MY ACCOUNT
Shelby Rogers continued her recent good form as she won an all-American clash with Amanda Anisimova in the first round of the Miami Open.
Rogers beat 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko en route to the third round at Indian Wells, where she lost in three sets to last year’s US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
Both Rogers and Anisimova have experience of going into the second week of a grand slam, yet it was the more experienced Rogers who had the edge in South Florida, prevailing 3-6 6-0 6-3 in a stirring comeback.
Speaking on-court after the win, Rogers highlighted the challenge Anisimova poses when she is in form.
“[Anisimova] can come out and dictate play like nobody else when she is on fire, it’s hard to do anything,” she said.
“I felt like I had to counter that a little bit better. I was a little passive in the first, just running side to side.
“She played incredible. I’m just really happy I closed it out because I knew she was going to raise her level again at the end.”
Round two will see a reunion between Rogers and Ostapenko, while Simona Halep, a two-time semi-finalist in Miami, will face Australia’s Daria Saville.
Saville, formerly Daria Gavrilova, was ranked as high as 20 back in 2017, but had surgery on her Achilles last February.
A run to the last 16 at Indian Wells, including a top-10 win over Ons Jabeur, delivered a reminder of her quality and she will have the chance to claim another big-name scalp after beating Greet Minnen 7-5 6-3.
Elsewhere in the first round, there were wins for Marta Kostyuk, Magda Linette and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Kaia Kanepi booked a second-round meeting with Sara Sorribes Tormo, while Heather Watson ended her six-year losing streak in Miami and will next face 15th seed Elina Svitolina.
