Melanie Oudin is an upset winner again at U.S. Open

Reporting from New York - Melanie Oudin is such a teenager. Oudin, 17 years old and full of wide-eyed amazement at the accomplishments of her opponents and herself, uncoiled and spit off a cross-court forehand winner from her racket then squealed at the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, "I'm so happy to be in my first Grand Slam EVER," Oudin yelped.

[Bobby Logston]

Oudin is a great, refreshing story about a young lady who is NOT a brat ... the type of real All-American story you don't hear about anymore in sports.

As a tennis enthusiast, I'm getting sick of the brash and pretend-to-be-classy Williams sisters.

Another great story is the Kim Clijsters come-back!

[andet1987]

i am so happy. another white female won. :)

[TMD]

Bobby Logston wrote:

Oudin is a great, refreshing story about a young lady who is NOT a brat ... the type of real All-American story you don't hear about anymore in sports.

The Oudin story is great. However, you're very naive if you think she will be wide-eyed and star-struck forever. Give her a couple of years on the tour. She will act and sound just like her competition.

.

As a tennis enthusiast, I'm getting sick of the brash and pretend-to-be-classy Williams sisters.

As opposed to the pretend-to-be-classy Sharapova who is constantly shrieking?

You don't have to like the Williams sisters, but don't lump them together. They are two separate people who think and act completely differently. Serena may come off as arrogant and cocky, but Venus is her polar opposite, and the model of graciousness.

.

Another great story is the Kim Clijsters come-back!

Why is this a great story?

Look at what has happened this year at the open. Upset after upset, almost to the point, where the unexpected wins aren't upsets anymore. The only top 5 player left on the women's side is Serena Williams. Clijsters is just another upset winner in a weak field.

[Curtis Lowe]

America's Great White Hope! Go Melanie!

[The Innkeeper]

Hey Curtis,

Long time... no post, eh?

[Curtis Lowe]

The Innkeeper wrote:

Hey Curtis,
Long time... no post, eh?

Yup. Been busy. Nice to be back though. The liberals have gained a foothold, but I am going all out to knock them back into the pit.

[The Innkeeper]

Curtis Lowe wrote:

<quoted text>
Yup. Been busy. Nice to be back though. The liberals have gained a foothold, but I am going all out to knock them back into the pit.

Big Brother had me all but locked out of topix since the 2009 update.

But during the outage, the IT guys inadvertantly showed me how to circumvent the filtering software.

Freedom is sweet!

[Curtis Lowe]

The Innkeeper wrote:

<quoted text>
Big Brother had me all but locked out of topix since the 2009 update.
But during the outage, the IT guys inadvertantly showed me how to circumvent the filtering software.
Freedom is sweet!

You gotta hack your way through the jungle to get to Shangri-La.

[The Innkeeper]

It's alive!

The Hateful Rant thread has been resurrected.

[Tennis fan]

TMD wrote:

<quoted text>
The Oudin story is great. However, you're very naive if you think she will be wide-eyed and star-struck forever. Give her a couple of years on the tour. She will act and sound just like her competition.
.
<quoted text>
As opposed to the pretend-to-be-classy Sharapova who is constantly shrieking?
You don't have to like the Williams sisters, but don't lump them together. They are two separate people who think and act completely differently. Serena may come off as arrogant and cocky, but Venus is her polar opposite, and the model of graciousness.
.
<quoted text>
Why is this a great story?
Look at what has happened this year at the open. Upset after upset, almost to the point, where the unexpected wins aren't upsets anymore. The only top 5 player left on the women's side is Serena Williams. Clijsters is just another upset winner in a weak field.

I'm not sure about Venus being a "model" of graciousness, but the Clijsters and Oudin stories are refreshing because Clijsters and Oudin are nice people that the common folk can connect with.

Sharapova, the Williams sisters, and most of the top players are prima donnas. It's no accident that people don't exactly gravitate to the aforementioned player as they have toward Clijsters and Oudin.

It's good, for instance, to see Oudin share the thrill with her parent and twin sister -- and they're an intact, stable family, which is true "modeling". And Clijsters, who is able to say that her child is more important than whether she wins or loses.

I hope it's a Clijsters-Oudin final!

[Go Melanie]

It would be nice to see a young American back on the court and winning. The William sisters are so different, but both always state that the reason they got beat was because "their" game was off. They rarely give credit to the player that beat them as simply being a better player. Everyone has good days and bad days. Hopefully Melanie will advance at least one more round, but if she doesn't at least her name is out there and we will be watching for her in the future.

[Jones]

Melanie is a great American girl and a great tennis player! Go Melanie!

[Bobby Logston]

Go Melanie wrote:

It would be nice to see a young American back on the court and winning. The William sisters are so different, but both always state that the reason they got beat was because "their" game was off. They rarely give credit to the player that beat them as simply being a better player. Everyone has good days and bad days. Hopefully Melanie will advance at least one more round, but if she doesn't at least her name is out there and we will be watching for her in the future.

I agree. One more win in the U.S. Open would be great, but she has done just fine.

It's weird, too, to think about how I'm screaming in front of the TV set over women's tennis -- my wife finds that funny, especially since I'm a football, boxing, soccer kind of guy. I really believe sports guys like me connect with a blue-collar-type, under-dog athlete like Oudin.

[TMD]

Tennis fan wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm not sure about Venus being a "model" of graciousness, but the Clijsters and Oudin stories are refreshing because Clijsters and Oudin are nice people that the common folk can connect with.

I agree with you for the most part, however, I could have said the same thing about Serena and Venus Williams, and Sharapova. The world embraced their fresh new faces when they first started winning, and many fans felt a connection with them. A few years on the tour makes all the difference.

.

Sharapova, the Williams sisters, and most of the top players are prima donnas. It's no accident that people don't exactly gravitate to the aforementioned players as they have toward Clijsters and Oudin.

As I mentioned earlier, Clijsters is not perfect and has had her moments. She has alienated her share of fans. I believe people, now, want her to succeed for two very simple reasons:

1. Her retirement seemed premature to many tennis fans. There is, obviously, a lot of great tennis left in her, and the fans want to see it, and

2. There is a serious power vacuum in women's tennis. Aside from Venus (7 Slams) and Serena Williams (11 Slams), there are only two other players in the top TWENTY who have won even a single Slam. Everybody wants to see some competition return to the top.

As far as Oudin goes, I believe she is so popular because she is American, and the underdog. You know how Americans love underdogs. If she were a Serb, or russian, we would not be near as thrilled about her success as we are.

.

It's good, for instance, to see Oudin share the thrill with her parent and twin sister -- and they're an intact, stable family, which is true "modeling". And Clijsters, who is able to say that her child is more important than whether she wins or loses.

I'm not sure what Oudin's family has to do with her tennis performance. I can guarantee you, if she had lost her first or second round match, her family would have been just as supportive, and no one would have cared. Besides that, it seems somewhat fashionable these days for players to share their winning moments with their family and friends in the stands.

I do wonder about the double standard granted Clijsters. When she abruptly left the tour because she was ready to start her life "as a woman", I was disappointed, but understood. A couple of years later she decides she wants to come back to the tour, and be a full time mother and a world class tennis player. Now, if that's ok, then why is it not ok for Serena and/or Venus Williams to pursue outside interests while they play on the tour?

.

I hope it's a Clijsters-Oudin final!

Sorry, but I don't believe that will happen.

Clijsters has to get through Serena Williams who hasn't dropped a set yet, and just clobbered #10 Penetta in straight sets to get to the semis.

And, as much as I have enjoyed watching Oudin play, she is playing on borrowed time. She can't keep falling behind these top players and expect to keep beating them. She, however, has a better chance of reaching the finals than Clijsters. Her next opponent is Wozniacki who is only 2 years older than her, and still trying to find her game. I wish her luck.

[Paul]

'Clijsters has to get through Serena Williams who hasn't dropped a set yet, and just clobbered #10 Penetta in straight sets to get to the semis.'

Hi TMD. At last, some intelligent contributors. What kind of people are now appearing on this forum? Anyway, I agree: the fairytale will end for Clijsters as soon as she meets Serena. She has a 1-6 against her, Serena is looking ominous and I think it's about 90% certain she will beat Clijsters and go on to win the tournament.
The men's is far more unpredictable and IMO more exciting. Rafa is now looking dangerous again; so is Novak, and obviously Federer. If Rafa can get past a probable meeting with Delpo, then he has a real shot at the tournament. As for Fed, assuming Soderling doesn't spring a Roland Garros then he is likely to meet Novak and that would be a real test.

[Paul]

'And, as much as I have enjoyed watching Oudin play, she is playing on borrowed time. She can't keep falling behind these top players and expect to keep beating them. She, however, has a better chance of reaching the finals than Clijsters. Her next opponent is Wozniacki who is only 2 years older than her, and still trying to find her game. I wish her luck.'

Agreed. Oudin is a breath of fresh air but I expect Wozniacki to beat her quite easily.

[andet1987]

Bobby Logston wrote:

<quoted text>
I agree. One more win in the U.S. Open would be great, but she has done just fine.
It's weird, too, to think about how I'm screaming in front of the TV set over women's tennis -- my wife finds that funny, especially since I'm a football, boxing, soccer kind of guy. I really believe sports guys like me connect with a blue-collar-type, under-dog athlete like Oudin.

i usually scream when watching suspense thriller, or horror movies when i get horrified. and i am gay. i am a bit suspicious as to your life style when you screamed watching women's tennis competition.

[TMD]

Paul wrote:

Hi TMD. At last, some intelligent contributors. What kind of people are now appearing on this forum?

Hey Paul!

I saw where you posted a response on one of the other forums. I agreed completely, and it saved me the trouble of doing the same.

There are quite a few really rude people who are anonymously posting on topix. It seems to me that the solution is to require everyone to register before posting with real, verifiable information. When they get out of hand, just revoke their registration. It would be a lot more work for Topix, but the quality of discourse would improve dramatically.

.

The men's draw is far more unpredictable and IMO more exciting. Rafa is now looking dangerous again; so is Novak, and obviously Federer. If Rafa can get past a probable meeting with Delpo, then he has a real shot at the tournament. As for Fed, assuming Soderling doesn't spring a Roland Garros, then he is likely to meet Novak and that would be a real test.

Sounds about right to me. I think the most likely scenario in the final will be Djokovic/Federer, however, this might be Nadal's breakthrough year.

I find it so difficult to predict a Djokovic match because the guy is technically brilliant, but flaky. There have been other players who had lots of talent, but had other personal defects (Connors, McEnroe, Nastasie) that managed to do well. They went through their antics, but, when it came to crunch time, they got busy. You never know what Djokovic is going to do.

Anyway, I believe the final will be Federer/Djokovic. And that only because I don't know how fit Nadal really is. His lack of mnatches this year, his knees, and his ab strain all make him a little to "iffy" in my book. It would be a great story if he DID make it to the finals, and won.

[TMD]

Paul wrote:

Agreed. Oudin is a breath of fresh air but I expect Wozniacki to beat her quite easily.

You think Oudin will have that much trouble against Wozniacki?

I looked at their match records against common opponents and it's almost a dead heat:

http://tennis.wettpoint.com/en/h2h/167768-104...

Oudin has played in pressure situations before. She was a member of this year's Fed Cup team in the World Group quarters, and did well. I'm expecting a hard-fought, close match.

[Federal Express]

TMD

Fed can't possibly meet Djokovic in the final. They are in the same half. and Paul and you were saying something about intelligent contributors ??