CHARLESTON, S.C./WASHINGTON, April 9, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)
On an evening when World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty wasn’t at her best – inconsistent with her serve – she still adapted and survived a grueling match from local favorite Shelby Rogers to reach the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 victory at the WTA 500 Volvo Car Open in Charleston, S.C., Thursday.
The top seed Barty secured the final quarterfinal berth with her 10th ace of the match that offset an uncharacteristic five double faults. Meanwhile, the always-classy Rogers, who will rise from No. 52 to a career-high No. 46 next week, kept the pressure on Barty throughout the nearly two-and-a-half match on Althea Gibson Club Court at LTP-Daniel Island Tennis Center by breaking her serve five times in eight tries.
A rollercoaster of a match comes to an end.👊
After three sets, it’s @ashbarty who comes out victorious against Shelby Rogers 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/EO8O1X8wOI
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 9, 2021
However, Barty benefited from five service breaks of her own against Rogers, including in the ninth game of the final set to go ahead 5-4. Barty served out the win with a pair of aces – giving her a WTA-leading 123 for the season – in her final service game, including on match point. It was her third victory this season against Rogers, whom she previously beat in the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne and in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, both in February.
“It’s strange playing someone so often quite close together,” Barty said during her virtual press conference. “Sometimes, you find yourself playing the same person over and over; other times, you won’t play them for years at a time. Shelby is an exceptional ball striker. She always makes you work very hard for every point every single match. Tonight, was no different. Obviously, a bit different than at the start of the year, but tough no less.”
Always classy in defeat 🙌😍
Lots to be proud of this week for @Shelby_Rogers_ as she will rise to a career high, with a live ranking at 46!#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Hn5g1MK9so
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2021
According to Rogers, she left the court “definitely not satisfied” after losing to Barty for the third time this year, but felt she did “a lot of things better tonight than the previous meetings against her, so I can be proud of that. There’s so much more that I wanted to accomplish and that I expected of myself. It’s not good enough to just play close. I want to be beating all of these girls week to week. It’s encouraging but still a few things to work on and definitely, I can use this as motivation.”
Quarterfinal lineup is set for Friday
With Barty filling out the final eight lineup, Friday’s quarterfinals will pair her against Paula Badosa of Spain; No. 15 seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia will face 2016 Volvo Car Open champion Sloane Stephens of the United States; No. 11 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan will take on upset-minded Danka Kovinic of Montenegro; and No. 12 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia will oppose American 14th seed Coco Gauff.
Only four of the eight – Barty, Stephens, Putintseva and Gauff – have ever won a WTA tour-level title, and of the original eight Top 20 players who started the tournament on Monday, just No. 1 seed Barty remains.
Locked in for tomorrow’s QF 🔐🎾
🇦🇺 Barty v Badosa 🇪🇸
🇷🇺 Kudermetova v Stephens 🇺🇸🇰🇿 Putintseva v Kovinic 🇲🇪
🇹🇳 Jabeur v Gauff 🇺🇸#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/0k5AazIjd1— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2021
Tennis TourTalk asked Badosa after her 6-3, 6-3 round of 16 win over American Caty McNally about the challenge of facing World No. 1 Barty – and whether she would worry about it or lose any sleep over thinking about the matchup. She said: “I don’t have words to describe Ash Barty. She’s a very good player. I want to play her because I’ve never played a World No. 1 and I want to see what it is like to play against a World No. 1.”
Through to the QF! 💨💨
👀💪🏻 @javiermarti1 pic.twitter.com/xfCtd4RiiC
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) April 8, 2021
Meanwhile, with having strung together three consecutive wins this week on green clay – achieving good results – 2016 Volvo Car Open champion Stephens is finding happiness once again in Charleston after struggling the first two months of the season.
“My happiness on court comes from training and practicing and I’m a very routine and structured person. I love to compete and be out there and play,” Stephens said after her 6-3, 6-4 victory against Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia.
For the 3️⃣rd time in her career, @SloaneStephens is into the quarterfinals at the @VolvoCarOpen! 🙌
Defeats Tomljanovic in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. pic.twitter.com/nzMy4tpul4
— wta (@WTA) April 8, 2021
Thursday’s Volvo Car Open results
Friday’s Volvo Car Open order of play
Order of Play, Friday April 9th 🗓*
Friday means one thing: get ready for some QF action in Charleston! 💪🎾
*Please note schedule change for a 1pm ET start time.#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/O3wl7urFjx
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 8, 2021
What can’t World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty do?
What can’t this Grand Slam champ do?
🎯💰@ashbarty’s perfect trajectory helped raise another $500 for @MUSCkids in @TruistNews ‘Swing For A Cause’ target contest … then, when dared she went & hit #VolvoCarOpen TD Bob Moran through a window. @AndrewKrasny, time to pay up.🤣 pic.twitter.com/OnxrThooRu
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2021
More seeds fall at Copa Colsanitas
At the WTA 250 Copa Colsanitas red clay event in Bogotá, Colombia, No. 7 seed Tereza Martincova became the latest seed to fall. She was ousted by Colombian wild card Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, 6-3, 6-3, Thursday afternoon.
The only seeded player remaining to advance into Friday’s quarterfinals is No. 5 seed Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia. She beat Giulia Gatto-Monticone of Italy, 6-2, 6-3.
One of the surprises this week at the Club de Tenis Bogotá has been the 19-year-old Osorio Serrano, who is ranked 180th. The native of Cúcuta, Colombia is yet to drop a set in her home country this week following an opening-round win over American Sachia Vickery, 6-3, 6-2.
Following her win against the 98th-ranked Martincova, Tennis TourTalk virtually caught up with Osorio Serrano, who is a former World No. 1 junior girls’ player and winner of the 2019 US Open title. This year, she’s compiled an impressive 11-5 win-loss record splitting her time between the WTA tour and playing in selected ITF events in the United States.
— Copa Colsanitas (@CopaColsanitas_) April 9, 2021
“These are two really good wins against two really great players,” said Osorio Serrano, who was a quarterfinalist in Bogotá in 2019. “I was calm, patient, waiting for my moment. I wasn’t expecting to win both of my matches in straight sets. I was thinking it would be two really hard matches. In Bogotá, it’s all about being strong here.”
What does it mean to Osorio Serrano to be doing so well playing in her home country this week? “It’s the best feeling in the world, being at home with friends and family, fans from Colombia,” she said. “I feel really proud of what I am doing. Hopefully, I can do better in my next match. I’m really happy making the quarterfinals. It’s not easy to make the quarterfinals in a WTA tournament. I’m really happy and excited for what’s next.”
8️⃣ Cuartos de final de la #CopaColsanitas:
🇨🇭 Voegele vs Osorio 🇨🇴
🇫🇷 Tan vs Arruabarrena 🇪🇸🇧🇬 Tomova vs Parrizas 🇪🇸
🇸🇮 Zidansek vs Errani 🇮🇹 @WTA pic.twitter.com/3UJorQByo6— Copa Colsanitas (@CopaColsanitas_) April 8, 2021
ATP/WTA issue joint statement on Roland-Garros
ATP/WTA Statement On One-Week Postponement Of Roland-Garros.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 8, 2021
What the other Grand Slams are saying about Roland-Garros
A statement from the US Open: pic.twitter.com/DZ7zzFeTLu
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) April 8, 2021
Grand Slam Board statement on the one-week postponement of @rolandgarros ⬇️https://t.co/gVfxrZfebz
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) April 8, 2021
