US Open: Barty insists nerves not to blame for collapse to Rogers

World
number
43
Rogers
stunned
the
2021
Wimbledon
champion
6-2
1-6
7-6
(7-5)
in
a
seesawing
contest
that
lasted
two
hours
and
eight
minutes.

Barty
had
a
double-break
lead
in
the
third
set
and
served
for
the
match,
before
Rogers
stormed
back
to
win
the
next
four
games
and
triumph
in
a
tie-break
in
front
of
a
raucous
Arthur
Ashe
Stadium
crowd
who
cheered
home
the
American.

It
was
the
fourth
time
in
the
tournament
that
Barty
had
been
broken
serving
for
the
match.

“No,
I
felt
comfortable
on
the
court,”
Barty
told
reporters
when
asked
if
there
was
an
element
of
nerves.
“I
think
that
tension
is
natural.
But
I
felt
fine.

“I
just
didn’t
quite
have
enough
physically
or
mentally
in
the
tank
but
that’s
okay.

“We’ve
had
a
great
year
so
far.
We’re
looking
forward
to
celebrating
the
good
stuff
that
we’ve
done,
learning
from
the
hurt,
learning
from
the
experiences,
and
moving
on.”

Barty’s
third
round
exit
adds
to
her
ordinary
record
at
Flushing
Meadows,
having
never
progressed
further
than
the
fourth
round.

The
Australian,
who
was
absent
from
the
US
Open
in
2020,
was
beaten
by
China’s
Wang
Qiang
in
the
2019
fourth
round
as
second
seed,
and
went
down
to
Karolina
Pliskova
at
the
same
stage
in
2018.

Barty
would
not
be
drawn
on
her
record
at
Flushing
Meadows,
instead
preferring
to
focus
on
her
strong
year,
having
been
on
the
road
for
the
past
six
months.

“The
last
six
months
have
been
a
roller
coaster,”
she
said.
“I
think
back
to
the
very
first
match
that
I
played
on
this
trip.
I
was
5-2
down
in
the
third
set
in
the
first
round
of
Miami.
Tennis
has
a
funny
way
of
evening
things
out,
doesn’t
it?

“You
can’t
win
every
single
tennis
match
that
you
play.
I’m
proud
of
myself
and
my
team
for
all
the
efforts
we’ve
put
in
in
the
last
six
months.
It’s
been
pretty
incredible.
I
don’t
think
we
could
have
asked
for
much
more
honestly.
I
wouldn’t
change
a
thing.

“With
all
of
the
tough
moments
that
we
have
had,
it’s
created
some
of
the
most
enjoyable
experiences.
I’ve
learnt
so
much
about
myself,
about
them,
the
way
that
we
work
together.
It’s
been
truly
an
incredible
six
months.”

Rogers
becomes
the
first
American
woman
to
defeat
the
world
number
one
in
the
first
week
of
a
major
tournament
since
1994,
when
Steffi
Graf
was
shocked
by
Lori
McNeil.

“I’m
not
sure
I
can,”
Rogers
said
on-court
when
asked
how
to
describe
the
comeback
from
5-2
down.
“I
tried
to
fight
for
every
point.
I
didn’t
want
to
leave,
I
said
‘make
balls,
try
to
stay
in
this
match’.”

Rogers
will
face
impressive
British
qualifier
Emma
Raducanu
in
the
fourth
round,
while
Barty
confirmed
she
will
now
take
a
break
but
play
at
next
month’s
Indian
Wells.