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Shelby Rogers ended her almost 11-month wait to get a win on the WTA tour when she defeated Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the opening round of the ongoing Miami Open. The scoreline was 4-6,6-4,6-2 in favor of the American player.
Rogers made her ATP debut in 2010 when she secured a wildcard entry at the US Open. She secured her first victory on the tour when she defeated Marta Domachowska at the Strasbourg event in 2013 and won her first match at a Grand Slam event by defeating Irena Pavlovic in the opening round of the French Open. Rogers is yet to win a WTA title but has made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2016 and the US Open in 2020.
Shelby Rogers last won a match on the tour in the Madrid Open last year where she defeated Ana Bogdan of Romania. After the Wimbledon loss to Elena Rybakina, Rogers took a break from the game due to a muscle injury.
The win against Fruhvirtova ended a long wait for Rogers for a victory on the WTA circuit. She lost the first set but rallied back with her serving and baseline prowess to turn the match around in her favor. After the win, she was emotional and broke into tears. She said that there was a possibility that this might or might not be her last Miami open.
"This may or may not be my last Miami Open" said Rogers after her match.
Rogers next faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Miami Open, which would be the first encounter between the two players on the tour.
Shelby Rogers Focused on developing a strong physique to come back from Abdominal Muscle injury
Rogers sustained an abdominal muscle injury a few days before her opening-round match against Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon last year. Despite playing with the injury, she managed to stretch the match against the third seed to three sets before succumbing to defeat.
After her Miami open win, Rogers emphasized on developing a strong physique during a post-match interview on Tennis Channel. Rogers said that having a strong physique made her feel confident that she could hold on to her playing level throughout the three sets and not rely on straight sets victory.
"If you let that part slip, then it just makes it that much harder right because then you're thinking about oh I need to win two sets I can't play a third set, and you don't need to be thinking about that when you are on the court.
Rogers also focused on weightlifting and other strength exercises to ensure that she had the power required to complement her style of play.
"Picking things up and putting them down" said Rogers on her Instagram
