Fifth-seed Olivia Rogowska will play unseeded Madison Brengle of the United States in the Koser Jewelers $25,000 Tennis Challenge Final at Hempfield Rec Center.
Rogowska upended Jennifer Elie of Brooklyn, 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, in two and a half hours, while Brengle ousted 2011 Koser champion and UCLA all-American Robin Anderson, 6-1, 6-2, in Saturday’s second semifinal.
Rogowska, 22, has won nine professional singles titles and has career wins over former top 10 players Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Jelena Dokic of Australia. At the 2009 U.S. Open, she lost a three-set match to then-No. 1 Dinara Safina.
Rogowska, who has played in three of the Grand Slams — Wimbledon is the only major missing from her résumé — almost didn’t reach Sunday’s final. She served poorly and lost the first set to Elie, 6-2.
“I was just not focused,” she said of the opening set. “I was too preoccupied with the stadium and not concentrating. In the second set I really knuckled down … and instantly started playing better.”
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