By Chris Oddo | Friday, July 11, 2014

 

Being ranked well outside of the WTA's top 100 hasn't stopped Americans Shelby Rogers and Grace Min from having a banner week in Austria.

Photo Source: AFP

Ranked at 147 and 138 in the world respectively, Shelby Rogers and Grace Min have each made unexpected runs to the semifinals of the Nurnberger Gastein Ladies in Bad Gastein, Austria this week.

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20-year-old Grace Min reached her first career WTA semifinal on Friday with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Karolina Pliskova. Min had only been past the first round at a tour-level event once this year, but her chances opened up when top-seeded Flavia Pennetta withdrew from the tournament, enabling Min to face a lucky loser in the first round.

“I didn’t really get that great of a draw, drawing Pennetta,” Min told the WTA Tour. “But I got a bit lucky because she pulled out and now I’m making the most of it.”

Min will face Andrea Petkovic, who took out Stefanie Voegele, 6-3, 6-2.

Rogers, who had to qualify for the main draw before notching her first career top 20 win over Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round, also reached her first career semifinal on Friday by knocking off Italy’s Camila Giorgi, 6-1, 7-5. The 21-year-old has doubled her total of tour-level wins from three to six this week and will bid for her first career final against Sara Errani on Saturday.

Errani reached her 20th clay-court semifinal with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers.

Notes and Numbers:

Prior to this week, neither Min nor Rogers had won back-to-back matches at the tour level.

Rogers is seeking to become the second qualifier to reach the Bad Gastein final. Lucie Hradecka achieved the feat in 2008.

Of the four semifinalists, only Petkovic has earned a WTA title this year (Charleston).

Petkovic is a former champion, having won in Bad Gastein in 2009.