Andrea Petkovic has made a mockery of the suggestion that there are few true characters at the top end of the women's game.
Petkovic is a drummer in a rock band and wants to form a political party. Her heroes are Che Guevara and Goethe. After each win she performs a so-called 'Petko-dance' which has gone viral on You Tube.
Petkovic's march into the semi-finals in Carlsbad last week was enough to make her the sixth German woman in history to crack the top 10, a superb feat given she started the year outside the top 30.
Typically, she celebrated with a new dance move.
"It's not that easy because first I have to win, then I need an inspiration," she admits. "Sometimes it doesn't come and I leave without dancing, and everyone is disappointed."
But it is during play that Petkovic, who left her native Serbia during the bombing campaign in the 1990s, has been making waves this season as she continues to climb into Grand Slam contention.
Wins over Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova took her into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, a feat she repeated at Roland Garros. She beat world number one Caroline Wozniacki in Miami in March.
But Petkovic is not the type of player to settle for second best. As far as she is concerned, her ascent into the world's elite is merely the starting point for the second part of her career.
And she even credits her recent success with a new self-imposed regime after disappointing at Wimbledon. Petkovic, tipped by many as a live outsider, reached the third round where she lost to Ksenia Pervak.
"I had a good first half of the season but after Wimbledon I felt really bad because I played horrible there," she said. "I don't know how I made it through to the third round.
"I took five days off and that really worked. I felt better on court. I feel like I can survive anything. I just feel really strong. With work you can achieve so much and even more sometimes.
"It's a great achievement for me to become a top 10 player. But I also still have so much more work to do and there are so many things that I still need to improve. I'm at the beginning of my crossroads - and I hope things are going to get even better."
Petkovic is a drummer in a rock band and wants to form a political party. Her heroes are Che Guevara and Goethe. After each win she performs a so-called 'Petko-dance' which has gone viral on You Tube.
Petkovic's march into the semi-finals in Carlsbad last week was enough to make her the sixth German woman in history to crack the top 10, a superb feat given she started the year outside the top 30.
Typically, she celebrated with a new dance move.
"It's not that easy because first I have to win, then I need an inspiration," she admits. "Sometimes it doesn't come and I leave without dancing, and everyone is disappointed."
But it is during play that Petkovic, who left her native Serbia during the bombing campaign in the 1990s, has been making waves this season as she continues to climb into Grand Slam contention.
Wins over Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova took her into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, a feat she repeated at Roland Garros. She beat world number one Caroline Wozniacki in Miami in March.
But Petkovic is not the type of player to settle for second best. As far as she is concerned, her ascent into the world's elite is merely the starting point for the second part of her career.
And she even credits her recent success with a new self-imposed regime after disappointing at Wimbledon. Petkovic, tipped by many as a live outsider, reached the third round where she lost to Ksenia Pervak.
"I had a good first half of the season but after Wimbledon I felt really bad because I played horrible there," she said. "I don't know how I made it through to the third round.
"I took five days off and that really worked. I felt better on court. I feel like I can survive anything. I just feel really strong. With work you can achieve so much and even more sometimes.
"It's a great achievement for me to become a top 10 player. But I also still have so much more work to do and there are so many things that I still need to improve. I'm at the beginning of my crossroads - and I hope things are going to get even better."