Aleksandra Krunic on the rise after upset at U.S. Open

NEW YORK – Few expected unseeded Aleksandra Krunic to beat reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round of the U.S. Open. Certainly not Krunic.

"It was an honor for me to be on the same court with Petra," Krunic said Saturday in a post-match, on-court interview. "Of course I didn't expect to win."

The 21-year-old Krunic is ranked No. 145, while Kvitova is No. 4. The former came into this match with two Grand Slam main-draw wins – here at the U.S. Open this week – while the latter has twice won Wimbledon. (Krunic watched last month's Wimbledon final and rooted for Kvitova.)

But win Krunic did – she is the lowest-ranked player left in the draw – and a primary reason was court coverage. "Yeah, I think she played really unbelievable tennis and she put a lot of balls back – almost all of them," said Kvitova in her post-match press conference.

Krunic also mixed things up against big-hitting Kvitova, who at 6-foot is nearly eight inches taller. Krunic varied pace and threw in plenty of drop shots. To get to triple match point, Krunic hit a drop shot (it's her favorite shot) that sent Kvitova racing so hard she ended up past the service line on Krunic's side of the net.

That kind of point led an usher at Louis Armstrong Stadium to opine, "They're rooting for the little girl. She's running her ragged. I love her."

He wasn't her only fan, and Krunic noticed. "I didn't expect that so many people would cheer for me. Even though I know that the crowd usually cheers for the outsider, you know, I appreciate it a lot. I was really surprised with it."

Krunic is from Serbia, hardly an outsider nation in today's tennis world. The small country boasts some huge players. Her countryman Novak Djokovic is No. 1 on the men's side, and Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic have both been No. 1. For now though, Krunic, the Serbian No. 5, is mostly unfamiliar, even to hardcore tennis fans.

Krunic was born in Russia and trained in Moscow's famed Spartak Tennis Club, once home to top Russian players, including Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, Dinara Safina and Anna Kournikova. After high school she trained in Slovakia for a year and a half.

Last year Krunic moved to Serbia, where she lives with her grandparents. She moved there because her coaching team is Serbian and she has extended family there. Her parents still live in Moscow, and she still considers it her "home city."

Psychology and criminology are among her interests, while "bowling, shopping and driving her car" are listed as hobbies. She's getting her economics degree at a Serbian university and expects to graduate at the end of this year.

The active player she admires most is Jankovic, world No. 10 and the only other Serbian woman to make it to the third round. What Krunic admires most about Jankovic is her "fighting spirit."

Krunic was asked about her "incredible tennis nation" and the support she's gotten from other players. Jankovic came up, Djokovic too. Krunic said they're really supportive. She joked that she kicked Djokovic out of a quiet room in the gym before her second-round win against American Madison Keys.

Djokovic was asked about that in his press conference a few hours later. "I hope she kicks me out every single day so she keeps on winning (smiling). If that's the lucky charm."

He didn't stop there. "She's doing tremendous work and tremendous job here in U.S. Open winning against Kvitova today, reaching first time in her career fourth round. She's still very young. She has a lot of variety in her game and she battles. I think that's something that people respect with her. You can see the brave heart."

Krunic herself can't quite explain her current success. Coming through the qualifying tournament may have helped. "Yeah, it gives you a lot of confidence," she says. "You're playing against the girls that you're competing against in the other tournaments in the quallies."

She also thinks she's playing more freely. "Comparing to last year, I think I would be much tighter and much more, you know, all over the place with my mind… When I don't put the extra pressure on myself it's just much easier for me."

Krunic also has a new coach in Branislav Jevremovic, and this is their first tournament together.

Next up for Krunic is a fourth-round match against another Grand Slam winner, Victoria Azarenka, a former No. 1 currently ranked No. 16.

They haven't played each other, but Azarenka is taking note. "I have seen just really briefly couple of points. She obviously is playing great tennis and really inspired here, you know, winning so many matches in a row and upsetting such a great player. So it's going to be tough."