Shelby Rogers played her last U.S. Open match last night, losing to Jessica Pegula 4-6, 3-6. She became one of my favorite players a few years ago at the Open when she beat then #1 Ash Barty and in the post-match interview was asked how she had done it. She said something about taking it point by point and then apologized, saying “That’s such a cliché.”
About a year later I was sitting in the lobby of the Warsaw Marriott, waiting to meet someone, and I noticed a blond woman with a tennis bag over her shoulder checking in. As she headed to the elevator, I noticed it was Shelby Rogers. I followed her and introduced myself, and then told her how impressed I had been by her sensitivity to language. I explained that I was writer. I asked her what she was doing in Warsaw, and she said she was on her way to a tournament in Latvia, and that her coach was Polish. I told her my wife was Polish (so we sort of had something in common). Then I let her get on her elevator.
