Melanie Oudin: The Cinderella

Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Georgia was ranked a distant 70^th in world tennis. The US Open tennis draw schedule had it extremely tough for her, with her playing fourth seeded Elena Dementieva, in the second round of US Open. The day before her second round match, the tennis pundits wrote her off. People predicted an easy win for extremely talented Dementieva. And everybody was shocked and surprised, when Oudin came from behind, and upset Dementieva, after losing the first set. Oudin won the match, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, much to the shock of pundits and fans.

The third round of US Open saw her playing former world #1, Maria Sharapova, a formidable opponent. Sharapova was clearly the hot favorite of the match. Given Sharapova's talent, it was supposed to be an easy match for Sharapova. The first set of the match saw Sharapova crushing Oudin, 6-3. At the end of the first set, everyone thought the match was over. Apparently Oudin didn't think so. Again she came from behind, and challenged Sharapova in the second set. Sharapova was shocked. She lost the second set to Oudin, 4-6. The third set saw a real fight between the two, with Oudin finally winning the set 7-5, and winning the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

The fourth round of US Open saw Oudin playing 13^th seeded Nadia Petrova, another Russian, who is known for her powerful serves, yet another tough opponent. The first set of the match saw Petrova literally crush Oudin, 6-1. Oudin could manage to win only one game in the set, and couldn't even hold on to two games of her own serve. At the end of the first set, the crowd and tennis pundits were sure that Petrova will stop Oudin's dream run in US Open. The second set started. Oudin fought back hard. While she couldn't match Petrova in the power of her serves, she showed off her leg strength in extremely hard fought rallies. Soon Petrova had a real match on hand. The set went into a tie breaker. Oudin maintained her cool, while the much more experienced Petrova didn't, in the tense tie breaker. Oudin won the set 7-6 (2). The match extended into the third set, against what people expected at the end of first set. Oudin won the third set comfortably, with a score of 6-3. Oudin ousted the 13^th seeded Russian, to reach the quarterfinals of US Open.

We saw Oudin, ranked #70 in the world, defeat world #4 Dementieva, former world #1 Sharapova, world #13 Petrova. Oudin's Cinderella run in US Open continues, and she finds herself playing world #9 Caroline Wozniacki at the quarterfinals of US Open tomorrow. Will Wozniacki stop Oudin's Cinderella run? Or will Oudin defeat her, and march on to the semifinals?

Perhaps the first set of the match will give us the answer. Any gambler will bet on Oudin winning the match, if she loses the first set to Wozniacki!

For sure, Oudin will have the New York crowd fully behind her, when she plays the quarterfinals tomorrow, supporting her with thunderous applause, and hoping her Cinderella run will continue.