If CiCi Bellis’ charmed US Open run suggested a player ready to compete at the tour level, then Friday night’s one-sided defeat to the world’s second-best player showed just how far the teenager from Silicon Valley has to go.
The 17-year-old amateur's storybook march through qualifying into the third round came to a screeching halt in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Germany's Angelique Kerber, who needed less than an hour to win 6-1, 6-1 and book a date in the last 16 opposite Petra Kvitova, who won earlier on Friday.
The matchup of counter-punchers produced attractive and occasionally dazzling power-baseline tennis. Bellis, the lone remaining qualifier in the draw who was bidding to become the youngest American to reach the second week at Flushing Meadows since Venus Williams in 1997, showed her fighting spirit in the opening game when she rallied from love-40 down on Kerber’s serve to earn a pair of break-point chances. She pounded flat, angled groundstrokes deep into the court and betrayed no sign of stage fright playing for the first time in the world’s largest tennis stadium.
But from the moment Kerber broke Bellis at love on the teenager’s first service game, the German’s advantages in strength, footwork, precision and experience all told, say nothing of her signature forehand down the line. “As my nerves settled down, I think hers did, too,” Bellis said afterward. “She started playing a lot better.”
The youngest woman in the draw managed her first winner of the night on the opening point of the fourth game and held serve to finally get on the board. Then with Kerber serving at 3-1, Bellis rattled off two quick points and threatened to break back. A highlight came at 30-all, when she mixed in a touch drop shot to bring in Kerber followed by a lob winner that brought the crowd to their feet and set up a break-point opportunity.
But the 28-year-old snuffed it out, then staked a game point when Bellis overcooked a sitter to cap a splendid 21-shot rally. Bellis showed further pluck in warding off four set points to earn a fourth look at a break point, but Kerber saved it moments before uncorking an overhand winner to take the opener in 25 minutes. The youngster would later marvel at the Australian Open champion’s indefatigable fitness and composure in the rallies.
“She could play an hour-long point and wouldn’t be tired,” a humbled Bellis said. “Her groundstrokes are perfect. I hope to one day be able to play like her.”
The gulf in class became even more apparent in the second set. Bellis was broken at love in the first game amid a stretch of 12 consecutive points for the German. When she quickly fell behind a second break, tossing her racquet to the ground in disgust as a trickle of fans made their way to the aisles, the outcome was but a handshake away.
“She’s a great young, really talented player,” Kerber said. “For sure she will have a great future. I mean, she’s a great player. She’s really young, so let’s see how her future will be. But I’m really sure it will be a good one.”
Bellis had first made a splash here two years ago as a 15-year-old qualifier who upset 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova to become the youngest girl in nearly two decades to make it past the first round at Flushing Meadows. That result made her an overnight sensation ahead of her second-round loss to the Kazakh Zarina Diyas.
This time Bellis went one further, earning a $140,000 windfall that she must forfeit to maintain her eligibility to play at Stanford University, where she’s verbally committed. What she can keep is the career-high ranking she’s assured – somewhere in the No120 range – after entering the tournament ranked 158th. “Right now I think (Stanford) is still definitely an option for me,” she said. “I’m not going to make any quick decisions right now.”
The beating will no doubt prompt a self-assessment that began in the moments after the match. “I just want to keep improving my serve a lot, make my groundstrokes a little more solid,” she said. “I think today on some of the long points we had I ended up missing some finishing shots. Just keep working on those, keep working on playing long points.
“By the end of the year I’d love to keep getting my ranking up as much as possible, keep improving. I think the last year I’ve improved so much, improved my game so much. I want to keep doing that.”
(Guardian service)
