Instead of grieving, Wickmayer did something many father's would never do. Yanina convinced her father to move from Belgium to the United States. Yanina was a fledgling tennis player who needed direction, so she did the research and wanted to go to the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy in Tampa, Florida.
 
“I had 30 people working for me,” the 53 year-old Wickmayer said. “My daughter came home from school and said 'Papa tomorrow I don't go to school and you don't go to work.' The next day we were at the table and she said, 'Papa we need to talk.'”
 
A week later, Wickmayer moved to Florida in order to pursue his daughter's dream.
 
“Well, not only he gave up his business,” Yanina, now 19, said. “He just gave up his whole life for me. Yeah, he just was a normal guy in Belgium. He had friends, he had family, he had cars, he had our house.”
 
“He just gave everything up for me. He just left. He listened to a girl that was nine years old and left his life, left his dreams. So I guess I'm always going to respect him for that. I think he's listening today, so he's just a great guy.”
 
Neither of them spoke English at the time and Marc, on his dying wife's wishes, gave up working to take care of his daughter. 
 
And now 10 years later, 19 year-old Yanina is in the Semifinals of the US Open thanks to her father's love and support.
 
“When they are together they go to bed together at 8:30 or 9 at the latest and they wake up together at 6 in the morning,” said family friend and spokesman Rudi Kuyl. “They are always together. His relationship with his daughter is the most important thing in his life.”
 
As tennis is the most important thing in both of their lives, Yanina said she wanted to play tennis to take her mind off losing her mother. That experience drives her, especially on this surprising run at the US Open. Before this year at Flushing, Wickmayer’s best finish was the second round at a Grand Slam (This year at Roland Garros), so no one saw this coming, except maybe a father and his daughter.
 
“The last couple of weeks I lost some tight matches to the top players,” said Yanina, who moved back to Belgium after living in the United States for 2 ½ years. “I lost 6-4 in the third, 7-6 in the third. So it was always like those few key points that I lost. Yeah, I guess now after those key points I just feel more concentrated physically and mentally. I feel stronger on the court. I'm sure that those two points has helped me a lot these few weeks.”
 
And of course there's the support of Marc. Back in January, he let Yanina go to the Australian Open alone for five weeks. The results were disastrous as she lost in the first round and both father and daughter missed each other.
 
So much so, that right now she doesn't even have a coach, because as Kuyl said, “ It's a package deal. If you coach her, you get the father.”
 
Of course, she's not going to go un-coached forever and will have a new person by the time the Asian season starts in December.
 
Yet right now, Yanina is concentrating on the Open and the possibility of going to the finals for the first time as she takes on No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the Semifinals.
 
No matter what happens, she's ready, especially after everything she's been through.
 
“I guess it's just given me a great mentality and a fighting spirit on the court,” she said. “I'm just someone that never gives up. Even today when I'm almost 5-1 down, I just keep on going and keep hanging there and keep fighting.”
 
“I know what life is, and maybe I'm older in my head than some people think. Sometimes it's not easy for me, because sometimes I wish I could be a girl from 19 and just enjoy, you know. But I guess that's life. That's the way life goes. Things just happen.”
 
It's that attitude that allowed both Marc and Yanina to get through life's troubles. Besides losing Daniella, Marc also lost a son, David – from his first marriage – to a car accident two years ago. He was 23.
 
And even though they are back with family and friends in Belgium, the Wickmayers could never live without each other.
 
“I think that the place I am right now, the semis I'm going to play tomorrow or the day after, the moments I live every day, it wouldn't be if he wasn't there,” Yanina said. “So he's the only person that has always stood next to me. He's always been there for me, even in the bad and the good moments. He's always respected me and always tried to do the best he can.
 
“So, yeah, I have no words for what he done. I think there is no way of thanking him in any way for what he did, but I hope with my semis here this week I can show him that I really thank him for everything he's done.
 
“Yeah, it's been great spending my whole life with him.”