Which of the Oudin twins is a professional tennis player?”
NEW YORK — Melanie Oudin plays with spunk that even Lou Grant can appreciate and “believe” scribbled on her garish pink, yellow and black sneakers. Her bio lists her at 5 feet, 6 inches, but that’s the result of a generous tape measure, and her frequent giggles confirm she’s just 17. Yet Thursday, in the Arthur Ashe Stadium pressure cooker at the U.S. Open, Oudin of Marietta, Ga., with her second giant-killing of tennis’ past two Grand Slam events, became without a doubt something more than the highest-ranked American not named Williams. By stunning fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva, who entered the Open as the hottest player on this summer’s hardcourt circuit, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, Oudin took her first steps on a path blazed before her by the likes of Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati. She became, for now, the Open’s latest teenaged sweetheart. Barely two months after her Wimbledon upset of fifth-seed and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic (also upset Thursday), the 70th-ranked Ou
