I think it's about time that Mel got her own thread. She's playing her way through the Australian Open Qualifying rounds right now. She is into the final rounds with a 7-5 7-5 win yesterday over Catalina Castano.
Match of the day
The day’s most compelling match came in the quarterfinal round of singles (both the second round and quarterfinal round were played on Friday), as Melanie Oudin rallied to defeat South Africa’s Chanel Simmonds in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. It was the second three-setter of the day for Simmonds, who knocked off Israel’s Julia Glushko, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (2) earlier in the day. Simmonds admitted afterwards that she ran out of gas down the stretch.
“I think I was a bit tired from my first match [Friday] morning,” she said, adding that Oudin figured her out strategy-wise as the match wore on.
Oudin said that making the switch from the style of play between the left-handed Simmonds and her first opponent of the day (Camila Giorgi) was a tough transition.
“They play completely opposite,” said Oudin, “so I think it took me a set to get used to her game... she mixes up the pace really well.”
Oudin took the last four games of the match after trailing 3-2 in the deciding set.
Amazing. I hope she can do it.Still in second place in the race, but winning the title tomorrow will put her in first!
dailyprogress.comThis afternoon, tournament organizers will get a dream finals match when top-seeded Irina Falconi and Melanie Oudin square off. In Saturday’s semifinals, Oudin defeated Julia Cohen, 6-2, 6-4, while Falconi fended off a pesky Coco Vandeweghe in three sets.
“The nice thing about the finals is that it will be two Americans,” said Boar’s Head Pro Tournament Director Ron “Thrilla” Manilla. “To have Oudin and Falconi is just wonderful for U.S.A. tennis.”
Oudin won the 2011 U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Jack Sock, but most tennis fans will remember her from the 2009 Open when she made a surprising run to the semifinals as a 17-year-old wild card, upsetting Maria Sharapova on the way.
Oudin got off to a fast start against Cohen, winning the first set in convincing fashion. The Georgia native then broke Cohen in the first game of the second set. Oudin was leading 2-1 when rain forced roughly a three-hour delay.
“Oudin played extremely well,” Manilla said. “Her focus and shot selection was really, really good. It was impressive to watch her play.”
Cohen, who was coming off an impressive win over Michelle Larcher de Brito (a finalist in last year’s tournament) on Friday, put forth a game effort. One court-side observer compared Cohen to Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” character.
“She’s a fighter right until the end — she’ll never go away,” Manilla said. “She could be down or it’s really intense, but she’s doing shadow strokes back near the fence to stay focused and motivated. Her will and her passion is obvious.”