"How many times are you going to see your player play No. 1 in the world?" Harris said of the decision to fly up to see her protégée beat Ivanovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. As for the upset? "We're so tickled. So tickled," Harris said.
Harris felt that the key to Coin's victory was her composure. "She was extremely focused," she said. "She always had the ability to play through her nerves, but it was painful to watch because you knew how nervous she was. It was a huge barrier."
Coin had been working with a sports psychologist since December and said after the match, “I guess now the work that we did together starts to pay off."
It took Coin several years to make her first Grand Slam singles draw, and now she will go down in history as the lowest ranked woman, at 188, to topple a reigning world No. 1 in the Open era. "When I was younger, to beat a girl just one ranking higher than I was, it took me like six months every time because I was like, 'She's better ranked than me so she's better,'" Coin said.
Coin's next opponent is another Frenchwoman who has a history of succumbing to nerves: Amelie Mauresmo.
"She's from my region," Coin said, but, "I don't know her game. I've never played her."
"It's a lot of pressure for the top players," Coin said of Mauresmo, who, like Ivanovic, had once been ranked No. 1 in the world. "For [qualifiers], everything is a bonus if we win," she said, and therefore hopes to retain the same attitude on Saturday as she did on Thursday: "Just enjoying the moment."
At Clemson, Coin was team captain for two of her three years (2003-05) there. She also led the team to two NCAA semifinals and was a 2004 singles semifinalist as a junior. According to Harris, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas was also interested in Coin, but Coin's boyfriend at the time was also playing for Clemson which made the decision somewhat easier.
"We were really very lucky," coach Harris said. "I knew she had the potential to be top 60 in the world. We tried to plant seeds, and little by little she started to believe."
Coin, 25, also credited her parents for supporting her career. "They just told me to follow your dream."
On Saturday, Coin's dream continues in the fourth round. If she defeats the No. 23-ranked Mauresmo, she stands to take home at least $46,000, which would exceed her career earnings leading up to the US Open.
Earlier this year, Coin had been pondering retirement, but her recent success may prompt her to rethink her decision. Either way, she said, "I have a bachelors' in mathematical sciences, so I'm not lost, I think."
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2008-08-29/200808291220043366717.html
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