Dream Run by Bellis Comes to an End in Flushing Meadows

August 28, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
CiCi_Bellis (34)
Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Fifteen-year-old CiCi Bellis’ Cinderella run at the 2014 U.S. Open came to an end Thursday night, as she was beaten on Court 17 by Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. The wild card Bellis defeated the number 12 seed Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday, becoming the first 15-year-old since 1996 to win a U.S. Open match. On Thursday, the California teen had strong support from the 2,800-plus on Court 17 for her match against Divas under the lights.  

"This whole thing has been such a great experience," Bellis said in her post-match on-court interview. "Maybe it didn't turn out how I wanted it to, but thank you, everybody, for coming out and watching,"

Bellis earned a wild card into the man draw with her finals win at the USTA Girls 18s National Championship, the youngest player to do since Lindsay Davenport also won the National title at the age of 15 in 1991. Thursday night, Bellis won seven straight games from the start of the second set to the beginning of the third, but fell in the end to the 48th-ranked Diyas. With her win over Cibulkova, Bellis earned a paycheck of $60,420 which she declined in order to remain eligible for a collegiate scholarship. The 15-year-old, is ranked 1,208th on the WTA Tour and was playing in her first tour-level event at Flushing Meadows.

Credit all photos to Calvin Rhoden

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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