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The term sotto voce has appeared in six articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 16 in “Bianca Andreescu Is Rising in the Tennis Rankings Ahead of Schedule” by Christopher Clarey:

The victory over Williams moved her to tears. “Venus is a walking, living, breathing legend,” Andreescu said.

But though the emotions were powerful again on Friday night, beating her tour elders is fast becoming a habit. Andreescu will be ranked in the top 35 on Monday and will break into the top 25 if she defeats Kerber. Instead of merely making it into the French Open draw, she now has a fine chance of being seeded.

“I do believe that I deserve to be here,” she said sotto voce as the interview ended. “But I didn’t expect for it to come so quickly. But I mean, it’s better sooner than later, right? So I can’t complain. It’s just been crazy. I’m so grateful. I never want to take anything for granted. It was so nice to meet you.”