No. 188 Julie Coin sent the US Open's No. 1 seed out in round two

On August 28, 2008, Julie Coin walked into the U.S. Open second round as a qualifier ranked No. 188 in the world. Across the net stood Ana Ivanovic, the world No. 1, the tournament's top seed, and that year's French Open champion. Coin won 6–3, 4–6, 6–3. 1

A qualifier can have a good day. A No. 188 qualifier beating the world's No. 1 at a Grand Slam is a different kind of day.

The New York Daily News described Coin's victory as the earliest exit for a women's top seed in the Open era. The report also identified Coin as the lowest-ranked player to defeat a No. 1 player since the WTA Tour computer rankings began in 1975. Those two boundaries explain why the scoreline became sports trivia instead of a routine second-round result. 1

Ivanovic carried the sort of résumé that makes an upset look absurd before the first ball is struck. She had won the French Open earlier in 2008, and she was still holding the No. 1 ranking when she entered the match. Coin had qualified for the main draw and had spent much of the season on the lower ITF circuit. 1

Coin took the first set after breaking Ivanovic twice. Ivanovic answered by winning the second set, then opened the third with a seven-point run. During the fifth game, Ivanovic was close to breaking Coin's serve and taking control of the deciding set. Coin held instead, and then won the next 10 points. Ivanovic lost her service game at love during that swing. 1

The finish kept the upset from becoming a neat story about one player freezing. Coin double-faulted on her first match point. Ivanovic survived the second. On the third, Ivanovic sent a forehand wide and long, and the match belonged to the qualifier. Ivanovic made 34 unforced errors, while Coin kept enough control to turn the opening in the fifth game into a finished result. 1

The setting added another layer. Coin's match was originally scheduled for Louis Armstrong Stadium, but it moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium. Coin told reporters that it was her first time on such a big court and that she had hoped to play on the smaller one. The crowd gave the 25-year-old Frenchwoman a standing ovation after she finished the upset. 1

Coin had also been wondering whether to stop playing at the end of the season. She had lost in qualifying at the Bronx GHI Classic the week before, and the report says she earned $95 there. After beating Ivanovic, Coin said she had wondered whether she was made to play tennis and whether she would ever reach the top 100. Then she added, "But now, maybe I think I will keep playing." 1

The No. 188 player advanced to the third round. The No. 1 player went home after two rounds. A ranking can describe the distance between two players; on this August afternoon in New York, three sets made that distance disappear.