Coco Vandeweghe's game finally able to hang with her strong personality

— -- MELBOURNE, Australia -- Even at an Australian Open, where the epic upsets have kept coming, unseeded American Coco Vandeweghe is standing out.

If Vandeweghe's loud, often tortured running commentary with herself isn't making fans laugh out loud during her matches -- "That was just AWFUL! This is like a bad novel," she screamed at herself in just the past couple days -- then her attitude toward this career-best run she's enjoying is running against the grain. Vandeweghe likes being a contrarian's contrarian.

A few days ago, she wryly volunteered a story about deciding not to pick up a cellphone call because she didn't recognize the number -- only to find out later it was Hall of Fame-bound Martina Hingis calling to ask the far-less-decorated Vandeweghe if she wanted to play doubles, a dream invitation that could mean multiple Slam titles for Vandeweghe. But what Vandeweghe mentioned instead was: "She had to leave a voicemail. Highlight of my career."

Over the past 10 days, Vandeweghe is writing an even better high point.

Her back-to-back wins in the past 72 hours -- over top-ranked? Angelique Kerber?and now defending French Open champ Garbine Muguruza, whom Vandeweghe dismantled 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday -- sets up the first Slam semifinal berth of her career opposite Venus Williams, one of her childhood idols.

And yet when complimented on her play in both matches, Vandeweghe said, eh, to be honest, she wasn't feeling all that great either day.

She's done a lot of swaggering around the court at this tournament, trying hard to look like she's been here/done this before, when the truth is she's never been this deep at a major. She said earlier in the tournament she wanted her opponents to feel her "presence." But the more she talks, the more the preening seems designed to help herself.

Vandeweghe admitted Tuesday she was "nervous and scared" before she took the court against Muguruza. Vandeweghe joked in so many words that she told her coach, Craig Kardon, she was afraid she'd soil her pants.

And while it's the sort of tale someone might irreverently tell on themselves in private company, Vandeweghe told the anecdote to a TV interviewer and the near-sellout crowd at Rod Laver Arena, causing fans burst into surprised laughter at her candor again.

"I guess I play better when I'm nervous and scared," Vandeweghe said, when reminded that beating Muguruza was her sixth win in her past seven matches against a top-10 opponent.

Vandeweghe has never been ranked higher than No. 29 in her career. But she's unlikely to change her personality now. She comes from a high-achieving family. Her paternal grandparents were 1952 Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins and former New York Knick Ernie Vandeweghe. She's the daughter of former Olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe, and her uncle is former NBA star Kiki VanDeWeghe.

Coco, now 25, has had an up-and-down career since she debuted on the WTA Tour in 2007. She's won one WTA title, but it was only about three years ago that she re-dedicated herself to becoming a consistently better player.

She hired a trainer, vowed to be more professional, shed some weight and set higher goals. She's always had powerful groundstrokes and a piercing serve. But she's fitter now than she was before, and she's coached by Kardon, who previously worked with Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport.

So far it's been a good fit for Vandeweghe. She says Kardon's insistence that she play doubles has helped with her court awareness and finding better angles for her putaway shots. And he helped her a lot with her nerves before she played Muguruza.

Said Vandeweghe: "Just the calming voice of someone you trust, that you know that trusts and believes in you, was enough for me to feel better about myself."

The only other time Vandeweghe veered even remotely toward sounding like the underdog is when she spoke about her upcoming semifinal against the 36-year-old Williams.

Vandeweghe paid homage to what a "great champion" Williams has been and what an honor it will be to play her. She talked about idolizing her opponent as a kid and chasing her around the grounds at a tournament in La Costa, California, for a few days, desperately hoping to bump into her.

"I told her that story one time in Fed Cup when we were on the same team," Vandeweghe said. "I said 'Venus, the first time I asked you for an autograph, I couldn't get one.'"

Venus, knowing Vandeweghe, probably feared it was a setup.

"She said: "Well, do you want one now?'" Vandeweghe laughed.