Coco Vandeweghe has a remarkable pedigree. Several branches of her family tree bear the fruits of athletic excellence. Although the 16-year-old is recognizable because of her famous relatives, Vandeweghe's embarking on a professional tennis career to make her own name.

She took another step in that endeavor Monday, beating Kate Fuller 6-1, 7-5 in the second round of qualifying at the $25,000 ITF Challenger event at the Club at Raes Creek. She plays her first match in the main draw today.

Paying close attention to her foray into the pros will be members of her storied family. Vandeweghe's mother, Tauna, won a gold medal in swimming in the 1976 Olympics and then switched to volleyball, taking a silver medal in the 1984 Games.

Her uncle, Kiki Vandeweghe, was a two-time all-star in his 14-year NBA career and is the general manager of the New Jersey Nets. Her grandfather, Ernie, played in the NBA for six seasons.

Coco Vandeweghe played basketball and tennis through junior high but dropped basketball when her teammates stopped passing her the ball.

"I don't want to do this," Vandeweghe said. "I want to just control what I can do."

She hasn't regretted her choice. The 6-1 blonde won the U.S. Open girls junior title in September before embarking on a full-time pro career.

That decision looked like a no-brainer Monday. Smacking groundstrokes and hitting a serve at well over 100 mph, Vandeweghe dominated the first set, breaking Fuller three times. She was up 4-1 in the second set when Fuller found her serve and broke Vandeweghe to tie it at 4-all. But Vandeweghe won three of the next four games for the victory.

Vandeweghe, who is ranked No. 494 in the world, said the major difference between junior tennis and the pro tour is "(pros) are a lot more consistent with deep, heavy balls in the rally situation. In juniors, they don't mentally focus if they're down."

Vandeweghe, a home-schooled 11th grader from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., has already made inroads at the pro level, reaching the semifinals of a Challenger two weeks ago in San Luis Potisi, Mexico.

Up-and-coming pros compete at the Raes Creek tournament every year. Russian Alisa Kleybanova, last year's singles winner, reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. Vandeweghe has also set a lofty goal.

"I want to be No. 1 in the world," she said without hesitation. "That's what I want to accomplish in tennis."