Shelby Rogers Storms Through Second Round at Dow Tennis Classic

MIDLAND, Michigan, February 6, 2020 – 2016 semifinalist Shelby Rogers cruised into the quarterfinals of the Dow Tennis Classic on Thursday, defeating Marine Partaud 6-4, 6-1.

In the first set, Rogers and Partaud traded breaks early before staying neck-and-neck with each other. At 5-4, Rogers was able to grab another break and close out the opening set 6-4.

In the second set, Rogers was able to build on the first set, grabbing two late breaks to close out the match with a final score of 6-4, 6-1.

"It feels great. That was a very tough match and she's a very tricky player," said Roger's. "She's had a lot of matches here and she's had a great week, so I am really happy to get through that one tonight."

Rogers returns to the Dow Tennis Classic after a 13 month layoff in 2018 and 2019 due to a knee injury suffered at Indian Wells. The American peaked at a career-high No. 48 in the world in 2017 after reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open tune-up event in Hobart, and then upsetting No. 4 seed Simona Halep in the first round of the Australian Open. 

Next up, Rogers takes on Romania's Gabriela Talaba in the quarterfinals. Talaba upset No. 1 seed Madison Brengle on Wednesday before continuing her winning ways, defeating Shilin Xu 7-5, 6-2 in the second round.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals are Americans Caty McNally, Catherine Harrison, Irina Falconi and Jamie Loeb. The doubles semifinals are also set with Loeb/Neel taking on Dolehide/Sanchez and Hsu/Zacarias taking on Savinykh/Wickmayer.

Play gets underway at 12:00 p.m. on Friday with No. 5 seed Yanina Wickmayer battling it out against wild card Irina Falconi. In the featured singles match Friday evening, No. 7 seed Anhelina Kalinina takes to the court against defending champion Caty McNally.

Admission to day session matches (through Friday) at the Dow Tennis Classic are free. Tickets to the evening sessions, semifinals, and finals start at just $10 for juniors (age 6-18) and $15 for adults. Tickets are available by calling the Greater Midland Tennis Center at (989) 631-6151 or by visiting bit.ly/DTC20-Tickets.

The Dow Tennis Classic, a $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, will be held at the Greater Midland Tennis Center, February 3-9. Professional athletes from around the world will be competing for $100,000 in prize money, as well as valuable WTA Tour Ranking points. All matches can be seen on Tennis Channel Plus or at procircuit.usta.com.

Photo Credit: Adam Ferman (Please Request High-Res Photo)