Five reasons Serena Williams should be leery of Yulia Putintseva

12:09 PM ET

Remember that hellish draw that top-seed Serena Williams was presented with to kick off her quest for that elusive 22nd Grand Slam title? Well, here she is in the quarterfinals, and there isn’t a Victoria Azarenka or Ana Ivanovic in sight.

There is, however, a Yulia Putintseva. Who?

Putintseva is a 21-year-old making her debut in the elite eight of a Grand Slam. She had the lowest ranking (No. 60) among all the women stacked in the top half of the draw in the fourth round. She’s also the second youngest, after Madison Keys.

Don’t underestimate her, though. Rest assured that Williams won’t. Here are five things you should know about Putintseva that explain why:

1. The arc is upward

Although Putintseva has slipped slightly from her career-high ranking of No. 53 that she hit in April, she’s young and still improving. She’s seeing the ball big, as evidenced by her quality wins at Roland Garros against No. 28 Andrea Petkovic, Karin Knapp and No. 16 Carla Suarez Navarro. This is Putintseva’s best Grand Slam performance yet. Her progress hasn’t been spectacular, but it has been steady and marked by solid wins.

2. It’s the right game at the right time and place

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