FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The beauty of Grand Slam tennis is both its sheer predictability and its utter unpredictability. When a draw comes out, it is easy to trace through a favorite's path, determining where the potential stumbling blocks might come along the path toward the finals. Yet there is inevitably a player who gets overlooked or overhyped -- nothing ever seems to play out exactly the way one might predict.

Elena Dementieva learned that the hard way today at Flushing Meadows. Dementieva has already had a strong season prior to New York. She had won two hard-court tournaments in January prior to her semifinal run at the Australian Open; she also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in July. Both times she was ousted by eventual champion Serena Williams -- a clean 4-6 3-6 sweep in Melbourne and a loss by the thinnest of three-set margins in London, winning the first set 7-6(4) before dropping the last two 5-7 6-8. Coming into the U.S. Open, the fourth-seeded Russian had won her final warm-up tournament, finally surpassing Serena in the semifinals with a straight-set sweep, 7-6(2) 6-1. She then went on to defeat countrywoman Maria Sharapova in the finals of WTA Toronto 6-4 6-3.

The losing finalist five years ago in New York, Dementieva looked to be on the best form of any of the women coming into the tournament. Yet she hadn't counted on Wimbledon's teenage revelation turning out to be more than a mere flash in the pan. On a warm day in Queens, 17-year-old Marietta native Melanie Oudin backed up her upset of Jelena Jankovic on the grass courts of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club by taking out Dementieva. Displaying a maturity and poise that belied her age, Oudin hit confident shot after confident shot as she worked her way closer and closer to the upset.

Playing her first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Oudin could've been forgiven for displaying a few jitters. But the Yankee crowd rallied around their compatriot, cheering her on with every serve and groundstroke. With her left thigh wrapped tightly and cramping throughout the match, the teenager fought her way through the first set before Dementieva took it 7-5. At this point Oudin had already acquitted herself on the big stage. It seemed, though, that the nuanced game of her veteran opponent was simply too much for the youngster -- she had already committed 18 unforced errors by the time the first set passed. Yet there was still more to be done; this Georgia peach would not go sweetly away.

The second set caused expectation to turn awry. Oudin broke two straight service games from Dementieva, with the Russian returning the favor in between, to go up 3-1. But the leg was still clearly affecting her. Unable to get consistent power through her stroke, Oudin gritted her teeth and wiped away tears. Serving at 5-3, it looked like she might throw away her momentum as she allowed Dementieva to claw back the break. Now Dementieva had the serve at 5-4 to pull everything right back. The number-four player in the world, though, simply couldn't bring her game together cohesively. Oudin capitalized on unforced errors from the more experienced pro, taking break point to win the second set 6-4.

Oudin held serve at the beginning of the third set before breaking Dementieva again to go up 2-0. But once again, young Melanie could not consolidate her gains. After Dementieva broke back to make it 2-1, the trainer was back out on the court yet again treating Oudin's injuries. Finding untapped wells of determination, Oudin arose yet again. Dementieva's serve was shaky throughout the match, and this time would prove no different. Oudin, though, looked just as shaky on serve, that left leg unable to push off fully into the motion. The two women traded breaks to put the match at 3-2. A long ralley was finished with a blistering overhand volley from the youngster, earning yet another break. It would be the last of the thirteen broken service games in the match -- Oudin breaking Dementieva seven times on thirteen opportunities; Dementieva returning the favor on six of eleven.

Oudin came within a game of the biggest win in her young career by consolidating her break for once. Dementieva finally found some fortitude on serve with the game on the line, taking the next game to pull within 5-3. But that would be as close as the 27-year-old from Moscow would get in the match to besting this upstart challenger. A decade younger than her counterpart, Oudin showed no trace of being intimidated. Jumping to 40-0 in the final frame, Oudin appeared to have the game in hand. But then Dementieva pulled back one, then another, match point. Now Oudin was standing in the ad-court, one last match point in hand at 40-30, as she stared her challenger down on the opposite side of the net. Going for the kill, she hit a serve in the triple digits on the radar. Dementieva strained to reach it with an outstretched right arm for a backhand, making contact -- but pushing the return into the net.

Oudin now gets her chance to face another big name in Maria Sharapova in the third round... that is, if we don't see the upset train continue at the U.S. Open for the women (strangely, the men haven't experienced this kind of dejection yet... though it will doubtless come at some point in the next two weeks). Regardless of what happens in the third round, however, Oudin has already carved herself a place in the hearts of her compatriots. The southern belle is poised and ready to live up to her billing as the best American women's tennis player not named Williams...