Keothavong, the world No 87, sprang a surprise as she knocked out the Italian 6-2 3-6 6-4 in the second round to become the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1991 to reach the US Open third round.
Making her first appearance in a grand slam ot
her than Wimbledon, the 24-year-old Londoner won four games in a row in the third set.
"Before the match I really believed I had a chance to win," said Keothavong, who had reached the second round with a defeat of American qualifier Alexa Glatch on Monday.
"I knew if I could hang in there and just get stuck in then I'd be in with a chance. I came away with the win so I'm pretty pleased with that."
Keothavong, who next faces fifth seed and Olympic women's singles champion Elena Dementieva in the third round, experienced none of the nerves she had felt during her opening-round victory over Glatch.
"I guess I'd got that match under my belt and today's match was totally different," she continued.
"Schiavone is ranked a lot higher than me and she's a seeded player and I wanted to go out there and just give it my best shot.
"In the first set, she may have been a bit scrappy, but I felt I did a really good job there."
Keothavong showed her mettle in the deciding set when she recovered from a service break to swing the contest back in her favour from 4-2 down to win the set 6-4 and take the match.
"Even when I went 4-2 down when I lost my serve I never felt at that point that I would lose the match," she said. "I felt that if I just kept fighting and hanging in there then my chance would come and, yes, I got there."
Keothavong is enjoying the best year of her career having turned professional on her 18th birthday in September 2001.
She achieved her first victory in eight years at Wimbledon earlier this summer when she reached the second round before bowing out to eventual champion Venus Williams.
Dementieva brushed aside France's Pauline Parmentier, the world No 49, 6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes.
The full article contains 406 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
