Oodles More On Oudin

From White House To Arthur's House: Bubba's Coming To The Tennis

By Sandra Harwitt

If tennis is your thing then these days you just can’t get enough of Melanie Oudin. There’s no need to apologize about the obsession, even the most casual of sports fans are taking notice of the Marietta, GA., teen.

The CBS announcers put it most succinctly after Oudin hit payday in securing a U.S. Open quarterfinal berth on Monday – A Star Is Born!
Oudin is living this U.S. Open on the Russian express – she’s played four comrades in a row – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 4 Elena Dementieva, former U.S. Open champ Maria Sharapova, and No. 13 Nadia Petrova. In her last three matches she battled back from a one-set deficit to advance. Against Petrova, the American seemed destined for defeat before coming up with the 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 upset.

Here’s what I like best about Oudin – there’s no bratty comments, no I’m special and you’re not attitude, no anything that would make you flinch in horror.

The Oudin family either are the best acting family in the world or they are what they seem to be: down-to-earth, infectiously enthusiastic, and impressively practical even as they find themselves in this incredible whirlwind of Melanie’s success.

What’s most refreshing as I pointed out the other day is that it’s actually Melanie who wants this, who wants to be No. 1, wants to be a champion. Her parents have supported her quest, but they have not demanded it and that makes a huge difference.

If you want proof of that you’ll find it in Andre Agassi’s upcoming biography. He pointedly admits he did not choose tennis, his father chose it for all of his offspring with Andre being the sibling who got the job done.
An outgrowth of that is that it took Andre a long time to relish in his talent and find pleasure in the game – he did, but it was a long road to that outcome.

I spoke with Melanie’s mom, Leslie, today and she talked about the difference between encouraging and demanding that your child become a tennis player.

“You just offer the support, it’s all she’s ever wanted to do, she’s talked about it, follows tennis, has a passion and shows it on the court,” Leslie Oudin told me after my colleagues stepped away to talk to her husband, John. “It’s been nice to know your child just enjoys playing and you don’t have to do it. I have seen quite a bit of parents pushing and I sit and think, ‘Do you know how many more matches you’re going to be watching, do you know how much more they’re going to have to go through.’ Back in the juniors they had a long way to go and they’re not going to enjoy the game in the long run if you continue to push.”

Mom admits she’s a bit shell-shocked by the quickness that Melanie is advancing. When I talked to Leslie about her daughter at Wimbledon just a couple of months ago, I was the only journalist in pursuit. Today, mom, dad, and twin sister, Katherine, who cried with joy for her sister after she claimed a quarterfinal slot, were taking turns chatting with the media.

“Yes it is, it is a shock,” Leslie Oudin told me. “I’m sure she has the confidence, but you see her and she still looks small on the court compared to some of these girls. I’m sure she hasn’t reached her peak in her strength yet so you just don’t know. I know she can match a lot of the players, but her serve still needs a lot of work. She’s just 17 and she doesn’t have that much experience in the Grand Slams. It’s been amazing.”

Proof that the Oudin’s have taken an individual approach to their children is when you see things through the eyes of Katherine. She was so happy for her sister, who until four years ago she shared a bedroom with at home.

But she’s not feeling any jealousy – she didn’t want tennis as a career, she wants to play in college and most probably go onto medical school so “I’m looking for a school with good academics” said the high school senior.
She did admit it was quite traumatic in seventh grade when Melanie made the decision that home schooling would work better for her than to attend school.

“We’re still very, very close,” Katherine Oudin said. “I tell her about school and she tells me about her tournaments. It was really difficult when she started home schooling in seventh grade because then I felt I was on my own. I had to be a regular kid and make friends on my own. I didn’t have that security friend always there. She knew what she wanted.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

This honor goes to Nadia Petrova, who is asked about Melanie Oudin beating four tall Russian women in a row to reach the quarterfinals.
Of the possibility that Oudin could face a fifth Russian, 2004 U.S. Open champion and reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the quarterfinals, Petrova said: “Well, now she gets, hopefully, a short and a little chubby Russian. See how she’s going to handle that.”

BUBBA’S GOING TO BE IN THE HOUSE

President Bill Clinton will be the featured speaker at the U.S. Open on Thursday night, September 10, when the late Arthur Ashe is inducted into the U.S. Open Court of Champions. Ashe, the only African American man to win the U.S. Open title (1968) to date, was instrumental in founding the USTA National Junior Tennis League, now known as the National Junior Tennis League, which teaches tennis to over 220,000 youngsters in the United States.

U.S. OPEN HISTORY ON SEPTEMBER 7

In 1953, Maureen Connolly makes history by becoming the first woman to win a calendar Grand Slam when she wins the U.S. National title.

In 1969, Vice President Spiro Agnew presents the new women’s champion, Margaret Court, with the trophy on the stadium court at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills.

In 2002, Venus and Serena Williams compete for the second consecutive year in the women’s final with Serena taking out older sister and defending champion, Venus Williams.