The US’ newest heroine, Melanie Oudin, continued her dream-like run at the US Open with another upset on Monday while steely top seed Roger Federer moved closer to his 16th Grand Slam crown.
“Mentally I’m staying in there with them the whole time, and I’m not giving up at all,” the 17-year-old Oudin said after reaching her first major quarter-final with a 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Russian Nadia Petrova.
After belting a forehand winner to close out the match, Oudin raised her arms, and looked at the sky while the crowd roared.
On an unseasonably cool day at Flushing Meadows, the Russians concluded their worst Grand Slam performance in nearly a decade, while the US men had their worst showing in New York since tennis turned professional in 1968.
Federer, however, was his usual brilliant self, blitzing 14th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic had an easy time bouncing 15th seed Czech Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 and then delighted the crowd by impersonating John McEnroe’s on-court quirks and fiery temper.
He then called McEnroe out of the broadcast booth to good naturedly play a few points.
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki managed the day’s biggest upset when she toppled former champion and No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The ninth seed will face Oudin in the quarters.
John Isner’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 ,6-4 loss to Fernando Verdasco of Spain marked the first time since 1968 that no US male advanced to the Open quarter-finals.
The story of the Open so far is the diminutive Oudin, whose never-say-die style of play and bubbly demeanor has made her the darling of Flushing Meadows.
“It’s really a great feeling,” the 70th-ranked Oudin said of her support. “Everyone stood up when I had my first match point. Just when I won the second set, a standing ovation. It’s crazy how many people are cheering for me and supporting me.”
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe beat Zi Yan and Mariusz Frystenberg in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles. The No. 5 seeds won 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) to earn a semi-final clash against Cara Black and Leander Paes.
In the men’s doubles Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas defeated Taiwan’s Lu-Yen hsun and Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-4.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Also See: US OPEN 2009: Henin’s legacy lingers on in rising star Wickmayer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but