Watch Out for Melanie Oudin
Serena Williams may have fired some ill-comments towards umpires but that’s not the story as far as women tennis in the U.S. is concerned.
The story in the 2009 U.S. Open has shifted from the Williams sisters to a virtual unknown named Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Georgia. The 70th-ranked Oudin has been handing out upsets to some of the sport’s biggest female stars, including Russian aces Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova. She also defeated 13th seed Nadia Petrova in three sets, making it crystal clear that this 17-year-old ain’t no pushover.
Sure, the magical ride for the young Melanie Oudin went to a crushing halt when she went up against no.9 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, losing 6-2, 6-2. But the fact of the matter is, Oudin has arrived into the scene of women’s tennis in style and everybody will recognize this young talent the next time she sets foot on a tennis court.
”This has been a great experience for me. I had a great run here,” Oudin told the crowd of 23,881 during an on-court interview right after losing the match to Wozniacki, an honor usually reserved for the winner. ”I hope to come back next year and do even better.”
Doing better might just be a little harder for her though.
She upset four more established players, including the hot and sexy Maria Sharapova and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, to become the youngest quarter finalist at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
Making the story even better is the fact that Oudin’s last three victories each came after dropping the first set. But her start against Wozniacki was quite inauspicious, she lost 14 of the first 18 points under the bright lights in the big city.
With ”BELIEVE” stamped in all capital letters on the heels of her pink and yellow sneakers, Oudin certainly never gave up, her ground strokes did.
It should be interesting how she does next season.
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