Teichmann vs Rogers (Approximately 01:00am AEST)
Whilst the third-set tiebreak win of Shelby Rogers over Serena Williams was arguably the biggest win of her career, she finds herself up against a supremely talented and motivated opponent today in Jil Teichmann. This one has upset written all over it in my opinion.
I wrote before Teichmann’s match yesterday that I felt the form of CC Bellis was going to be far too strong for her in the conditions. Teichmann turned out to be far too consistent in many facets of the match. After Bellis broke serve in the first game of the match, it was one-way traffic for the next hour, with Teichmann winning eight of the next nine games to take control of the match. The only blemish on an otherwise impressive performance was her struggles in serving out the match, however her ability to respond and break back instantly is a great sign. Bellis did struggle to find her first serve consistently throughout the match, however the poise and decision making by Teichmann throughout was impressive.
Shelby Rogers looked down and out of her match against Williams yesterday, at one point trailing 1-6 *4-4 0/30. She found a way out of that predicament with some impressive serving (Williams did not get a ball into play across the next four points), and Rogers was able to make the most of some uncharacteristic Williams unforced errors, going on to take the match 1-6 6-4 7-6(5). It was a fantastic win, however as I remarked yesterday, I feel as though the style in which Williams plays is almost more suited to Rogers than what she will see today.
One of the players that was able to cause Rogers a bit of grief this week was Misaki Doi. Doi, another left-hander, was able to generate the most break points of any opponent of Rogers this week, and that was with Rogers producing her highest first serve percentage for her week in their match. In fact, this will be the third left-hander Rogers will face this week. I think the left-handed forehand of Teichmann will be crucial in this one. She has impressive defensive ability, and if she can attack the backhand of Rogers, and utilise angles to her advantage, then she will go a very long way towards winning the match today.
I fear this could be a big letdown spot for Rogers, coming off what may be the win of her career. I think Teichmann has the game and style to cause an upset today, and progress through to the final in Lexington.