Oudin played a hell of a game, lot more power than I thought she could generate but Sharapova handed her that match with the double faults. Oudin full credit for taking advantage but 20 something double faults is almost a free set. Oudin is not a pretty girl by any means has a body like a pitbull, granted 17 but not particularily attractive to me.
Oudin knocks off yet another Russian to make it to
quarters, this girl is the real deal.
----------------------
Oudin rallies after losing first set
Comment Email Print Share <script type="text/javascript"> var stobj = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title:"Oudin%20comes%20from%20behind%20again%20at%20U.S.%20Open", url:"http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen09/news/story?id=4452629", published: "2009-09-07" }); stobj.attachButton(document.getElementById("espnstlink")); </script>
<cite class="source"> ESPN.com news services
</cite>
<!-- end mod-article-title --> <!-- begin story body --> <!-- template inline -->NEW YORK -- Forget about forehands and backhands. Melanie Oudin's biggest weapon is her heart.
<!-- INLINE MODULE -->
Complete Results
Need the scores from any match played at the U.S. Open today? Results
<!-- END INLINE MODULE -->The 17-year-old sparkplug from Georgia proved it again Monday at the U.S. Open, extending her remarkable run to the quarterfinals with another come-from-behind victory, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 over 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova.
Oudin staved off four points that would have put her behind 5-3 in the second set, then rolled through the third, hitting corners with those underrated groundstrokes and taking advantage of 22 unforced errors by her more-seasoned, higher-ranked opponent.
Rankings, like her age, however, are only numbers.
The 70th-ranked player already had wins over No. 4 Elena Dementieva and No. 29 Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows, along with one over former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic this summer at Wimbledon. Now, she's knocked off No. 13.
[+] Enlarge
<cite>Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images</cite>Melanie Oudin rallied her way into the U.S. Open quarterfinals after losing the first set 1-6.
After hitting a forehand to the corner for her 19th and final winner on match point, Oudin threw her racket in the air. This time, however, she didn't cry any tears of disbelief. Instead, it was twin sister Katherine sobbing in the stands.
"I'm so happy to be in my first quarterfinal Grand Slam everrrr," Oudin told the crowd in her postmatch, on-court interview.
Talk about heart. Oudin improved to 6-1 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year when she's lost the first set. She is 17-4 overall this year in three-set matches.
"I started serving better, thought I could do it and -- I did," she said.
But Oudin won this match without serving a single ace, another indication she is not blowing anybody away with sheer power. Instead, it's footwork, technique, precision. Mostly, though, she is thriving in pressure situations that make so many others in the sport shrink away.
She stung two forehand winners, including one when she was positioned completely outside the court, to take a quick 3-0 lead in the second-set tiebreaker. She also took advantage of three unforced errors and a double-fault from her 27-year-old opponent, who was trying to make her third Open quarterfinal.
Too young to know any better? Maybe. Regardless, she has become the youngest American to move into the quarterfinals at America's Grand Slam since Serena Williams in 1999.
"I think this is going to do a lot," Oudin said. "I think it's good for American tennis."
Elsewhere, Kateryna Bondarenko reached her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, annihilating Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-0, 6-0.
Late arrivals on Arthur Ashe would have missed the Ukrainian's 47-minute breeze against an error-strewn opponent who knocked out her seeded older sister Alona in Round 2.
"I just got some messages to do the revenge for my sister, so I start to think about it when I read the messages," Bondarenko said.
"I'm surprised that it's 6-0, 6-0, and I'm really happy that it went that way."
With no seeds left in the top quarter of the draw, Bondarenko has a golden chance to reach the semifinals of what has been an unpredictable tournament.
She faces a quarterfinals test against Petra Kvitova, conqueror of top seed Dinara Safina, or Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium.
quarters, this girl is the real deal.
----------------------
Oudin rallies after losing first set
Comment Email Print Share <script type="text/javascript"> var stobj = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title:"Oudin%20comes%20from%20behind%20again%20at%20U.S.%20Open", url:"http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen09/news/story?id=4452629", published: "2009-09-07" }); stobj.attachButton(document.getElementById("espnstlink")); </script>
<cite class="source"> ESPN.com news services
</cite>
<!-- end mod-article-title --> <!-- begin story body --> <!-- template inline -->NEW YORK -- Forget about forehands and backhands. Melanie Oudin's biggest weapon is her heart.
<!-- INLINE MODULE -->
Complete Results
<!-- END INLINE MODULE -->The 17-year-old sparkplug from Georgia proved it again Monday at the U.S. Open, extending her remarkable run to the quarterfinals with another come-from-behind victory, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 over 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova.
Oudin staved off four points that would have put her behind 5-3 in the second set, then rolled through the third, hitting corners with those underrated groundstrokes and taking advantage of 22 unforced errors by her more-seasoned, higher-ranked opponent.
Rankings, like her age, however, are only numbers.
The 70th-ranked player already had wins over No. 4 Elena Dementieva and No. 29 Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows, along with one over former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic this summer at Wimbledon. Now, she's knocked off No. 13.
[+] Enlarge
<cite>Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images</cite>Melanie Oudin rallied her way into the U.S. Open quarterfinals after losing the first set 1-6.After hitting a forehand to the corner for her 19th and final winner on match point, Oudin threw her racket in the air. This time, however, she didn't cry any tears of disbelief. Instead, it was twin sister Katherine sobbing in the stands.
"I'm so happy to be in my first quarterfinal Grand Slam everrrr," Oudin told the crowd in her postmatch, on-court interview.
Talk about heart. Oudin improved to 6-1 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year when she's lost the first set. She is 17-4 overall this year in three-set matches.
"I started serving better, thought I could do it and -- I did," she said.
But Oudin won this match without serving a single ace, another indication she is not blowing anybody away with sheer power. Instead, it's footwork, technique, precision. Mostly, though, she is thriving in pressure situations that make so many others in the sport shrink away.
She stung two forehand winners, including one when she was positioned completely outside the court, to take a quick 3-0 lead in the second-set tiebreaker. She also took advantage of three unforced errors and a double-fault from her 27-year-old opponent, who was trying to make her third Open quarterfinal.
Too young to know any better? Maybe. Regardless, she has become the youngest American to move into the quarterfinals at America's Grand Slam since Serena Williams in 1999.
"I think this is going to do a lot," Oudin said. "I think it's good for American tennis."
Elsewhere, Kateryna Bondarenko reached her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, annihilating Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-0, 6-0.
Late arrivals on Arthur Ashe would have missed the Ukrainian's 47-minute breeze against an error-strewn opponent who knocked out her seeded older sister Alona in Round 2.
"I just got some messages to do the revenge for my sister, so I start to think about it when I read the messages," Bondarenko said.
"I'm surprised that it's 6-0, 6-0, and I'm really happy that it went that way."
With no seeds left in the top quarter of the draw, Bondarenko has a golden chance to reach the semifinals of what has been an unpredictable tournament.
She faces a quarterfinals test against Petra Kvitova, conqueror of top seed Dinara Safina, or Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium.
