Rogers steamrolls opponent in opening match of Australian Open!

Shelby Rogers had one of the most stunning performances of 2016, shocking just about everyone but herself, by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open.

The Daniel Island native’s success at Grand Slam events has carried over to the new year. The unseeded Rogers breezed past fourth-seed Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-1, in an opening match of the Australian Open, which was contested on center court at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Rogers was unfazed when she first saw the draw in Melbourne. She also was unfazed about the outcome.

“It's no surprise to me,” the 24-year-old Rogers said during a post-match press conference. “I have had some tough draws in the slams, so I'm kind of used to that, playing the seeds and playing big matches right off the bat.”

“But it's always fun,” she continued. “You know you're going to play on a good court. You know you're going to get the atmosphere. It can be tough sometimes to play on the outer courts, not too much going on.”

Rogers steamrolled the Romanian Halep. Ranked No. 52 in the world, Rogers needed only 75 minutes to pull of the first major upset of the year’s first major tournament. And, she did it in style. She won 71 percent of her first-serve points and 63 percent on her second serve. She faced only one break point, which she saved, and broke Halep’s serve four times.

“I think I played great today, trying to be aggressive going out there. My game plan worked. Just move forward, hit your shots, be really aggressive. When I'm doing that, I am playing well. Very happy with how I did today.”

Rogers’ effort might just be the crowning achievement of her career. She sent out notice of her Grand Slam potential last May at Roland Garros when she reached the quarterfinals, despite a world ranking of 108. She lost to eventual champ Garbiñe Muguruza. She built on that success in Paris and it showed in Melbourne.

“The biggest thing I took away from that was just that I can compete with the top players in the world and I'm good enough, you know. And little things here and there I need to work on, but I'm here. I need to believe in myself. So I have definitely carried that away from the French Open and just been enjoying it a little bit, I think there has been a lot of positive feedback, which has been nice; just trying to keep that going.”

Halep blasted Rogers in the third round of the 2015 U.S. Open in their only previous meeting.

Halep, a two-time quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, lost in the first round at Melbourne for the second straight year. She lost to Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai last year.

Rogers is playing in her third tournament in Australia this year. She reached the quarterfinals in Hobart and the Round of 16 in Brisbane in preparation for Melbourne.

Rogers was scheduled to play wildcard entry Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the second round of the Australian Opens, which concludes with the championships on Jan. 29.