US Open 2020: Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (11) Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers
Date: 2 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 3.30 pm EDT, 1 IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers preview
One of the fastest-rising players on the women's circuit, Elena Rybakina will face World No. 93 Shelby Rogers on Wednesday for a place in the third round of US Open 2020.
Having made her breakthrough with the Bucharest title last year, Russia-born Kazakh Rybakina continued her meteoric rise in 2020 with a title and three-runner-up finishes. A defeat in the final of Shenzen at the start of the year did little to slow her down and she bounced back the very next week to triumph in Hobart.
The graph continued to soar for the former junior World No. 3 as she won a couple of Grand Slam matches at the Australian Open before making the finals at St. Petersburg and Dubai.
The Kazakh entered the US Open with a tour-leading 21 wins and 151 aces. With an undying desire to keep climbing the charts, the 11th seed looked untroubled as she pummeled Katarina Zavatska 6-3, 6-0 in the first round.
Shelby Rogers started the season ranked a lowly 174th and has since surged 81 spots on the back a semi-final showing at the Top Seed Open and a title at the ITF/USTA $100,000K event in Michigan.
Rogers made the headlines with her performance in Lexington, coming back from the brink to topple fellow American Serena Williams 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in the quarter-finals. Rogers has carried that form into Flushing Meadows where she shone in a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Irina Khromacheva in the first round.
Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers head-to-head
Elena Rybakina and Shelby Rogers have never faced off against each other. Rybakina is just 21 and Rogers is 27, but there is a stark difference in the way their respective careers have panned out. The young Rybakina has already rocketed to a career-high world ranking of 17, where she is perched currently, whereas the best Rogers could reach was 48 in 2017.
The American has never tasted success on the WTA Tour while Rybakina already boasts a couple of titles.
Elena Rybakina vs Shelby Rogers prediction
This promises to be a thrilling battle between two big-hitters. Rogers' upset of Serena Williams could not have come at a better time as it gave her much-needed momentum heading into the US Open.
However, Rybakina has been on a tear this season. Her forehand, serve and fearlessness have been instrumental in fetching wins over the likes of Sofia Kenin, Karolina Pliskova and Elise Mertens. Rogers won't be an easy customer to deal with but Rybakina should be capable of picking up the win.
Prediction: Elena Rybakina to win in three sets.