Two surprise entrants in the Top Seed Open semifinals square off as Shelby Rogers faces Jil Teichmann with a spot in the final on the line. The winner of this match will face the winner of the other semifinal between Jennifer Brady and CorI Gauff.
Rogers, Teichmann's path to the semifinals
Granted a wild card into the main draw, Rogers began her tournament with a battling three set win over Misaki Doi, defeating the Japanese 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Round two would prove to be a bit easier as the American got past Canadian qualifier Leylah Annie Fernandez, who had upset seventh seed Sloane Stephens, by a 6-2, 7-5 scoreline.
The quarterfinals proved to be one of the biggest upsets in recent years as Rogers rallied from a set down to shock top seed Serena Williams 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), becoming just the third player ranked outside of the top 100 to defeat the 23-time major champion in her career.
Teichmann has not lost a set all week, easing past qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 6-2, 7-5 in the first round, crushing fifth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-2 in round two and surviving some nervous moments at the end of her 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal over CiCi Bellis. The Swiss is 2-0 in WTA level semifinals.
Who will win?
Rogers served incredibly well in the final two sets against Serena. She'll need to do that against Teichmann, who has been in top of her game all week. She'll have to negate the American's power as Rogers will look to dictate from the baseline. How she handles herself after the incredible win over Serena will also go a long way towards the outcome of the match.
This will be the first career meeting between Rogers and Teichmann, so it may take a few games for them to feel each other out. The Swiss will look to use her lefty serve to angle the American off of the court and use her superior movement to try and play long rallies. In a tournament this open, made possible by Rogers herself, all four players should feel confident they can win it. In this match, Teichmann will prevail in a close contest to reach the final.
Prediction: Teichmann in three sets