Rogers stuns No. 1 Barty in 3 sets to advance at US Open

New York, Sep 05 (AP): Shelby Rogers lingered on the court and panned her phone around at the fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a snapshot souvenir of the scene after she beat Ash Barty for the first time. Not just at the U.S. Open. Ever.
Rogers was winless in five meetings four this year against the No. 1 player, forcing the last American left in the women’s draw to mix up her methodology.
Urged on by a raucous crowd, Rogers smacked moon balls, stayed patient and waited as a rattled Barty hit a slew of unforced errors that led to another early exit at Flushing Meadows for the reigning Wimbledon champion. Rogers rallied from down 5-2 in the third set to upset Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 (5) on Saturday night for the biggest win of the 28-year-old’s career.
I just tried to get the crowd into it. I said, `You know what, if I’m going to go down, I’m going to give a last dying effort,’ she said. She found her serve, tinkered with approach and steeled her will against the top player in the game and pulled off the improbable comeback.
You find ways to stay in the present and stay not thinking about I’m down 5-2, Rogers said.
Rogers had been 0-6 lifetime against top-seeded players.
Barty gave her plenty of help to end the streak. Barty had not dropped a set in the tournament but was sloppy from the start. She made 17 unforced errors in the first set and then three more when she held a 5-2 lead in the third that let Rogers back in. Rogers broke Barty twice in the third when Barty served for the match.
I played a pretty awful first set in the sense where I was erratic, Barty said. I couldn’t quite find the rhythm of how I wanted to play.