Sports

US Open darling CiCi Bellis on the receiving end of big upset

CiCi Bellis won’t get her consolation prize.

The 15-year old from California lost in three sets to Natalia Vikhlyantseva of Russia, 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-1 in the second round of the US Open junior girls’ draw on Tuesday, a disappointing ending for Bellis, who was the No. 1 seed.

Bellis became America’s tennis sweetheart last week when she beat the No. 12-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in a heart-stopping three-setter in the first round of the main draw. The wild-card entry went on to lose in the second round, but won more than a few fans in the process.

With the loss in the junior singles tournament, Bellis is down to chasing the junior girls doubles title with partner Marketa Vondrousova. The top-seeded pair’s first match is scheduled for later Tuesday.

Trailing 5-2 in the first set, Bellis was down 0-40 facing three break points to Vikhlyantseva. She took the next five points to pull it to 5-3 and took the set to a tiebreak, where she had dropped two set points en route to losing 11-9.

Bellis stormed back to take the second set 6-2, but was overwhelmed by Vikhlyantseva in the third.

In the past week, Bellis has seen her social media following skyrocket and her autograph become one of the hot commodities on the Flushing Meadows grounds.