New York: American teenager Catherine Bellis provided the biggest jolt in the US Open's first round on Tuesday by upsetting 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Playing on the secondary Court Six, the 15-year-old Bellis became the youngest female player to win a match at the US Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996.
"I went into the match thinking it was going to be such a great experience," Bellis told reporters. "But I never thought I would come out on top winning. I'm still in shock about that match."
Bellis earned her wild card into the tournament by being the youngest player to win the girls' 18s national championships since Lindsay Davenport won as a 15-year-old in 1991.
Cibulkova has won only one of four hard court matches in the run-up to the Open, but the 25-year-old Slovakian showed her prowess by reaching this year's Australian Open final.
The young Californian, who will next face 20-year-old Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan, pumped her fist on the points as she grew closer to her unlikely victory.
"It's crazy to think that I'm actually here right now with all these other people," she said.
"I mean, I never thought I would be practicing or sharing a court with a player that I watch on TV frequently.
"It's crazy. But I love it."
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