Ashleigh Barty, the top-ranked woman's player at the US Open, bowed out of the year's last Grand Slam on Saturday losing to Shelby Rogers of the US in the third round.
Rogers is the only US player left in the women's singles at the US Open as Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams and Venus Williams all opted out with injuries while Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens, Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula lost.
Rogers nearly joined the 'exit' list after trailing 2-5 in the third round to Barty. Rogers defeated Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5).
Barty's exit is the biggest upset of the US Open, so far. Barty has been world number 1 since January 2019 and had won five tournaments this year. Barty also went into the match with a 5-0 record against Rogers.
Barty was humble in defeat, saying, "You can’t win every single tennis match that you play... I’m proud of myself and my team for all the efforts we’ve put in in the last six months. It’s been pretty incredible. I don’t think we could have asked for much more honestly. I wouldn’t change a thing," The New York Times reported.
Rogers, who was a quarterfinalist at the US Open last year, will now play 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Britain on Monday.
In the men's edition, Novak Djokovic moved into the fourth round of the US open for the 14th straight time by defeating Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.
Djokovic is now just four wins short of the first men’s 'calendar year' Grand Slam in 52 years. Rod Laver was the last men's player to win all Grand Slams, achieving the feat in 1969. Djokovic is also in pursuit of a 21st Grand Slam victory. Djokovic will now play 99th-ranked US wild card Jenson Brooksby on Monday.
