Coin makes Ivanovic pay

Maybe it8217;s that two months ago at Wimbledon qualifying after another galling loss from ahead, Coin figured she would probably give up tennis and pursue tennis coaching or something related to her degree in mathematical sciences. Maybe it8217;s that when Coin called her parents in France after defeating Ivanovic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, they had seen only the third set because French TV hadn8217;t shown the first two.

Maybe it8217;s that Coin, qualifier, all but quaked with dread when some rapid early finishes prompted officials to move her match from smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium to the largest tennis stadium on Earth, Arthur Ashe Stadium. Maybe it8217;s that Coin looked just daunted enough by reporters afterward that a tour representative felt moved to tell her, 8220;They don8217;t bite.8221;

Even if Ivanovic looked ripe for felling in the first round, it8217;s outlandish that it8217;s Coin who wrought the biggest upset of a No. 1 player since the rankings began in 1975. Even though Ivanovic had the newly repaired thumb and the lack of practice time, it8217;s crazy that it8217;s Coin who caused the earliest exit of a No. 1 player in US Open history. Even if Ivanovic already lost to then-No. 133 Jie Zheng at Wimbledon, still, Julie Coin?

8220;I don8217;t realise yet that I beat the number one in the world,8221; Coin said.

Not even Amelie Mauresmo had seen her play, curious given Mauresmo hails from the same French region, but by the dinner hour on Thursday, a few thousand lingering New Yorkers had seen her and so had Mauresmo, with Coin her third-round opponent.

Ivanovic floundered with Coin8217;s excellent serve and sprayed 34 unforced errors, but she still had three break points at 2-2 in the third set, whereupon Coin hogged 10 straight points to go 4-2 and 40-15. All that remained was the serve for the match and a match point at 40-30, where Coin hit a fault graphically long.

She double-faulted but grinded to another match point. Ivanovic hit a winner smack onto the doubles line, but Coin grinded to another match point. Ivanovic yanked a forehand far wide, and Coin smiled and exulted just a bit. Then the veteran of the drudgery of lower tours and qualifying explained just how she took until almost age 26 to get here.

8220;Well, I8217;ve always been really slow,8221; Coin said, smiling.

Jankovic battles ahead

Second seed Jelena Jankovic came through another bruising battle on Friday, edging past Zheng Jie 7-5, 7-5 to reach the fourth round. The Serbian scrambled into the last 16 after two hours nine minutes.

Having been pushed to three sets in the previous round, Jankovic again became embroiled in a tough encounter as Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng matched her from the baseline. Zheng saved four match points in a marathon 12th game of the second set which had 11 deuces but Jankovic finally clinched victory when the Chinese netted a forehand.

Bhupathi-Knowles advance

Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas reached the third round of the men8217;s doubles with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Yves Allegro of Switzerland and Romania8217;s Horia Tecau. They will play the Argentine pair of Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco for a place in the last eight. Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy also made it to the third round with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win over Argentina8217;s Eduardo Schwank and Potito Starace of Italy.