by creating more chances to break: the No.14 seed was 6-for-10 on break points, while Baptiste's total was half of that, 3-for-5.
Victorious Vondrousova: Marketa Vondrousova pulled off an upset on Wednesday, as the Olympic silver medalist from the Czech Republic beat No.4 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-3, 6-2.
In the first meeting between the two, 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Vondrousova defeated this year’s Roland Garros runner-up Pavlyuchenkova after an hour and 12 minutes of play.
World No.41 Vondrousova picked on the Russian's second serve, winning 70 percent of those points. That helped the Czech convert six of her seven break points.
Vondrousova will now face No.16 seed Jil Teichmann of Switzerland for a spot in the quarterfinals. It will be their first professional meeting, although Teichmann defeated Vondrousova in a clay-court junior event in Switzerland in 2015.
