Semifinals Set at Dow Tennis Classic
MIDLAND, Michigan, February 7, 2020 – The semifinals of the 2020 Dow Tennis Classic are set with Shelby Rogers, Jamie Loeb, Irina Falconi and Anhelina Kalinina all advancing to the final four.
In the first match of the day, wild card Irina Falconi took to the court against No. 5 seed Yanina Wickmayer and quickly dropped the opening set 6-3. The 2011 finalist was able to rally back and take the quarterinal clash 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Next up, 2018 finalist Jamie Loeb looked to continue her superb form in Midland as she played fellow American Catherine Harrison. The resurgent Loeb was able to capitalize on her experience and outmaneuver Harrison with a final score of 6-4, 6-3.
In the last match of the afternoon, 2016 semifinalist Shelby Rogers battled it out against Gabriela Talaba, who was fresh off defeating No. 1 seed Madison Brengle and Xu Shilin. This proved no problem for Rogers who won the match 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes.
"I'm happy to get through and be here another day," said Rogers to ESPN 100.9FM following the match. "I knew it was going to be a battle and she's going to run down every ball and then some, so I was happy to get through in straight-sets as well."
In the featured evening match, defending champion Caty McNally took on No. 7 seed Anhelina Kalinina. The American came out strong, taking the first set 6-2 in 35 minutes. In the second set though, Kalinina flipped the script and took the early lead and leveled up the match after taking the set 6-3. The Ukrainian would keep the momentum in the third and close out the match with a final score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In the first doubles semifinals, No. 2 seeds Valeria Savinykh and Yanina Wickmayer were able to secure their spot in the championship match, defeating Chieh-Yu Hsu and Marcela Zacarias 6-2, 6-7(3), 10-3. Later in the evening, Caroline Dolehide and Maria Sanchez took down Jamie Loeb and Ingird Neel 7-5, 6-4.
Play gets underway on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. with the first singles semifinal of Jamie Loeb vs. Anhelina Kalinina. In the featured evening match at 7:00 p.m. Shelby Rogers and Irina Falconi look to grab the last spot in the singles final. Savinykh/Wickmayer and Dolehide/Sanchez will then battle it out for the 2020 Dow Tennis Classic doubles title.
Tickets to the 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. The first singles semifinal can be seen on Tennis Channel and all matches can be seen on Tennis Channel Plus or at procircuit.usta.com.