World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

JAmes Beck

Shelby Rogers Looks Even Better Than Her Old Self

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BY JAMES BECK

Is Shelby Rogers really back?

It certainly looked that way for the hometown girl during Monday’s opening round of the Credit One Charleston Open. Rogers was superb on the green clay. She’s never hit better than in her 6-1, 6-1 win over fellow American Claire Liu.

It wasn’t that the 23-year-old Liu played that badly. Rogers simply played that well. She was at the top of her game.

Yes, at 31 years old, and now a traveling married woman.

All of the injuries haven’t stopped Rogers from trying to be the best tennis player she can be.

She was only in the main draw because of a wild card that came her way. The fact she’s a Charleston girl and grew up on the courts of the old Family Circle Cup complex on Daniel Island and the ones at nearby LTP Mount Pleasant didn’t hurt.

Rogers had notched her first win on the WTA Tour in 11 months just a couple of weeks earlier in Miami. Last July, she had undergone a second knee surgery.

Ranked as high as No. 30 in the world just two years ago and having been a quarterfinalist at both the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2016 French Open, she could have been down in the dumps these days about her tennis game.

But she’s not. She’s chipper and articulate, and a prize catch for any interview session.

“I get nervous before every match I play, but tonight I actually felt really excited. I felt free out there. I wasn’t trying to put too many expectations on myself. I just wanted to really soak up the moment and try to enjoy competing as best as I could, fight for every point, try to play the way that I like to play and how I play my best tennis,” she said.

“I think something I’ve really tried to focus on this comeback, the last few matches I played is smiling a little bit more on the court.”

She’s now always looking on the bright side of her tennis career. And Charleston has been a huge part of it.

“I think without this tournament here, I would not have been exposed to professional women’s tennis,” she said after her win over Liu.

“I was able to have the chance to be a ball girl (for WTA Tour events on Daniel Island). I was able to be up close and personal with professional tennis players, have conversations with them, see how they train, see how they practice.

“It made it more tangible for me. It wasn’t something I just watched on TV and it seemed so far away from me. It doesn’t feel like it’s a dream that could never come true.”

Once the diamond of Charleston  tennis, Rogers has had to move over  bit for the emergence of young Emma Navarro, who has so quickly charged up to the 20th spot on the WTA Tour rankings.

“It’s so great to see, again, Emma coming through. I’ve always said I never wanted to be the best player from here because then we’re doing something wrong. Right?

“We want to keep getting better and better and pushing and seeing more players come out of here . . . it makes my heart really happy.”

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

The ‘Unbelievable’ Becomes Believable At Wimbledon

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BY JAMES BECK

What’s believable about this Wimbledon?

The TV guys, McEnroe and crew, for awhile the first week seemed to think every great shot was “Unbelievable.”

And when the tournament got serious, Wimbledon split up the matches between ESPN and ESPN2. That was good. But it ruined the viewers’ planned recordings of the matches when either ESPN or ESPN2 would reveal the secret of what was happening on the other channel.

RECORDINGS REVEAL SECRETS

So much for enjoying the intense moments of Iga Swiatek’s and Jessica Pegula’s individual quarterfinal matches, even though both suffered major upsets. Or the pressure moments of Carlos Alcaraz’s and Daniil Medvedev’s wins, or the collapse of Christopher Eubanks against Medvedev after appearing to have Medvedev beaten.

You already knew what was happening, thanks to the other ESPN channel.

The pleasure of watching the recordings before the results were unveiled by the other channel on your recording was wiped out.

Fortunately, the women’s semifinals were on the same ESPN channel so you could enjoy them at your leisure, live or on a recording.

VONROUSOVA? WHO?

Who would have picked unseeded Marketa Vonrousova to make the Wimbledon women’s final, or even for Ons Jabeur to be her opponent in the championship match? Only Wimbledon’s grass could make a battle between those two a really exciting final.

It was supposed to be Swiatek against Aryna Sabalenka, or at least defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Swiatek was expected to have easily beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarters, but Wimbledon’s grass took the punch out of Swiatek’s usually near-perfect strokes and turned them into wild shots as the then No. 1 Swiatek repeatedly over-hit her shots.

The fact it was a battle between the Polish star and the not so highly regarded Svitolina from her neighboring country, Ukraine, may have had something to do with Swiatek’s inability to handle the pressure.

OLD MAN MURRAY WAS DANGEROUS

Andy Murray’s legs may not be quite as strong as they were when he was winning Grand Slam titles.

But Andy is as mentally tough as ever.

And shot-making? Solid as a rock.

He looks like he never took a break from the tour to fight injuries, even if he is 36 years old.

Nearly perfect soft hands and brilliantly compact strokes. Not to mention powerful serves that explode like a bomb.

But Andy lost in the second round to Stefanos Tsitsipas. And Tsitsipas fell to the big-serving Eubanks in the round of 16.

Hopefully, Andy Murray will make it all the way back, and Rafa Nadal will have a good 2024, too.

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.