IT MUST have been that tiny incision scar on her shoulder, finally marring perfection. Never mind the fact that Maria Sharapova has been living in the United States since age 7, she still isn’t nearly as American as Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., who could double for Reese Witherspoon.
Perhaps it was the sympathy wrap around Oudin’s thigh, or the fact that at age 17 she drops first sets against ranked players like a hustler in a pool hall, then comes back like she knew all along she was the better player. Or the short legs, which unlike Sharapova’s don’t go from here to there and back again, and ultimately got the 5-foot-6 Oudin around the court in the match’s third hour like a young woman going places.
No, Sharapova didn’t feel the love yesterday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, only fatigue in her surgically-repaired shoulder forcing a seven-minute injury timeout that failed to cure a staggering 21 double faults during a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 Oudin triumph. Nobody can win like that, and neither would have an interest-challenged women’s U.S. Open should Sharapova somehow have overcome 63 unforced errors and 26 Oudin break-point opportunities to make it into the second week.
Everybody loves a comeback story like Sharapova’s. Everybody loves the No. 70-ranked player better, as long as she lasts, which we can only hope will be two more rounds to save a brutally dull women’s draw.
No. 1 Dinara Safina, No. 4 Dementieva, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic and No. 11 Ana Ivanovic are out, not that anybody will miss them. No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 9 Victoria Azarenka, and No. 10 Flavia Pennetta survive, not that anyone has noticed.
Only three tournaments into a two-year birthing and body-healing break, Kim Clijsters is still the best player remaining in this tournament not named Williams. The Belgian plays Venus today in the only intriguing match on one side of the draw until the winner meets Serena Williams in one semifinal. With two more wins, Oudin would be in the other semi against . . . oh, who will care?
“I certainly think she has a great future ahead of her,” said Sharapova. “She moves really well, has a pretty good forehand, solid and deep. She’s a good competitor.”
Oudin, who won only 56 percent of her first serve points and converted just 8 or 26 break points, had a lot of help being such a good competitor.
“I try to pretend it it’s not Arthur Ashe Stadium playing Maria Sharapova,” she said.
And if having most of 20,000 fans cheering you on made it impossible to mistake the venue, that was a poor imposter of Maria Sharapova yesterday helping the kid along.
“Just couldn’t decelerate today,” Sharapova said. “I was hitting second serves no less than 95 miles an hour, tried to hit less and just couldn’t.”
Twelve months past surgery, muscle memory is betraying her. Any memory of the 2009 Women’s U.S. Open will betray us, too, if it inexorably moves onto straight-set Serena wins over Venus and whomever in the final two rounds.
Oudin, unburdened by expectations, is feeling no pain, a good thing for a breath of fresh air, which hopefully won’t blow itself out.
“I can’t even believe it,” she said after Sharapova missed for the last time.
On the contrary, considering the state of women’s tennis, it was entirely believable.
So far, Oudin has beaten Dementieva and Sharapova, two ranked players with severe serving woes. Then again, practically every woman on the tour has serving woes. With Nadia Petrova next and Svetlana Kuznetsova the likely survivor after that, there are only some stepsisters with ugly games standing in front of Cinderella and the semis.