The Cinderella story continues for 17-year-old American, Melanie Oudin, who has advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal ever.  I’ve been cheering for her ever since she knocked out Elena Dementieva (she also dismissed Maria Sharapova) but I doubted her ability to make it this far – I love it when an athlete proves me wrong!
This 70th-ranked teen took out 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 with a tremendous amount of determination and guts.  She looked a little shaky at first but she fought her way to the victory.  “I don’t actually mean to lose the first set. I …read more

Maria Sharapova appeared to be on the verge of a great comeback after really struggling since her shoulder injury.  Any plans to progress to the finals at the 2009 U.S. Open were ended, however, when the Russian star lost to American teenager, Melanie Oudin.

The upset happened when the 70th ranked, Oudin, beat former No. 1, Sharapova, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.  Sharapova appeared to have the edge during the opening set but things quickly changed with Oudin found her rhythm.  When the match was decided, Oudin burst into tears with excitement.
The teen from Georgia is enjoying a great …read more

American teen, Melanie Oudin, shocked former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic by eliminating her 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 to pull off what might be the biggest upset at the 2009 Wimbledon championships so far.  I’m not sure if the 82F/28C degree heat played a factor, though, since the pair took a 12 minute break after Jankovic called for a medical timeout.  The sixth seeded Serbian star had to lay on the court for a little while with a blood pressure cuff on her arm.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, she called another timeout later for her left foot.  Basically, it …read more