SAN FRANCISCO: Shelby Rogers, ranked 45th in the world, qualified for the WTA hardcourt tournament final in San Jose, California, on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 19th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova.
Rogers reached her first final since 2016 and will be seeking a first WTA Tour title when she takes on either fourth-ranked Paula Badosa of Spain — the second seed — or No. 12 Daria Kasatkina on Sunday.
Rogers continued an impressive week that included an opening win over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and a victory over world number three Maria Sakkari, the top seed.
The 28-year-old hasn’t dropped a set all week and she started strong against Kudermetova with a break in the first game of the match.
Kudermetova dropped her serve again to surrender the first set, but opened the second by breaking the American.
Rogers regained the break but was broken again to trail 3-4. She won the next three games to seal the victory after an hour and 20 minutes.
Rogers will be playing her first final since Rio de Janeiro in 2016. She was runner-up at Bad Gastein in 2014.
