Catherine “CiCi” Bellis, the wunderkind of the U.S. Open, was savoring the attention Wednesday, a day after the 15-year-old from San Francisco stunned the tennis world with her first-round victory over Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova, the 12th seed.
“I like it,” Bellis told The Post in the players’ lounge in between texting her friends. “I really like it. But I definitely have to focus and move on from [Tuesday’s] match and not think too much about it anymore.”
Bellis, ranked 1,028th in the world and the youngest player in the draw, will face Kazakhstan’s 48th-ranked Zarina Diyas on the larger Court 17 at about 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Her father, Gordon, tried limiting her media interviews Wednesday, but Bellis went on ESPN’s Open telecast and admitted: “I can’t get enough of it.’’
Her mother, Lori, stayed back at the hotel and also didn’t attend the first-round stunner in which Bellis became the youngest woman to win an Open match since Anna Kournikova in 1996.
“She gets too nervous,” Bellis said of her mother.
Bellis said her mother, who played the junior circuit and for one year at Indiana University, has been a big “influence.’’
Right now, Bellis — entering the 10th grade — has time to decide on college or turning pro. But she’s staying an amateur to keep her “options open,’’ forgoing the $60,000 purse (or more) for winning her first Open match. She could become the youngest player to win her two matches at the Open in 28 years.
Bellis, who has been home-schooled since she was 9 years old, said some of her friends were taking to Twitter during the match, with the hashtag #takedowncibulkova. She said at her post-match press conference she probably would be at Urban Outfitters at the Stanford Mall if she weren’t at the Open this week.
“The big test will be how she does her second round,’’ ESPN commentator Chris Evert told The Post. “It’s one thing to have one big upset. It’s another to follow it up. That will show me about her mentality.’’
The smallish Court 6, which seats about 1,500, overflowed with a pro-Bellis crowd, chanting in unison by the third set. With a nickname that is a combination of her first name (Catherine) and middle name (Cartan), she’s the most popular CiCi in New York this week — sorry CC Sabathia.
“It was crazy,’’ she said. “A lot more people came out [Tuesday] than last year. I love the way they supported me.’’
Evert didn’t play the Open when she was 15 because “my father didn’t think I was ready. I’m glad. Because at 16, I was ready and look what I did.’’
Evert made it to the Open semifinals that year. At 15, Evert had won the 18-and-under USTA nationals and beat No. 1 Margaret Court in a tour event. Bellis also won the 18-and-under girls event in Kalamazoo, Mich. to earn a bid into the 2014 Open — her first tour-level main draw.
For a 15-year-old to be in a main draw nowadays, let alone knock off a top seed, is special, Evert said. But she also had words of caution.
“It’s pretty awesome because the sport is so physical and athletic and the women are so tall, big and strong,’’ said Evert, who believes Bellis needs more upper-body strength and a bigger serve. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s just one round, one match. I get a little nervous when we glorify these young kids. Look what happened to Melanie Oudin. Look what’s happening to Sloane Stephens.
“We should leave them alone and let them develop. We’re all excited about this, possibly having another great American player. I would say don’t go on the talk-show circuit just yet or magazine covers. It’s not good for the player.’’
Still, Bellis is already being asked which talk show she’d want to do most. Her answer: “Ellen.”