15-year-old American tennis player Catherine "Cici" Bellis wins with an upset victory over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday afternoon during the first round of the US Open, making her a part of the roster of young athletes who made a name in the tennis world.
The 15-year-old tennis player Catherine "Cici" Bellis showed her skills on the humble side of Court 6 versus world's number 13 seed Dominika Cibulkova with 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the National Tennis Center. Bellis has become the youngest girl to win a tennis match at the US Open ever since 1996.
Cibulkova had a challenging summer after winning only one of the four matches she had on the tennis court. Nevertheless, nobody thought that she would be beaten by a teenager.
As her win started to materialize, tennis fans rushed to her side of the court and ESPN took interest in her game. In an interview with New York Times, the 15-year-old American tennis player Catherine "Cici" Bellis said, "I went into the match thinking it was going to be such a great experience, but I never thought I would come out on top winning. I'm still in shock about that match."
Bellis, hailing from Atherton, California, exhibited her boundless energy and pumped her fist every time she scored big points. Bellis won a number of long volleys with her strong forehand and was overwhelmed with excitement when she won versus the 25-year-old Cibulkova.
In an interview with ESPN, she said that her belief in herself was the key to her win in the first round of the US Open.
"Believing was the No. 1 thing that I had to do today," she said. "That's what my coach told me before the match also: Just go out there and believe that you can win."
After her win, Bellis is now placed in the group of young tennis players who stunned the world. Bellis became the youngest player to win the US Open since 1996.
Last year, 17-year-old Borno Coric of Croatia won against Lukas Rosol, ranked number 29, in the men's draw. In 1991, another 15-year-old tennis player, Lindsay Davenport, won the Girls' 18s National Championship. Anna Kournikova was the last 15-year-old athlete to win a game in the US Open in 1996.
