Bianca Andreescu teared up in her post-match press conference as she spoke about visualising winning the US Open title her entire life.
The 19-year-old became Canada’s first Grand Slam champion in singles after beating Serena Williams in the final.
Andreescu was not born when Williams won her first US Open 20 years.
But despite being the underdog, the teenager played with a maturity beyond her years in large parts of the match.
Although she suffered a wobble after having a championship point on her own serve and saw Williams fightback from 5-2 to 5-5, Andreescu gathered herself and sealed the 6-3 7-5 win.
After the match, Andreescu was asked what she thought about the match would be like before it began and she spoke about the power of visualising the moment.
She said: “This wasn’t the only time I visualized playing in the finals actually against Serena Williams. It’s so crazy, man. I’ve been — (tearing up). Sorry.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment for the longest time. Like I said after I won the Orange Bowl, a couple months after, I really believed that I could be at this stage.
“Since then, honestly I’ve been visualizing it almost every single day.
“For it to become a reality is just so crazy. I guess these visualizations really, really work.”
Andreescu is part of a new emerging group of talent from Canada and the newly crowned US Open champion says she hopes to inspire more success from her homeland.
She said: “I’ve said this many, many times before. I’m going to say it again.
“It’s been a goal of mine to inspire many people, especially Canadian athletes. I think that this win will hopefully do that, not only this win but just what I’ve accomplished this past year because so many Canadian athletes have paved the way for me when I was young.
“Hopefully I can be that person to them.
“[Carling] Bassett, for sure, was very inspirational. Steve Nash. I can name so many. “But it’s really nice for people to have that inspiration at a really young age. So when I step on the court, I just really try to show my best character, just to have that good example for other players.
“Like I said many times, if I can do it, if Serena can do it, if Roger can do it, if Steve Nash can do it, then anyone can do it.”