LEXINGTON, Ky. _ A day after pulling out a hard-fought victory over her older sister, Serena Williams again found herself embroiled in a bruising battle. This time, she didn't survive the fight.
Shelby Rogers, a 27-year-old American who is No. 116 in the world in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, pulled off a stunning upset, winning a third-set tiebreaker to knock off Williams, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), in the quarterfinals of the Top Seed Open at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville on Friday.
After her victory in the round of 32 that set up the match with Williams, Rogers said she was ecstatic about her first matchup with the 23-time Grand Slam champion. On Friday, she made the most of the opportunity.
"It's every kid's dream when they're growing up watching her play," Rogers said in an interview on the Tennis Channel following her third career victory over a top-10 opponent. "To be able to do something like that ... weird circumstances, weird setting; but, you know, a win is a win and I know we're all just happy to be back playing."
Williams, who entered the Top Seed Open as the No. 1 seed and the ninth-ranked player in the world, appeared to be in line for an easy walk into the semifinals early on. She needed just 26 minutes to capture the first set in dominant fashion.
But the script flipped in the second set. With things knotted at 4-4, Rogers blasted back-to-back service aces to take command. From that point on, Williams was playing catch up.
A day after going toe-to-toe with Venus Williams in a three-set win, Serena appeared to lose steam down the stretch against Rogers. At one point during the third set, she leaned against a wall adjacent to the court and took several deep breaths before returning to action. Williams confirmed that playing two long matches on consecutive days took a toll, but blamed herself for not closing out Rogers when she had the chance.
"Yeah (it was tough), but I (did that) to myself. I had an opportunity to possibly win in straight sets," Williams told the media in a post-match Zoom teleconference. "So I kind of made it difficult on myself by making a plethora of unforced errors."
Rogers will meet Jil Teichmann in the semifinals on Saturday.
