Tennis

US Open wunderkind blowing up on social media

Fame and her US Open success may not have changed Catherine “CiCi” Bellis, but it may have changed the 15-year-old San Francisco phenom’s world a bit.

With her angelic face, Nike apparel and catchy nickname, Bellis said she now gets recognized on the street and revealed her social-media footprint exploded. She even received unsolicited calls from her tennis idol, Kim Clijsters.

“I’ve had people on the streets come up and ask are you CiCi Bellis? It’s kind of weird. I love it, though, it’s amazing,’’ said Bellis, whose first-round win over No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova in the main draw made her a media darling.

“Actually, before I played my second-round match, Kim Clijsters called me. She’s been my favorite player of all-time. She said, ‘Good luck, so proud of everything you’re doing.’ She called me up and she was like, ‘Hi, CiCi, it’s Kim Clijsters. I don’t know if you’ve heard of me before.’ I’m like, ‘yeah, I’ve heard of you.’ It was so funny. That was amazing.’’

Bellis lost in the second round, but she was back on the Grandstand Court on Monday as the top seed in the Open junior girls tournament. She posted a 6-1, 6-3 rout of Mexican Renata Zarazua.

Afterward, she acknowledged the biggest change has come in her social media following.

“On Twitter, I have almost 8,000 followers,’’ she said. “I had 300 before. On Instagram I think I got like 3,000 more, almost 4,000. I was at 1,200 I think.’’

Her Twitter handle is @CiCiBellis99 — and yes, if you want to feel old, that is indeed her birth year. She had 7,584 followers as of Monday afternoon, and will gain even more if she wins the junior title.

“Yeah, it would mean everything to me. I want to win a [Grand] Slam here. [Even if it’s] juniors, it really doesn’t matter. A junior Slam at the U.S. Open, that would be unbelievable,’’ said Bellis, “I love being the first seed. I play better that way. If you’re the target, I play better that way, and it’s good for me.”


Knicks superfan/filmmaker Spike Lee was in attendance, but declined to talk about Phil Jackson’s team.

Lee is longtime friends with Serena Williams. Originally, Lee was to attend the Open with free-agent guard Ray Allen, but Allen was a no-show.

“I’ve known Spike for many years,’’ Williams said. “We always have dinner. He has a house down the street from mine in Palm Beach. I sometimes go over there and we eat dinner. We play tennis together. He’s super intense. He wants me to play as hard as I can. I’m like, ‘Spike, are you sure? I mean, c’mon.’ He’s such a great person. I love his kids. We all just get along.’’

Additional reporting by Marc Berman