Shelby Rogers Wins Longest Women’s Singles Match in US Open History
(August 31, 2017) FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY –Shelby Rogers, of Charleston, S.C., defeated 25th seeded Daria Gavrilova, of Australia, 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(5), in a second-round match that took 3 hours, 33 minutes, setting a record for the longest women’s match in US Open history.
The previous record was 3 hours, 23 minutes, when Johanna Konta defeated Garbine Muguruza in the 2015 second round, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2.
The 24-year-old Rogers currently ranked No. 62, whose best result at a major tournament came by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2016 French Open, will play fourth seed, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the third round.
“I knew how hard it was to close that match out,” Rogers said in her news conference. “We’d been battling out there. I knew it was going to be a really tough fight going into it. She’s been playing really well, she’s super confident, she makes you earn every single point. I was definitely ready for that.
“Then I looked at the clock after, yeah. Setting records, there you go.”
What made the difference for Rogers that gave her the match:
“I said this in my last round, as well. If I’m staying aggressive and moving forward, I’ve been trying to come to the net a little bit more, which I did today. She passed me a bit. I thought I was pretty successful up there. I think adding that element to my game is a good thing. I just tried to stay aggressive. When I was in control of the points, I was very successful.
“Didn’t serve great through the whole match, but I thought I fought really well today, just competed well. You have to out-compete her. She’s just not giving you any loose points or any free points. So I knew I had to really dig down and get tough there.”
When Gavrilova was asked about what made the difference, she said”the last two points.”
Gavrilova won the Connecticut Open last week, her first tournament title.
