San Jose (US), Aug 7 (IANS): Continuing her dominant week, Shelby Rogers set up a final clash with Daria Kasatkina at the Silicon Valley Classic after defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinal, here.
It will be Rogers first final in six years when she faces Kasatkina on Sunday. A finalist in San Jose last year, Kasatkina booked her spot in the Championship with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No 4 Paula Badosa.
The 29-year-old Rogers will be looking to finally break through to win her first career title. The big-hitting American has been unstoppable this week, tallying wins over Bianca Andreescu, top seed Maria Sakkari, Amanda Anisimova, and Kudermetova without losing a set. She has not lost more than four games in any set she's played.
The warm conditions during the day have fed right into Rogers' serve. Through her four matches she has been broken just three times.
"Amazing. This is the position you want to be in every single week. This is what we train for. As much as you sacrifice and put in the work, it's just nice to see it all come together. This is probably one of the most fun weeks that I've had on tour. That says a lot about why I'm playing well," Rogers said.
"I'm trying not to get too high or too low. I'm just taking it one point at a time and focusing on the things I can control. My serve has been working really well this week and I just feel like I want to hit every ball, which is a nice feeling," she added.
On the other hand, Kasatkina is also continuing her outstanding season. Playing her first tournament since Berlin, she beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and two Top 10 players in No.6 Aryna Sabalenka and No.4 Paula Badosa to make her first final of the season.
The 25-year-old has quietly put together one of the best seasons of her career, having made back-to-back semifinals in Rome and Roland Garros and now a win away from returning to the Top 10 for the first time since 2019.
"Playing two times in a row at the finals here in San Jose means it's a special place for me," Kasatkina said.
As she has done all week, Kasatkina played a disciplined and contained game to bait Badosa into hitting herself out of the match. Kasatkina hit 11 winners to 11 unforced errors while Badosa struck 16 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Kasatkina rolled through the opening set after 30 minutes but was forced to rally from a break down twice in the second set to seal her fourth win over a Top 5 opponent this season.
Sunday's final will be a contrast of styles. The head-to-head is tied 1-1, with Kasatkina winning their last meeting in May at Roland Garros. Rogers won their only meeting on a hard court, which came in 2017 in Miami.
The challenge will be for Kasatkina to blunt Rogers' flat baseline power. Kasatkina has had good practice at precisely that this week, having earned physical wins over players like Sabalenka and Rybakina. Rogers has yet to play someone as crafty and disciplined as Kasatkina, a player who will be stingy in handing over free points.