Chicago Fall Tennis Classic 2021: Bianca Andreescu vs Shelby Rogers preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (8) Bianca Andreescu vs Shelby Rogers

Date: 29 September 2021

Tournament: Chicago Fall Tennis Classic 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 32)

Venue: Chicago, USA

Category: WTA 500

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $565,530

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Bianca Andreescu vs Shelby Rogers preview

Bianca Andreescu in action at the 2021 US Open.

After a first-round bye, eighth seed Bianca Andreescu will start her campaign in Chicago against World No. 46 Shelby Rogers, who won her opening-round match against Lizette Cabrera 6-2 6-1.

Andreescu returned to the tour this year after missing the entire 2020 season due to injuries. However, her comeback has been far from ideal. The 2021 Australian Open was her first tournament in more than 15 months and the Canadian's lack of match play was evident as she lost in the second round to the crafty Hsieh Su-wei.

She bounced back strongly by reaching the semifinals of the Phillip Island Trophy and the final of the Miami Open, but had to retire in the latter due to an injury. The rest of Andreescu season has been up and down as she has dealt with injuries and even tested positive for Covid-19.

Unable to string together a bunch of strong results, Andreescu has fallen out of the top 10. However, she did reach the fourth round of the last tournament she played in, the US Open, where she lost to Maria Sakkari in a close three-set contest. The former US Open champion competed well in that match and would like to build on that.

Shelby Rogers at the 2021 US Open.

Shelby Rogers, meanwhile, is having a pretty decent season. The 28-year-old made the fourth round of the Australian Open and US Open and reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal in doubles at the French Open.

The highlight of her season has to be her win over World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, whom she finally managed to defeat in New York after losing four times to the Australian this year. The American also reached a career-high ranking of 40 in July.

However, she has struggled to perform consistently outside of the Slams. Aside from a couple of quarterfinal runs at two WTA 500 events in Australia and another at a WTA 250, Rogers has lost in the early rounds of every tournament she has played in.

Bianca Andreescu vs Shelby Rogers head-to-head

This will be the first meeting between Bianca Andreescu and Shelby Rogers, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Bianca Andreescu vs Shelby Rogers prediction

Bianca Andreescu in action at the 2021 US Open.

This is the first event that Bianca Andreescu and Shelby Rogers are competing in since their fourth-round losses at the US Open. The Canadian appears to be healthy and will be looking to start putting together some strong results.

Andreescu's game is known for its variety and she'll look to use every trick up her sleeve to trouble Rogers.

The American, on the other hand, loves to come to the net to finish points early and her experience in doubles has only made her better in that aspect of the game. Andreescu will have to find a way to keep Rogers pinned to the baseline with her groundstrokes and focus on outwitting the American with her tricky gameplay.

Prediction: Bianca Andreescu to win in three sets.