By Chris Oddo | Friday, March 27, 2015

 

15-year-old CiCi Bellis took down Zarina Diyas in straight sets on Friday in Miami, setting up a possible clash with Serena Williams.

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CiCi Bellis evidently learned a lot the last time she faced Zarina Diyas.

The world No. 211 routed the same woman that knocked her out of the US Open last year, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the third round of the Miami Open and set up a possible clash with world No. 1 Serena Williams.

More: Bellis Becomes Youngest to Win US Open Match Since 1996

The Atherton, California native relentlessly attacked Diyas’s serve, winning 34 of 56 return points and breaking serve on seven of nine opportunities.

“This one I think I played a lot smarter,” Bellis said. “At the US Open I was really like caught up in, you know, all the kind of hype that was going on. But this one I was just really focused and played my game. I think I did what I needed to do to win really well.”

Bellis, who knocked off Dominika Cibulkova at last year’s US Open in the first round, was the talk of the US Open for a few days, before falling to Diyas in a three-set battle in the second round. She was the youngest player to win a match at the US Open since 1996. Since then she has continued to progress, winning three Challenger titles, and has risen from a ranking outside 1200 to her current perch at 211.

Bellis could be looking at the ultimate challenge in the third round, as she’ll face the winner of tonight’s night session match between Serena Williams and Monica Niculescu.

“I have nothing to lose, so I'm just going to play my game and see what happens,” Bellis said of the possibile matchup. “I think, you know, just don't really think about who I'm playing. It's just another one of my opponents that I'm playing. Doesn't really matter who it is. You just have to go out and not think about that stuff and just play your game. That's what I'm planning to do.”