Casey Dellacqua is tennis's new super-mum after continuing her extraordinary transformation with entry to the US Open third round for the first time.
Five years after Kim Clijsters became the first mother to raise a grand slam trophy since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980, Dellacqua and baby Blake are now the talk of the Flushing Meadows locker room.
Dellacqua arrived in New York last year celebrating the birth of her and partner Amanda's first child and ranked a lowly 184th in the world.
This year, the West Australian is seeded for the first time at a major and living up to her newfound status.
Dellacqua on Saturday will play unseeded Czech Karolina Pliskova for a place in the last 16 and the game's biggest rankings riser attributes her stunning success to a blissful life off the court.
Like father-of-four Roger Federer and dad-of-three Lleyton Hewitt, Dellacqua says travelling with a toddler isn't a hindrance, only a help.
"It has probably been the best thing that has ever happened. Well, it is. Anyone who is a parent probably understands that," Dellacqua said overcoming a one-set deficit, some dubious umpiring and 40 unforced errors to defeat Chinese qualifier Qiang Wang 4-6 6-4 6-2 on Thursday.
"It has done nothing but bring good things to my life and also to my tennis."
"It has been great having him on the road ... it has been awesome."
The bubbly left-hander said having Blake around hadn't altered her approach to training at all; while she's out practising, he runs amok with other players' children.
"I'm working, the same as I guess Roger and (father-to-be) Novak (Djokovic) and that are," Dellacqua said.
"We are on the road, trying to do what we can for our families and I have got a great support team around me and he is such an awesome little boy as well. I pretty much have done what I do, baby or no baby.
"So we have been fortunate enough that we have been able to have them on the road with me, which I'd much prefer than the alternative, which is to have them at home and miss them.
"At the end of the day, I go home and have the biggest distraction ever, from my tennis, which is to look after Blake.
"In that respect, it has been great. I don't worry about my matches so much."
With her expected third-round opponent, Serbia eighth seed Ana Ivanovic, slipping up on Thursday, Dellacqua's win has presented her with a big opportunity to make the last 16 at a major for the first time outside of Australia.
Pliskova is ranked 10 spots below her, though the world No.42 did beat Dellacqua in straight sets in their only previous meeting last year in Kuala Lumpar.
"I am not overly surprised she beat Ivanovic, to be honest. I practised with her the other day and she was playing great," Dellacqua said.
"I am going to have to play really well in the next round to beat her.
"But I have never been in the third round at the US Open before. I am really excited at 29 to be in the third round and hopefully I can keep it going."
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