Coco Vandeweghe’s 6-2, 6-3 ousting of Angelique Kerber from the Australian Open was a master class of attacking tennis, a steadfast refusal to veer from her prescribed tactics and, perhaps, evidence of a world No. 1 feeling the burden of being the favorite.

It was not unlike another unseeded hopeful’s conquest of a top seed, Mischa Zverev’s defeat of Andy Murray, which occurred on the very same day. Zverev’s aggressive play saw him approach the net at every available opportunity; Vandeweghe belted heavy groundstrokes any chance she got. Two games from victory, Vandeweghe rocketed a crosscourt forehand winner, and a point later—unknowingly proving that she could do the opposite equally as effective—stepped into a down-the-line backhand winner. The sequence showed Coco’s command of the court with any shot, on this day, and from any position. The match, as they say, “was on her racquet.”

The final two points of the match saw Vandeweghe, not at all flustered by the gravity of the moment, serve an ace and then a second serve up the T that was returned long. When the ball harmlessly fell behind the baseline, Vandeweghe didn’t fall to the ground in exultation, or yell—as she often does to her players’ box—in delight, but rather she shrugged, almost in disbelief. In truth, the hard-hitting American made it look that easy.

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But you never would have known it from the American’s nonchalant thoughts about her performance in her post-match chat with Rennae Stubbs.

“I believe this is my first No. 1 win; I’ll take that,” a calm and cool Coco said. “I guess I faked it a lot, because I felt like crap out there.”

Even for this breezy 25-year-old, it was an odd thing to say after such an ostensibly impressive showing. So Stubbs followed up, asking Vandeweghe how she gave the appearance of dominance.

“When you play tough players, like you will in later rounds of tournaments,” she said, “you can’t be showing that you’re struggling or not feeling confident in yourself.”

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This is the ethos of a poker player who knows his hand is beat, but needs to bluff his way to the pot—and in this case, of a tennis player who knew that her shots were inflicting damage, but still felt an urgency to end the match without drama. You could understand why, given this fourth-rounder’s late start time and her talented opponent. Kerber’s baseline expertise is both a grind to execute and a grind for her adversaries to combat. She specializes in winning long rallies and longer matches; it wasn’t hard to foresee Vandeweghe coming up short if this match went the distance.

But Vandeweghe never gave Kerber a wide enough opening to turn the tables. The 35th-ranked New York City native rolled through the first set and erased an early break-of-serve deficit in the second set to deflate the defending champion. Soon after, when she tracked down a wide Kerber shot with a running forehand down the line—for a winner that warranted a standing ovation—and the conclusion seemed inevitable.

Vandeweghe’s remark reminded me of another match on Rod Laver Arena earlier today, one which saw Kei Nishikori fall to Roger Federer in five sets. It was one of the reasons for this match’s late start, and was another example of Nishikori wilting over the course of a prolonged battle. The No. 5 seed was struggling physically, taking a medical timeout while trailing 3-0 in the fifth set, and it was plain for all to see, including Federer. Nishikori may have been forced into calling for assistance, but in doing so it further emboldened Federer, who eventually took the decider 6-3. Fair or not, it’s been a longstanding criticism of Nishikori, and it seemed that Vandeweghe took the opposite approach, to her benefit.

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Coco Vandeweghe 'felt like crap,' but ousts top seed Angelique Kerber

Coco Vandeweghe 'felt like crap,' but ousts top seed Angelique Kerber

While Coco continues her run in Melbourne—she’ll face fellow flamethrower Garbine Muguruza for a spot in the semifinals—Kerber’s immediate future grows murkier. She displayed unrivaled consistency at the biggest tournaments throughout 2016, but is just 4-3 this season and seems bogged in a crisis of confidence. It’s not unusual for a player to follow a career year with a letdown, but Kerber has struggled in almost every match she’s played in 2017: Only one of her four victories has come in straight sets, and all of her losses have been to players outside the Top 10. It wasn’t a surprise that Kerber couldn’t sniff Vandeweghe’s winner count—the German had seven to Coco’s 30—but the world No. 1’s unforced error count was nearly equal, at 15 to 20. That’s a shocker.

It is a long tennis season, and this one is just getting started. The interval between the Australian and French Opens is vast, a chasm of time that can see so much change. It’s hard to figure that Kerber’s malaise will persist, given her experience and comfort on both hard and clay courts, the sporting stages from now until May. But it’s a situation worth keeping a closer eye on than before.

The same, of course, can be said for Vandeweghe’s run Down Under. Considering what we just witnessed, she might want to “feel like crap” for seven more days.