As American tennis mourned the defeat of its most promising young player - the 21st seed Sloane Stephens, who lost on Wednesday against Sweden's Johanna Larsson - there was at least some compensation in the feelgood story of 15-year-old CiCi Bellis.
On Tuesday evening, Bellis took out the Australian Open finalist and 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova in a dramatic three-set match: 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. In doing so, the world No 1,208 became the youngest woman to win a match at the US Open since Anna Kournikova in 1996.
Expectations around Flushing Meadows had not been high before the match, as was evident from Bellis's scheduling on the relatively unglamorous Court Six.
As word got out of a potential upset, the few available seats became heavily oversubscribed, while host broadcaster ESPN had to set up a last-minute camera position in the stands.
The chanting of Bellis's name helped her to rouse herself to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the deciding set, and afterwards she credited the crowd for giving her "so much energy. I love it when people watch me".
Much of the post-match coverage of Bellis's win focused on her amateur status. In order to keep the option of a college tennis career open, she is not claiming her earnings from this event, which would amount to $60,000 assuming she loses on Thursday to her second-round opponent, Zarina Dyas of Kazakhstan.
As the world's second-ranked junior, Bellis will almost certainly be good enough to turn pro directly, rather than opting for the safety net of a college degree.
She earned a wild card to the US Open by beating another hotly tipped talent in Tornado Black to win the national girls' under-18 competition in San Diego a fortnight ago.
Again, Bellis was performing ahead of expectations in San Diego: she was the youngest woman to lift that title since Lindsay Davenport, who went on to win three grand slams, in 1991. Sensibly, though, she does not want to close down any paths at this early stage of her career.
"I think I'm definitely going to stay an amateur right now to keep my options open for college, in case an injury or something happens," she said. "But I'd love to be a pro one day."
The money she sacrificed may not concern her too much. Bellis comes from a comfortable background, to say the least, having learnt the game at a country club in San Francisco.
Her father Gordon works in private equity, and her mother Lori was herself a college tennis player who was reported to be too nervous to attend the match on Tuesday.
Feelin this dubs photo @thealexisnelson 👊 pic.twitter.com/3auH20miMO
— CiCi Bellis (@cicibellis99) August 11, 2014
"I'm told I cannot sigh and cannot move or say anything," Gordon Bellis told one reporter, when asked about the experience of supporting his daughter from the courtside. "She knows when I sigh. I have to sit like a sphinx."
There are plenty of young American women with star quality - not least Madison Keys, who lifted her maiden WTA title in Eastbourne in June.
But with the exception of Stephens's appearance in the Australian Open semi-final last year, they have yet to suggest that they can contend with the queen of the court: Serena Williams, who beat another compatriot in Taylor Townsend in her first-round match on Tuesday night.
"I haven't had that great of a season," Stephens said on Wednesday, after her 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 defeat by Larsson. "But I'm not going to dwell on it. There is always room for improvement. Everyone has their ups and downs. Everyone goes through times like this. I'm not the first person and won't be the last."