By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World No. 43 Shelby Rogers from the United States did the unthinkable and displayed nerves of steel after ousting top seed Ash Barty, 6-2,1-6, 7-6, in the third round of the ongoing 2021 US Open.
Down 5-2 in the last set against the world’s no. 1 tennis player, Rogers tried to collect herself and pulled off a massive comeback to force an intense tiebreaker.
Rogers seemed to have the early grip of the match after figuring out Barty in the first set which she won, 6-2.
However, Barty shook off her poor first set performance and lessened her unforced errors to come back with crushing force, allowing Rogers to only score a single point in the set.
Barty looked like she was about to run over Rogers again in the third set and was a set away to advance in the fourth round.
Complete chaos struck as Rogers fired back with resiliency and poise to force a deciding tiebreak match where she went toe-to-toe with Barty.
Leading 6-5 with match-point called on Rogers, everyone in Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted in awe after Barty returned an outside slice for the final point of the match.
“I just tried to fight for every point. That’s so cliche, I’m sorry. You guys were awesome. I didn’t want to leave. I just said you know make balls, try to stay in this match, can’t get any worse, you lost to her every time. So, try something different,” said Rogers.
With the win, Rogers will now tackle the heavy-hitting Emma Raducanu from the United Kingdom in the Round of 16.
