Dasha Lopatetskaya hasn't just knocked on the door at her debut US Open. She's barreled right through it.
The 15-year-old Ukrainian qualifier sent shockwaves through the girls' singles draw on Friday as she scored an upset of junior world No. 2, top seed and reigning French Open champion Cori Gauff in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
"It was an incredible match - two good players on the court, especially Coco, because she's No. 1. It's amazing to play against her," Lopatetskaya said of the match played on Court 17.
"It was just a good match, a good fight, and I just gave my best out there. It was just really amazing to play on this big court, with this really amazing crowd. It's my first time, my first Grand Slam, from the [qualifying], so I'm just really excited now to play the semifinals. I'm going to go out there and do my best."
The youngest of the four players remaining, Lopatetskaya is making two kinds of debuts at Flushing Meadows. The Ukrainian, who celebrated her birthday in April, is not only playing in her first junior Slam, but is in the Big Apple for the first time.
"New York has my heart, as I said on the court. I was dreaming to come to the city and play on the big courts with a crowd, and it's such a part of the dream for me,” she said.
'I was always dreaming to go, to get here to see all these people, Manhattan, and so many things…I love it here and it's my favorite city. From the first sight, I loved it - even from the plane."
With her run in this tournament, It's clear that New York has been good to her, too. Ranked world No. 70 on the junior circuit coming into the event, Lopatetskaya is currently on a six-match winning streak at the US Open.
She needed to win two matches in the girls' singles qualifying draw, and has won four in the main draw, which included an upset of No. 6 seed and European junior champion Clara Tauson of Denmark in the second round before she stunned Gauff.
Three of those victories have been in three sets.
"Each match, I'm even more charged. I want to play, and I'm looking forward to the semifinals," she said. "I'm really enjoying it here. It's incredible here, the atmosphere is amazing. I'm really thankful and grateful that I can play this tournament. I'm just stepping out and playing my best tennis. For me, it's easier to play [when I'm not seeded]. For me, that's a bit of pressure on the opponent, because I'm not seeded, I'm from qualies.
"I didn't get into Wimbledon, French Open, or Australian Open. When I started this year, my ranking was like no. 400, so I just played, played, played.”
The teenager's stacked schedule included a brief venture into the ITF women's circuit this summer, where she made tennis die-hards stand up and take notice by winning the first two professional events she ever played, in Turkey and Hungary.
"My score is 11-0...I haven't lost a match in the pros," she said with a laugh.
“I played two $15,000 [events] and I won them. I mean, I was just enjoying it out there, because the girls were 10, 15 years older than me and there was zero pressure on me. My first tournament was from qualies, because I didn't get into the main draw, but I won there. It was really great. Everyone was asking me, 'Are you really 15?' before a match. Everyone was really surprised that I'm 15, but I was really enjoying it out there and was really, really relaxed there."
“I was always dreaming to go, to get here to see all these people, Manhattan, and so many things…I love it here and it's my favorite city. From the first sight, I loved it - even from the plane."
Despite her early success and her breakout fortnight here, Lopatetskaya is keeping herself grounded.
In recent months, she returned home to Ukraine to train with her childhood coach after two years at the famed Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France – run by Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams.
“I'm really thankful for [the academy], especially Patrick and all the coaches, and what they did for me, but sometimes you need to change, and it's good to change. I'm at home now, with my family, with my sister. I love them so much. I miss them really a lot, because I'm traveling to the tournaments a lot and I see them really rarely. It's always good to be at home with my coach. He's from my club – I started to practice there when I was four years old so it's really my home," she said.
"I want to work on each shot, more and more. For me, I can do much, much more, better. I can hit harder, I can open up the court much better, so I just need to work, work, work. I don't feel like there is a big problem with my technique, but I just need to work – and I love to work.”
If she keeps working this week, she has a chance at history: no player from Ukraine has ever won the girls’ singles title at the US Open.
It would be a fitting end to a fortnight that saw two of her compatriots, Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko, reach the second week of a Slam in women’s singles – a first for Ukraine in the Open era – with Tsurenko eventually making the quarterfinals.
"In Ukraine, a lot of people support me, even from a distance. I love my country and I'm really thankful to play [for] it. I play a lot of events for the Ukrainian team. I love to represent Ukraine and see Ukrainian flags when I'm playing. It's really pumping me up and I'm just really grateful,” Lopatetskaya said.
"For me, Ukraine has the best girls [and women's players] now. Our next generation of Marta [Kostyuk], Dayana [Yastremska], [Katarina] Zatavska, and starting with Elina, Lesia, Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok – we have amazing players, and I'm just trying to be like them. I'm trying to get those results, and maybe one day, 10 years, five years, I'll do better than them. That's a goal, but I'm really grateful that we have all these players, and it's an honor to represent [Ukraine] in the team matches with them. Everyone is doing great out there on the tour now."
A long way from home, Lopatetskaya has had one other ardent supporter in her corner this fornight: she's been one of "the best" for Yerbolat Kabulov, the US Open’s viral super-fan who has been spotted across the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this fortnight.
"Oh my god, he is the best! The whole tournament, from the first match, he's coming to my matches like, 'Who is the best? Daria is the best!' I'm grateful to hear that. It's always helpful," she said.
"He's saying [best] in Russian, and it's great that this person is cheering for me. I love it! He's the best. He came to me right now, like, 'When are you playing tomorrow?' and I'm like, 'In the day, I think,' and he's like, 'I'll come, from here, from the heart!' and I love it.
"When I heard it the first time, I played my first match in qualies, and I laughed like crazy for five minutes. I couldn't stop because it was so funny, and now he's coming every match, and screaming that. The guy is the best. He's not even Ukrainian, he's from Kazakhstan, but he's like, 'Ukraine is the best,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, I know!'"
Should Lopatetskaya score two more victories at this tournament, she'll not only be the 'best' in name - but she'll have a trophy to show for it, too.
