Garbine Muguruza Advances To French Open Semi-final After Beating Shelby Rogers

Spanish fourth-seed Garbine Muguruza advanced to her first Roland Garros semi-final by finally ending the run of 108th-ranked American Shelby Rogers 7-5 6-3  in Paris on Wednesday.

Garbine Muguruza Advances To French Open Semi-final After Beating Shelby Rogers

Rogers, 23, had been just one point away from taking the first set but surrendered two consecutive breaks to lose it 5-7.

Muguruza gained a 3-0 lead in the second after breaking Rogers’ opening serve, but the South Carolinian somehow summoned newfound strength and accuracy and rallied back to tie it 3-3.

The Spaniard, who reached the Wimbledon final last year, won the final three games in just a few minutes to become the first woman to reach this year’s semi-finals in the French Open.

Rogers had recently appeared to be a strong contender to advance further in the tournament. She eliminated Czech two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round.

Muguruza will next face the 2010 runner-up, 21st-ranked Australian Sam Stosur, in Friday’s semi-final.

“I definitely want to keep going,” the 22-year-old Venezuelan-born Spanish player said in an interview on court following her 7-5 6-3 victory. “I wanted so much to win today and hopefully, I can make it to the last day.”

She also added that her coach, Frenchman Sam Sumyk, was feeling good on home territory.

“He is teaching me a little French,” Muguruza said. “But seriously, it’s a disaster.”

She also down-played the effects of the cold, wet weather, saying in a press conference: “I think the players like to play with sunny days and warm weather, but it is what it is.”

Muguruza admitted she didn’t know much about Rogers prior to their quarter-final match, and said she is also unfamiliar with her next opponent. She said although she doesn’t know Stosur very well, she knows she plays very well and that the match will be a challenge.

Stosur defeated Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 7-6 on Wednesday.

Rogers did not seem too crushed by her defeat after an impressive run at the French Open.

“I think both of us just had streaks of playing well and then not playing very well,” she told reporters. “She definitely knew what she wanted to do with the big points. I think that was the biggest thing…

“It’s the biggest match of my life and it’s hard not to think about that. But I thought I handled it pretty well.”

PHOTO: PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: Garbine Muguruzu of Spain hits a backhand during the Ladies Singles quarter final against Shelby Rogers of the United States on day eleven of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)