Shelby Rogers says 'confidence building' after loss to 'pretty flawless' Naomi Osaka

American Shelby Rogers says she feels more confident in her game and is looking forward to playing on the red clay in Europe after going down to Japan's Naomi Osaka in straight sets in Tuesday's quarter-finals of the US Open.

Rogers, ranked No. 93 at the start of the tournament but projected to rise to No. 54 after reaching the last 8, had beaten Osaka in all three of their previous matches but said the 22 year old Japanese played nearly flawless tennis on Tuesday in her press conference after the match. "She's a very strong girl. But I think she served pretty well tonight. I mean, she played pretty flawless. She didn't make many unforced errors. Of course, I can always do things better, force them to make errors, things like that. Overall she's playing very well. I think she can go a couple more if she wants."

Shelby Rogers says confidence is building after US Open ends with loss to Naomi Osaka

The 27 year old from South Carolina says she was proud of her efforts and is feeling more confident in her game. "I'm really proud of myself. I tried to do the right things. My first match on Ashe without the fans, so that was quite an experience. Check that off the bucket list. Overall really good week for me. A lot of positives. One is that I am able to adapt to these new conditions, the new normal, if you will, for tennis tournaments. I feel healthy. I feel happy on court. I'm happy with where my game is, as well. I feel like I have a sense of clarity of what I'm trying to do when I step on the court. The confidence is just building with each match."

Shelby Rogers says she is excited about the upcoming clay court season and hopes to do well in Paris where she reached her first Grand Slam singles quarter-final in 2016. "I'm definitely excited about the red clay. The hard courts are a little tougher on the body, for sure. But it will be nice to go back, train on the clay, get ready to go over there to Paris where, as everyone knows, I've had a lot of good memories. It will be special to go back there and be in the main draw. Earlier this year I wasn't going to even make it in French Open main draw. That's very exciting."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32fpAZe