Unseeded players defeated the fourth and fifth ranked players on the women’s side of the tournament in Thursday’s exciting U.S. Open action.
Seventeen-year-old American Melanie Oudin, who was formerly the No. 2 ranked junior player in the world downed Elena Dementieva in three sets 5–7, 6–4, 6–3.
The fifth seed, Serb Jelena Jankovic was defeated by her 20-year-old Kazak opponent Yaroslava Shvedova 6–3, 6–7, 7–6.
The outcome of the Oudin–Dementieva match, which was almost universally hailed as a shock, was not entirely unexpected.
This was not the first time Oudin had a strong showing against the best players in the world. This year at Wimbledon, she defeated Jelena Jankovic on her way to exiting the tournament in the fourth round.
Dementieva, aside from her No. 4 ranking, was on a hot streak coming into the U.S. Open having taken the U.S. Open Series crown in the lead up to the grand slam. The obvious favorite in the match, Dementieva fell behind early against her young opponent and came dangerously close to dropping the first set. She managed to hold on to take the set 7–5.
Oudin came back to win the next two sets, and the match, in impressive fashion. In the third set, she suffered an injury to her left thigh and needed to take an injury timeout. She played the rest of the set with a large pressure bandage wrapped around the injured area.
With tears of pain and emotion streaming down her face, Oudin played the last set with vigor and closed out Dementiva with a powerful serve, to the delight of the crowd.
After the match, Oudin spoke to CBS Sports about her win, “It was amazing. I am still on cloud nine right now. I am trying to actually believe that I beat the No. 4 in the world, the highest rank player I have ever played… in Arthur Ashe stadium!”
Dementieva, who stood to collect a $1 million bonus if she could win her first grand slam title at the U.S. Open this year, was chivalrous in her defeat.
“For sure it was disappointing. I was hoping to play very well,” Dementieva said. “She had a very good answer to me on the court. She was really playing at her best. It’s just the beginning but it looks like she has a great future.”
The victory stirred hope that Oudin could help deepen the field of American women’s tennis and popularize the sport along with such superstars as the Williams sisters, who have dominated in recent years.
Jankovic’s loss in the two hour and 40 minute match was a heartbreaker. She had two match point opportunities but ended up losing to an ace on Shvedova’s first match point.
Seventeen-year-old American Melanie Oudin, who was formerly the No. 2 ranked junior player in the world downed Elena Dementieva in three sets 5–7, 6–4, 6–3.
The fifth seed, Serb Jelena Jankovic was defeated by her 20-year-old Kazak opponent Yaroslava Shvedova 6–3, 6–7, 7–6.
The outcome of the Oudin–Dementieva match, which was almost universally hailed as a shock, was not entirely unexpected.
This was not the first time Oudin had a strong showing against the best players in the world. This year at Wimbledon, she defeated Jelena Jankovic on her way to exiting the tournament in the fourth round.
Dementieva, aside from her No. 4 ranking, was on a hot streak coming into the U.S. Open having taken the U.S. Open Series crown in the lead up to the grand slam. The obvious favorite in the match, Dementieva fell behind early against her young opponent and came dangerously close to dropping the first set. She managed to hold on to take the set 7–5.
Oudin came back to win the next two sets, and the match, in impressive fashion. In the third set, she suffered an injury to her left thigh and needed to take an injury timeout. She played the rest of the set with a large pressure bandage wrapped around the injured area.
With tears of pain and emotion streaming down her face, Oudin played the last set with vigor and closed out Dementiva with a powerful serve, to the delight of the crowd.
After the match, Oudin spoke to CBS Sports about her win, “It was amazing. I am still on cloud nine right now. I am trying to actually believe that I beat the No. 4 in the world, the highest rank player I have ever played… in Arthur Ashe stadium!”
Dementieva, who stood to collect a $1 million bonus if she could win her first grand slam title at the U.S. Open this year, was chivalrous in her defeat.
“For sure it was disappointing. I was hoping to play very well,” Dementieva said. “She had a very good answer to me on the court. She was really playing at her best. It’s just the beginning but it looks like she has a great future.”
The victory stirred hope that Oudin could help deepen the field of American women’s tennis and popularize the sport along with such superstars as the Williams sisters, who have dominated in recent years.
Jankovic’s loss in the two hour and 40 minute match was a heartbreaker. She had two match point opportunities but ended up losing to an ace on Shvedova’s first match point.
