Shelby Rogers, the tearful Cinderella of Roland Garros and the first American woman not called Williams to make the French Open last-eight since 2005, is determined that sudden fame will not be her undoing.
Rogers takes on Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza for a semi-final place on Tuesday having defied her modest world ranking of 108 to see off a series of big hitters.
First up in her firing line was Czech 17th seed Karolina Pliskova, then experienced Russian Elena Vesnina, followed by two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the 10th seed.
On Sunday, the 23-year-old from Charleston became just the ninth woman outside the top 100 to make the quarter-finals since 1983 when she beat Romania’s 25th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.
It was a victory greeted with tears on Suzanne Lenglen court where she quickly had to borrow a handkerchief from TV interviewer and ex-Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli.
“100% tears all the time. Sad, happy, hungry, reading a book, watching a movie. They flow very easily,” said Rogers.
“Those little puppy commercials, adopt a puppy. No, change the channel. Can’t do it.”
Rogers, who had never made it past the third round at a major before coming to Paris, is regarded as one of the nicest players on the tour.
“Who I am is what got me here, and I can’t change it. It’s who I am, so... I hope everyone likes it,” she said.