Qatar Open 2022: Coco Gauff vs Shelby Rogers preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (14) Coco Gauff vs Shelby Rogers
Tournament: Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
Date: 21 February, 2022
Round: First round (Round of 64).
Venue: Doha, Qatar.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,331,698.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Coco Gauff vs Shelby Rogers preview
14th seed Coco Gauff will begin her Qatar Open campaign against World No. 44 Shelby Rogers in an all-American first-round match on Monday.
Gauff's 2022 season has so far been highly inconsistent. After losing in the second round of the Adelaide International 1, she bounced back the following week with a sizzling run to the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2.
Main draw in Doha (WTA 1000), where 8 of the Top 10 are set to play.
Notable 1Rs:
Bencic-Tauson
Gauff-Rogers
Azarenka-Putintseva
Kasatkina-Tomljanovic. https://t.co/MYCIxRolvw
However, the 17-year-old failed to back it up thereafter. With first-round defeats at both the Australian Open and Dubai, she has arrived in Doha on a three-match losing streak.
Having finished the 2021 season with a quarterfinal at Indian Wells, Shelby Rogers picked up from where she left off to make the last eight at the Adelaide International 1 in January.
What a start of the year for @Shelby_Rogers_, she beats Maria Sakkari in the second round of Adelaide tennis. https://t.co/WJL6VA7uMg
Her season, however, has gone downhill since then. Rogers went on to lose her first rounds at both the Adelaide International 2 and the Australian Open.
The 29-year-old has since teamed up with Iga Swiatek's former coach Piotr Sierzputowski. Rogers will be eager to kickstart the new partnership on a winning note when she meets the struggling Gauff in the first round of the Qatar Open.
Coco Gauff vs Shelby Rogers head-to-head
Gauff leads the head-to-head against Rogers 1-0. She edged her older compatriot 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals in Adelaide last year.
Coco Gauff vs Shelby Rogers prediction
Gauff's serve has been fragile in recent times. Against Jessica Pegula in the first round in Dubai this week, the young American coughed up as many as 10 double faults before losing 6-4, 6-4.
That's not an encouraging statistic heading into a showdown with an efficient returner like Shelby Rogers. The older American employs an aggressive style of play which is well-suited for the fast hardcourts of Doha and likes to make frequent forays into the net as well.
If Gauff's serving woes reappear, she will hand the advantage on a platter to Rogers, who has come to Doha high on motivation after a coaching change.
Prediction: Shelby Rogers to win in three sets.