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U.S. OPEN

August 31, 2017

Shelby Rogers

New York, NY, USA

S. ROGERS/D. Gavrilova

7-6, 4-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This was the longest US Open women's match in history.
SHELBY ROGERS: I heard.

Q. When did you find out, what was your reaction?
SHELBY ROGERS: Right before I went to the locker room, my coach told me. I was like, Oh, that's pretty cool, casually setting records today.

Q. Were you aware on the court of how long the two of you were out there?
SHELBY ROGERS: I mean, yes, I knew how hard it was to close that match out. We'd been battling out there. I knew it was going to be a really tough fight going into it. She's been playing really well, she's super confident, she makes you earn every single point. I was definitely ready for that.

Then I looked at the clock after, yeah. Setting records, there you go.

Q. Sometimes you can lose all sense of time out there.
SHELBY ROGERS: Right, you try to stay in the moment for sure. I didn't feel like it was the longest match ever. But it's starting to set in a little bit now. Going to be sore (smiling).

Q. After the match and after the handshake and hug, you blew kisses to the crowd. About a second after that you put your hands to your face, I guess teared up a little bit.
SHELBY ROGERS: I guess everybody knows I'm a very emotional person. Yes, I'm a hugger. I usually hug everyone after my match. Some people don't like it, sorry. Two, I cry a lot. We saw at the French Open last year. You know, reading a book, watching sad -- I just cry, that's what I do.

It was a very special moment for me today being down in the third, coming back, having a few match points. Just so many ups and downs for both of us today. To get through that on the winning side was just really incredible. The crowd helped me so much. They gave me some energy in the third, for sure. I was just so grateful to them for staying there three and a half hours.

Yeah, I just had to let it all go.

Q. Were you surprised by her quickness?
SHELBY ROGERS: No, I knew exactly what I was getting into. She won New Haven last week. That's how she plays. She likes to run. She gets a lot of balls back. I knew, like I said before, I had to win the points. She wasn't going to give me anything.

Q. What do you think made the difference for you today?
SHELBY ROGERS: I said this in my last round, as well. If I'm staying aggressive and moving forward, I've been trying to come to the net a little bit more, which I did today. She passed me a bit. I thought I was pretty successful up there. I think adding that element to my game is a good thing. I just tried to stay aggressive. When I was in control of the points, I was very successful.

Didn't serve great through the whole match, but I thought I fought really well today, just competed well. You have to out-compete her. She's just not giving you any loose points or any free points. So I knew I had to really dig down and get tough there.

Q. In a span of about 30 minutes, you went from 2-4 down to having triple match points on her serve. She saved the match points. How do you keep your composure given that wild swing?
SHELBY ROGERS: I wish I had the answer. It may look like I knew what I was doing...

I just told myself, Keep being aggressive, go for your shots, don't get passive. I did a little bit at the beginning of the third. She was controlling the points better. She served well. She plays great when she's behind. A couple match points she hit some great second serves there. Had that forehand there, I'm going to remember that one. Luckily I pulled it out in the end. I don't have to have nightmares about that.

Yeah, she's so tough. She's always fighting. Like I said, a rollercoaster today, ups and downs for both of us. Just told myself to keep fighting, one point at a time.

Q. When it was triple match point, what were you thinking?
SHELBY ROGERS: Think about this point right here. She didn't give me any free points. She didn't give me any errors there. I thought I constructed a couple good points there. I had chances, for sure. She makes you want to do a little bit more with that next ball because she is so quick and gets to a lot of balls.

Got the last one, that's all that matters.

Q. Your net play, good moments at the net, sometimes not-so-great moments at the net. How would you assess your net play?
SHELBY ROGERS: No, I think it was great. Just the fact that I am coming forward and making her think about that added element, I think it's great for me. I won some pretty important points up there, used it well today. You're not going to win every point you come to the net, you're not going to win every point of the match. But it's another tactic I'm working on.

Q. Sloane played a long match on that court last night. What is the atmosphere like on that court? Have you played there before?
SHELBY ROGERS: I think I played once there before. Wasn't quite that caliber of match. It's a really nice court. It's really intimate. You feel the crowd right there with you every point. I heard a couple familiar voices, which is really cool. They don't feel so distant. I liked that part of it.

Q. Would you have been surprised to know that you were going to have 50 points finished at the net?
SHELBY ROGERS: Yes, yes. If you would have told me six months ago that I just played a match where I came to the net 50 times, I would definitely be surprised.

Q. You got 32 of them.
SHELBY ROGERS: There you go. Above 50, I love it.

Q. Your next match is against Svitolina. Any thoughts on that?
SHELBY ROGERS: Yeah, no, another similar player, gets a lot of balls back. Makes you win every point. Makes you work for it. We had a battle earlier this year actually. I got to bring it. I'm going to be ready, but she's going to bring it, too. It will be another good battle.

Q. Any special plans for recovery?
SHELBY ROGERS: I took an ice bath, got a massage. Went straight to dining actually. Ice bath, straight to dining. That was a long time to go without eating.

Q. Her serve seemed to give you a problem. It was tricky.
SHELBY ROGERS: Yeah, she was hitting her spots very well today, mixing it up, keeping me guessing a little bit. It was a matter ever a couple points that determined that match. She was using the wind really well, too. There were a lot of changes that happened during that match. It got dark, thought it was going to rain, it was windy, sunny. It was crazy.

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