Beatrice Capra, 18, who is ranked 371st, signed autographs after her 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 second-round upset of 18th-seeded Aravane Rezaï of France.
A year ago, Beatrice Capra was playing the junior tournament at the National Tennis Center when she was captivated by Melanie Oudin's run to the quarterfinals of the United States Open, thrilled to see a fellow 17-year-old crashing the big stage. But even a few weeks ago, Capra could hardly imagine she might be the one following in Oudin's footsteps.
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That is just what happened on Thursday, however, when Capra stunned 18th-seeded Aravane Rezaï in their second-round match, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, on a Grandstand court that took on the feeling of a happening as people crowded in. With Oudin out of the Open after a second-round defeat Wednesday, Capra filled in as the answer to who might be next.
"I'm so overwhelmed and so excited," Capra said. "I can't believe I just won my first two matches at the U.S. Open."
The new tournament darling is an 18-year-old from Ellicott City, Md., ranked 371st but with a spunky game and a dangerous backhand. She kept fighting long enough to frustrate her highly ranked opponent, following the Oudin model almost perfectly. When she captured the final point, her hands flew up to her face in an expression of bewilderment as much as triumph.
"This is definitely the best moment of my life," she said.
Capra's was far from the only upset of the day. No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko was routed by unseeded Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and No. 11 Marin Cilic was ousted in a 4-hour-59-minute marathon, 5-7, 7-6 (8), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Roger Federer got past Andreas Beck of Germany in straight sets, while the third-seeded Novak Djokovic labored in the evening session against Philipp Petzschner of Germany but emerged with a 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory. Djokovic will face the fan favorite James Blake, who beat the Canadian qualifier Peter Polansky.
On the women's side, No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki did not drop a game in beating Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan, and No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia advanced easily over Sabine Lisicki of Germany. But the No. 9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska did not fare as well; Peng Shuai of China surprised her in a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 upset that did not end until well after nightfall.
But the women's upset that really turned heads in Flushing Meadows came earlier in the day, from a player who was having serious doubts about her game this summer. Capra thought she had lost her chance at a wild card spot in the Open when she lost early in the United States Tennis Association's girls 18-and-under national championships. She went home disheartened, and was considering taking a year off and going to college. She got a call offering another chance, an eight-player playoff at the Evert Academy, where Capra trains full time.
"I thought I had already lost my chance to get a wild card, so this was just a bonus," she said. "I went in there and just played so freely. Every match I won, it gave me more confidence."
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SOURCE: The New York Times
