World No. 116 Rogers stuns Williams to enter Top Seed Open semis

Lexington, Aug 15 World No. 116 Shelby Rogers earned an thunderous upset at the Top Seed Open as she stunned top seed Serena Williams in a thrilling clash to claim a spot in the semi-finals of the ongoing Top Seed Open.

In her first-ever meeting with Williams, Rogers fought back from a set down to register a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) win in a match that lasted two hours and seven minutes on Friday. This was her third career victory over a Top 10 player.

"It was important for me going onto the court thinking I could win that match, and knowing I could take care of my service games," Rogers said, during her post-match press conference as per the WTA website. "Because (Williams) has probably the best serve of all time, and when she wants to, she can win a point on her serve."

"I just tried to control what I could control, and that's mostly my service games, and then if I had an opportunity, I tried to capitalise," Rogers added. "I think the few that I did have today, I was able to do that."

Rogers will now face Switzerland's Jil Teichmann who defeated Catherine Bellis 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the final.

Meanwhile, American teenager Coco Gauff also rallied for a thrilling victory over Ons Jabeur to make it to the final four of the tournament. Trailing 6-4, 4-2 against the No.8 seed and facing a break point for 5-2, Gauff pulled off a thrilling comeback to win the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in almost two hours. She will now face America's Jennifer Brady in her last-four clash.

( With inputs from IANS )