Second seed Simona Halep had no trouble dispatching qualifier Shelby Rogers, as the Romanian won the match 6-2, 6-3 in 67 minutes to advance to the fourth round of the 2015 US Open. Halep has equaled her best performance at Flushing Meadows, which she achieved in her breakthrough 2013 season. If she wants to go one better on Labour Day Monday, the Romanian will have to beat Sabine Lisicki who came back from 1-5 down in the third to defeat Barbora Strycova.

Clinical Opening Set from Halep

The first four games were all won by the server as Rogers looked to have settled into playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium at ease, for her first time playing a competitive match on the biggest tennis court in the world. Halep had yet to play a match under the lights of New York City this week so it took the world number two a little time to get used to her new surroundings.

Now tied at two-games-all, Rogers was looking to hold serve to keep her nose in front. However, the American qualifier made a few too many unforced error and against a top player, one just can't do that. Halep held the first break points of the match later in that game and she converted the second to go up a 3-2 lead. From there, the Romanian looked to have adapted well to her new playing conditions as she was beginning to get looser, and more aggressive. 

Halep was able to hold serve easily to consolidate the break and she followed it up with yet another break, to open up a 5-2 lead. The two seed only needed one chance to serve out the opening set, as she did so at 15 to win it 6-2. The Romanian from Constanta had reeled off five games in a row and was looking increasingly comfortable as the match progressed.

Strong Second Set from Halep Wins Her the Match

The second set began just like the end of the first set as Halep was able to be more consistent than Rogers, hence the American making more and more unforced errors. The world number two only needed one break point out of a possible three to break at love in the opening game. Now up 1-0, Halep continued her quest for a straight forward straight sets win over Rogers with a hold at 15. In the next game, Rogers was trailing 0-2 and had lost seven games in a row but that didn't stop the home favourite from being aggressive and playing her game. Rogers was able to mix up a few things to get on the board, thanks to a few rare unforced errors from Halep.

The Romanian from Constanta continued her dominance on serve as she replied with a hold of her own, to open up a sizeable 6-2, 3-1 lead. The following game proved to be the longest of the match, as it lasted thirteen points, and both players had their chances to win it. In the end, it was Rogers who was able to hold her nerve and serve to save a break point and hold.

Halep's sensational defence and consistency was doing wonders for her this evening as she was able to make her American counterpart hit another ball, which eventually resulted in an error from Rogers or a stunning winner from the Romanian. As a result, Halep was able to extend her lead with a hold of serve before breaking to 15 to go up 5-2, just like she did in the opening set.

To the qualifier's credit, Rogers was able to recover one of the breaks with some big hitting, as she broke the Romanian for the first time in the match. Despite her best efforts, Rogers was unable to hold onto that momentum as Halep's stunning defence and consistency was enough to wear down the American qualifier 6-2, 6-3.

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About the author
Max Gao
Max Gao is a sports writer specializing in tennis and the Toronto Blue Jays, who has also written on the Rogers Cup website as a guest contributor in the past.