WHAT HAPPENED: No. 5 seed Ons Jabeur capped off her first week of the 2022 US Open going three-for-three in wins against American opponents, ending Shelby Rogers’ hopes for a third consecutive appearance in the Round of 16 and claiming the win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The victory pushes Jabeur’s record against Americans to 11-1 this season and puts her into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career.
It was a disappointing loss for Rogers, who for the past two years has dethroned a number of top seeds here in Flushing Meadows, including last year’s victory over No. 1 Ash Barty. On Friday, the American put together a solid two sets of tennis that had the No. 5 seed scrambling across every inch of the court, and on a few occasions even had her diving onto the court to try to stay in the point.
But when Rogers blinked to double fault away a game at 6-4, 4-4, Jabeur took the opportunity and never looked back, taking seven of the last 10 games to seal the win.
"It was a crazy match, Shelby plays really well, I'm just glad I got the win," Jabeur said after the match. "It was very difficult to adapt to how well she was playing. I was playing good, it's not like I was playing bad, I was just waiting for a moment to get in the match and get my break."
The contest was a tug-of-war from the opening ball, featuring a 10-minute opening service hold for Rogers and four breaks of serve to level the match at 3-3. The more consistent game from the American gave Jabeur fits, as Rogers ran down a number of drop shots and returned them for sharp-angled winners. Rogers’ strong return game proved the deciding factor in the first set, giving her another break to take the first set 6-4.
After Jabeur stole the second set, Rogers received treatment to her right forearm, which appeared to affect her shot accuracy as she quickly fell into a hole at 0-4. Serving to stay in the match at 1-5, Rogers saved five match points and attempted a comeback to chip her way back to 3-5. A hold from Jabeur closed out the win.
WHAT IT MEANS: Jabeur’s record against American opponents now extends to 11-1, having defeated Madison Brengle and Elizabeth Mandlik in the first two rounds here. In the Round of 16, she will play No. 18 seed Veronika Kudermetova, who owns a 3-0 record over the Tunisian. Most recently, Kudermetova defeated Jabeur in the quarterfinals of San Jose one month ago.
To her credit, Jabeur has had the bigger success so far this season, claiming titles at Berlin and Madrid, as well as runner-up finishes at Wimbledon, Charleston and Rome. She is second to Iga Swiatek in the WTA for most matches won in 2022 with 41.
MATCH POINT: When Rogers’ run ended in the US Open quarterfinals in 2020 and in the fourth round in 2021, both losses came at the hands of the eventual champion. If Jabeur can continue this level of tennis for four more matches, it could be a foreshadowing of good fortune for the Tunisian.
