Who knew she'd be right? And do so well, so quickly? Making her Wimbledon debut at age 17 after getting through qualifying, the 124th-ranked Oudin joined the Williams sisters in the fourth round at the All England Club by beating former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 Saturday in the most startling result of the tournament's opening week.
"Was just thinking that she was any other player, and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament you know, not, like, on the biggest stage, at Wimbledon, playing my first top-10 player," Oudin said.
"I mean, I go into every match the exact same, you know, like, no matter who I play. It's not, like, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm playing the No. 1 player in the world."'
Another U.S. qualifier, 133rd-ranked Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., couldn't extend his run in the men's tournament, losing to No. 19 Stanis-las Wawrinka 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. That leaves No. 6 Andy Roddick as the last American man in the tournament. The only time Oudin really lost her way was when her match ended and it was time to leave Court 3, a patch of grass known as "The Graveyard of Champions," because of the long list of stars upset there. She wasn't quite sure where to go and asked someone to direct her toward the exit. Not all that surprising, when you consider that a year ago, Oudin entered the junior event at Wimbledon seeded No. 1 among the girls and failed to make it out of the second round, losing 6-1, 6-3 to eventual champion Laura Robson of Britain. Yet there Oudin was Saturday, outlasting 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic over nearly 3 hours, then calling Mom and Dad back home to share in the revelry.
"I was feeling quite weak. No power," Jankovic said. "I wasn't the same player." While Oudin was working on her big win, five-time Wimbledon Venus Williams was enjoying a matter-of-fact contest on Centre Court, winning the first eight games en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory over 34th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. The only other time they played, on a hard court at the Australian Open in January, Suarez Navarro knocked off Williams in the second round. "Completely different circumstances," noted the third-seeded Williams, whose younger sister Serena advanced Friday.
Andy Roddick of U.S. plays a return to Jurgen Melzer of Austria during their third round singles match on centre court
At Wimbledon, the elder Williams has won 17 consecutive matches and 29 straight sets, and is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive titles. Next up: 2008 French open champion and former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, who is seeded 13th and eliminated No. 18 Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-2. Williams was pleased to have an American not named Williams stick around for Week 2. "Super-good news," said Williams, who called Oudin "so enthusiastic about tennis and about life, enjoying herself, very well adjusted." Oudin's parents and her 11-year-old sister, Christina, gathered with about 30 other people at the Racquet Club of the South in suburban Atlanta to eat breakfast while watching Saturday's match — although because U.S. TV coverage didn't begin until an hour in, they had to follow most of the first set on the Web.
Elsewhere, No. 3 Andy Murray's bid to end Britain's 73-year wait for a male champion continued with a straight-set win against No. 30 Viktor Viktor Troicki; No. 24 Tommy Haas and No. 29 Igor Andreev wrapped up victories in matches suspended Friday because of darkness; and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, No. 8 Gilles Simon, No. 23 Radek Stepanek and 2003 French Open Juan Carlos Ferrero also advanced. Ferrero, a former No. 1 now ranked 70th, needed a wild-card invitation to get into the field, but he beat No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Court 1 as a light rain fell. There was some consideration given to moving the conclusion of that match to Centre Court, where the new retractable roof was closed, just in case. But Ferrero and Gonzalez finished, and the roof has yet to be used as a barrier against wet weather.
