Shelby Rogers Ousts Fourth Seed Simona Halep at Australian Open

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Photo Shelby Rogers serving in the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. Rogers defeated Simona Halep, who is ranked No. 4 in the world, 6-3, 6-1. Credit Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

MELBOURNE, Australia Shelby Rogers, who made one of last seasons most surprising surges, picked up where she left off by delivering the first major upset of the Australian Open on Monday.

The unseeded Rogers beat Simona Halep, the fourth seed, in routine fashion, 6-3, 6-1, in the opening match on center court at Rod Laver Arena. Rogers, of South Carolina, dominated the match with her serve, winning 71 percent of her first-serve points and 63 percent on her second serve. She faced only one break point, which she saved, and broke Haleps serve four times during a 75-minute match.

Rogers, 24, who is ranked No. 52 in the world, first made waves at the French Open last year, when she marched to the quarterfinals, losing to Garbie Muguruza, the eventual champion. Rogers was ranked No. 108 at the time.

The biggest thing I took away from that was just that I can compete with the top players in the world, and Im good enough, Rogers said. Little things here and there I need to work on, but Im here. I need to believe in myself.

Halep, ranked No. 4 in the world, took a medical timeout at the end of the first set as she struggled with her movement. She said after the match that she had painful tendinitis in her left knee. With Halep hampered, Rogers used her superior power to control rallies and overwhelm Haleps defenses.

I think I played great today, trying to be aggressive going out there, Rogers said. My game plan worked: Just move forward, hit your shots, be really aggressive. When Im doing that, Im playing well.

Halep, of Romania, beat Rogers easily in the third round of the 2015 United States Open, their only previous meeting.

A two-time quarterfinalist in Melbourne, Halep also lost in the first round of last years Australian Open, losing to the Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai.

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHNyEeDVZp5sBeKGk5UVj6QVIJvsw&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779346041581&ei=C5l8WPi6CZLS3gGn5pjACw&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/15/sports/tennis/australian-open-shelby-rogers-simona-halep.html