15-Year-Old American Phenom CiCi Bellis Loses Hard-Fought Match At The US Open
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Bellis, a 15-year-old from the Bay Area, became the youngest person to win a U.S. Open match in 18 years on Tuesday. On Thursday she fell to Diyas 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. She fought off two match points before finally going down.
To put things in perspective, this was only her second WTA match ever, and she isn't even accepting prize money from the tournament because she wants to maintain her amateur status. For a 15-year-old ranked 1,208th in the world, a win over a top-15 opponent and run to the second round of the U.S. Open main draw is more than she could have dreamed of.
It all started to unravel early in the third set, when Bellis double-faulted to give Diyas a 3-1 lead. The 15-year-old has been composed beyond her years all tournament, but she lost her cool and slammed her racquet here:
ESPN
Later in the set she appeared to turn an ankle, and that was that:
ESPN
By all indications, this won't be the last we hear from Bellis. Her coaches rave about her, and she appears to have a bright future.
Grantland's Brian Phillips sums it up well:
She'll be back:
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Markets extend gains for 5th session; Sensex revisits 74k
- Top 10 tourist places to visit in Darjeeling in 2024
- India's forex reserves sufficient to cover 11 months of projected imports
- ITC plans to open more hotels overseas: CMD Sanjiv Puri
- 7 Indian dishes that are extremely rich in calcium