Rogers, Townsend Pull Off Upsets While Keys is Bounced at Citi Open

American Shelby Rogers has been one of the rising stars on the women’s circuit and has enjoyed the best month of her professional career in July. The 21-year old from South Carolina reached her first ever WTA final at Bad Gastein earlier in the month, and has now followed that up with an upset over third-seeded and 21st ranked Alize Cornet in the first round of the Citi Open on Monday.

Rogers knocked off the French Cornet 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to advance into the second round yesterday. She climbed back from a 5-2 deficit to win the opening frame and rallied in the third set to pull of the shocker.

“I had a really tournament in Austria, so coming off that, I wanted to keep the momentum going,” said Rogers. “So it’s nice to start off on the right foot here. I’m excited I could play well and get the win.”

After trailing 5-2 in the first set, Rogers rattled off five straight games to steal the opening set. She then led 3-2 in the second set while on serve, but failed to hold and allowed Cornet to pick up a key break point on her way to evening the match.

The American came storming out in the third and deciding set, however, notching a crucial service break to open the set. She would never look back, and after Cornet fought off two match points, the 21-year old finally closed her out for the three-set victory.

Rogers was able to maintain focus and confidence at points where she could have let it slip away such as trailing in the first and after dropping the second set, but says she is in a good place mentally both on and off the court.

“I’m really happy and enjoying myself,” said Rogers. “If you’re happy off the court, you’re going to play well on the court. I’ve really been working on the mental aspect of the game, staying a little more focused and calm throughout the match, not getting too upset about things and letting them go.”

She now moves into the second round where she will meet the winner of Tuesday’s match between Kristyna Pliskova and Marina Erakovic.

Rogers wasn’t the only young American to notch a big victory in Washington, D.C. on Tuesdsay as 18-year old Taylor Townsend knocked off Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to push her way into the second round.

“It feels really good but I’m not satisfied,” said Townsend after the match. “I want to go farther and I know that I can, so this is just a small step in the right direction.”

Townsend saved 11 of 12 break points and came back from a set down to defeat Goerges. The qualifier now moves on to face either top-seeded Lucie Safarova or Kristina Mladenovic in the second round.

While it was a good day for Americans on the women’s draw, seventh-seeded Madison Keys did not fare as well as she was upended by Japan’s Kurumi Nara 5-7, 3-6. Keys has risen to her highest ranking of her career, currently at 27th in the world, but was unable to move on in Washington, D.C.

American Vania King was able to win her first-round matchup on Monday defeating Francoise Abanda 6-2, 6-0, while Tornado Black and Alison Riske fell short in their respective opening round matches.