Three years ago, the fiery Yulia Putintseva declared that she was "like a gangster on the court, but an angel off the court," one of the tennis world's all-time most memorable self-descriptions.
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After defeating Wang Xinyu 6-1, 7-6(5) for the first time in four meetings to reach the US Open third round, the No.30 seed delighted the Flushing Meadows crowd by expanding on her repertoire of dramatis personae.
"On the court I have different kinds of personality," Putintseva said in her on-court interview. "Sometimes it's a clown, sometimes it's a gangster. Sometimes I'm feeling great and I'm just happy. I'm so emotional and I think the people can see when I'm frustrated with something and when I'm enjoying playing.
"Off the court I'm different. I'm angel. Not always, but my mom tells me that!"
Putintseva's full emotional range was on show throughout the high-quality, tightly-contested match, from angry swipes of her racquet to lawnmower-fistpump celebrations after pulling off some of her many delightful drop shots. But this year, it's mostly been delight. Within the past two months, she's scored wins over the World Nos.1 and 2, defeating Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon and Coco Gauff in Cincinnati. Ranked No.32, she's just five spots off her career high of No.27.
The 29-year-old is on a roll, and she's determined to bring the New York crowd with her. She thanked a fan who was "screaming 'Yulia!' all the time" for helping her get back into the second set, and contrasted the atmosphere to her previous best US Open run.
"The year I made quarterfinals [2020], it was a Covid year," Putintseva recalled. "So I had no fans. Now I'm having some and it's great."
Putintseva will next face No.5 seed Jasmine Paolini, who advanced 0-0, 30-15 retired when Karolina Pliskova was forced to withdraw due to injury after just three points.
