Shelby Rogers, one game from losing, turns it around

Shelby Rogers (photo by Daniel Ward)

Local favorite Shelby Rogers thrilled her fans tonight when she staged a comeback against countrywoman Caty McNally, defeating her 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 in a match that lasted almost two hours. Rogers was down a set and 5-3 when she turned the match around. Afterwards, she said:

"She was serving really, really well, and I wasn't getting into enough points on her service game. So I had  to come up with something there to stay in the match. Thankfully, it worked. Sometimes just little adjustments like that can really change your momentum. And you just kind of not only physically work your way back into the match, but mentally, too. And I thought the more momentum I got, she got a little down on herself, too. Sometimes it only takes one point in a tennis match, and I've been on both ends of it. So you just never give up. You never know what's going to happen."

Caty McNally (photo by Daniel Ward)

Also winning today was defending champion Belinda Bencic, who defeated Katherine Sebov 6-0, 6-3.

Belinda Bencic (photo by Daniel Ward)

The match I most wanted to watch today lasted two hours and fifty-six minutes, which didn't surprise me at all, considering who the competitors were. 8th seed Magda Linette defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-7, 7-5, 6-4. The bad part was that--due to various unfortunate circumstances --I wasn't able to watch it. Linette, who performed really well in Charleston last year, will next face 9th seed (and 2019 champion) Madison Keys, who defeated Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-2.

Magda Linette (photo by Daniel Ward)

Varvara Gracheva (photo by Daniel Ward)