Vandeweghe marches on in Melbourne in entertaining fashion

It's been a long, long week for CoCo Vandeweghe. On Monday, she was in control of her first round match at the Australian Open, rushing out to a 6-1 lead over 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci. But then the Italian was up a break in the second set and Vandeweghe was falling apart, literally, as she hunched over on the ground facing the back wall of Margaret Court Arena.

Vandeweghe’s chances of advancing against the tricky Vinci looked slim. But after a lengthy medical timeout, she managed to overcome the illness to secure the upset, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

“Shoot. I don’t know what was happening. It wasn’t the heat or anything, I just started feeling nauseous,” Vandeweghe said. “I’m lost for words. I can’t thank you guys enough for pushing me through that. Hopefully, [I] could recover in time for the next round.”

Little did Vandeweghe know that her run was only just beginning.

Almost a week later, the No. 35-ranked American is into her first fourth round in Melbourne, with a chance to reach her second career Grand Slam quarterfinal on Sunday night when she takes on world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.

To get there, the former Wimbledon quarterfinalist beat Pauline Parmentier in straight sets in the second round, before battling back from a break down in the third set to beat Eugenie Bouchard on Friday.

“This one isn't that high for me,” Vandeweghe said of her win over Bouchard. “It was kind of expected, in my mind, to get the win and to get the victory and to move a step closer to achieving what I want to achieve for this year and also this tournament.”

Vandeweghe is no stranger to playing against top players—having beaten four Top 10 players last season—and she certainly never seems intimidated.

“I don't really take rankings that much into consideration as far as when I go up and face an opponent,” the two-time WTA titlist said Friday. “If I'm ranked higher or lower. Whatever, you've still got to go out there and beat them.”

The 25-year-old certainly has the firepower to challenge Kerber and anyone else on tour if she is dialed in, and she's quick to provide a funny quip.

“I hit a backhand down the line for a winner,” Vandeweghe replied when asked how she pulled off the victory against Bouchard.

To upset defending champion Kerber, she will have to do a lot of that, and more.

As long as Vandeweghe doesn’t do what she did in her second round doubles loss with Martina Hingis on Saturday, the match should be a fun one to watch, win or lose.