No one beats Shelby Rogers six times in a row

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) -American Shelby Rogers may have been looking for inspiration when he watched a 41-year-old video of his compatriot Vitas Gerulaitis before his third-round match against world number one Ash Barty.

“And may this lesson be for all of you. No one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row,” the former world number one famously told reporters after winning Jimmy Connors in the January 1980 Masters semifinals.

This was Gerulaitis ’first victory against Connors after losing 16 games in a row against an American man.

Rogers was scheduled to play Australian Barty on Saturday for the sixth time in his career as he has lost all five of his previous appointments, including four in the 2021 season.

Things seemed to follow a similar pattern when the 28-year-old missed 5-2 in the decisive third set, but then she scripted one of the sport’s most incredible returns to force a tie-break and win a double big winner in Australia.

“This morning I was watching a video of Vitas Gerulaitis when he said,‘ No one hits me 17 times in a row. ’I was only six, so,” Rogers said in a post-match interview in court before laughing.

Rogers is currently 43rd in the world.

But the American decided to do things a little differently at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday and it paid a dividend.

“I think I have to thank her for teaching me a lot of lessons,” Rogers, the only American left in the U.S. Open women’s raffle, told reporters before the second round of laughter.

“I think I write a diary pretty much, I took notes about players, scouts, things like that. Half of my book is about Ash at this point, you know. It’s the same thing. He doesn’t miss the ball.

“I think I’ve learned the most from him, that he’s the No. 1 for a reason. It took everything I had tonight to beat him. I gave everything I had and I won. It’s because of that.”

Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing: Tom Hogue

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