So, does anyone think Oudin has a chance against Sharapova?

The Oudin who beat Dementieva should be able to win. Sharapova's serve is still iffy and consistency isn't her strong point.

But one of Oudin's hamstrings was bothering her at the end of the match, and three sets against Elena had to be very tiring. Meanwhile Sharapova got to breeze past McHale.

Based on those facts, Sharapova has to be a strong favorite.

I'm hoping Oudin is able to show up fresh and ready to fight.

One other thing --

Based on Safina's travails so far and Petra Kvitova's form going into their round match, Safina may be outtie.

Kvitova is a big girl who hits just as big a ball as Safina and hits it a lot flatter. Normally this makes for bad percentage tennis, ie typical Czech girl tennis. But Kvitova seems to be in one of her rare grooves and she's won her first two matches very easily.

To beat Kvitova decisively and reinstate some confidence, Safina is going to have to play a change-up game. Glatch did that -- with slices in particular -- against Kvitova in Fed Cup and Kvitova fell apart and turned into an error machine.

If Safina goes in expecting to outhit Kvitova and establish authority that way, she's going to be in for a rude awakening. Those hard topspin shots of Dinara's might be perfect for Kvitova's strike zone.

Safina vs. Kvitova also has potential to be an ugly, ugly error-riddled match. I hope they bring their best games to Saturday night for the sake of the WTA.

Considering how messy Sharapova's serve continues to be, it bears mentioning that her return of serve has been just as good during her comeback.

The slice isn't really working for Oudin. But the down the line forehand is.

I've been very impressed with both Sharapova's return and ground game in all her matches lately. Her ball-striking has been right up there with Davenport, and she moves better (not great, but better).

And suddenly Maria has completely fallen apart.

The second set is driving me crazy. Sharapova had how many double faults? Oudin had how many chances to win the set?
Well I am liking Oudin a lot. Fun game to watch.

And Oudin's slice is starting to improve. That drop shot she just hit!

Maria is hanging tough though.

Regardless of outcome, I'm an Oudin fan...

Well, now Oudin has to try to serve out the second again. A real test of mettle, the way Sharapova has been returning.

Though Oudin has improved her slice during the match - very admirable - I think she should try to hit flat and low at Sharapova more at key moments. Her forehand directed right at Maria could really bring errors.

Yes! Oudin even makes 'Moxie' Enberg bearable. Buckle up.

Shriekapova's back. That screaming has got to be stopped. I don't hear Oudin screaming like that. How annoying.

Shrieks go with the territory.

The timeout was shady -- but allowed.

Sharapova's arms must be bugging her from hitting so many serves. But the timing of that break: lame.

And now we see Michael Joyce talking to her...

---

Oudin making Sharapova look like Jankovic during a baseline exchange.

This match has been fun to watch.

Man if I had a ticket to the night session tonight I would be so pissed. Not only is it going to start late but you're stuck with Safina and then Blake? How great would the night session be if it were Oudin-Sharapova and Roddick-Isner!

Oudin needs to keep the spring in her step on service games. If she can do this it's Chris America stuff.

My god that match was torture!!!! This is one of the reasons why the WTA is laughed at right now. 20+ double faults from Sharapova and Oudin not putting Sharapova away after all those chances. I'm glad Oudin won after that damn injury timeout Sharapova took. If you look at that section of the draw...omg...can't believe a semifinalist is gonna be one of those women left. I mean Safina and Kuznetsova are the only 2 in the top 10 remaining and wouldn't be slated to meet until the semis. What a huge opportunity. The bottom half of the draw now looks like a mine field compared to the top half.

Oudin's win made my day!

TRL

Terp, as the reply below yours proves, I think a lot more people were thrilled by that match than tortured by it.

Sharapova's serve is a shoulder-injury mess. But plenty of Sharapova's break saves came from strong fight by her in the second set. It was only the 'til end of the third where 17-year-old Oudin started looking sluggish that things got real ugly. And let's face it, those two were in steep air. It felt like the whole media had its eyes on Oudin. That serve on match point gave me chills.

I'll cut to the chase: with Serena all spoiled-jaded and smart ass, and Safina playing like a #1 loser, Oudin's arrival at this tournament has been fantastic.

In comparison, I could honestly care less who wins the tournament -- on either side.

Someone needs to send Good Guy a bottle of champagne. We should all pitch in. Too bad all the immature bickering drove him away from the board, because he predicted this kind of thing better than any of us experts.

Oudins game is so much more mature for a gal of 17 years. She truly took it all the way to Sharapova, who didn't look good today quite often. Its amazing how badly so many of the women are playing at this years Open, with a few exceptions here and there! Way to go Oudin.

Wow, at the rate Oudin is going, she could join Serena in the SMRSLT Club. (SMRSLT = so many Russians, so little time ) Especially if she takes out Petrova after taking out Dementieva and Sharapova.

19 seeds in the women's draw already out, while the top 16 men's seeds were still in. And the "#1" woman is playing like the #100. WTA vs ATP argument just got more interesting, eh?

Oudin's a great player. She can play quasi-Big-Babe, but her driving slices did well for her today against Sharapova. If she could get those slices a little lower and deeper, they could be even more lethal, especially against the taller ladies. Her movement is just beautiful. If anything needs work, it's that serve, but I think experience will help iron out some yips. She plays with the maturity and composure of a top ten player. Some nerves did show, but boy, has she shown the goods...like that drop shot in winning the second set.

Speaking of yips, it was embarrassing at times watching Sharapova. Even before the surgery and the new abbreviated motion, her serve was questionable...like when Serena thumped her in the AO a few years ago. But now with both a bum shoulder and a newer motion she's still learning, the massive number of double faults aren't going to help her confidence as she continues to go out in early rounds. The fact that this match was as close as it was while Oudin was playing spectacular tennis (except for her own serve) speaks volumes about Sharpie's competitive spirit. A lesser player would have folded to Maria, letting her get away with a ridiculous number of double faults (over 20 in a match! Zoinks!!) but Maria played someone with just as much heart as she has today. Oudin deserved to win. Double-Faulting-Maria did not.

I guess the question we're all asking now about Oudin, is how real she is, and how real she'll become. Could she really be a slam contender soon, or will she tease us with early brilliance, just to join the sad and exponentially growing ranks of the "flash-in-the-pans?"...which is already lousy with the likes of Chakvetadze, Vaidisova, Szavay, Paszek, Safarova, Ivanovic, and quite possibly Azarenka and Radwanska if things continue they way they have been.

Oudin's speed and lower-risk ball-striking (IMO) leads me to believe she could break out of this mold that a lot of the younger players were made from. Her point construction and court savy are much more mature than many of those listed above. A lot of those ladies are pure bashers except for Radwanska, but Oudin has more power and speed than A-Rad. Chakvetadze seemed to show some court-sense a couple years ago, but almost none of it since. And all of those listed are much more mentally frail than what Oudin has shown us. Who knows, maybe if Oudin cracks the top 10, the weight of expectations will do the same to her, too, but I get a stronger fighter-sense from her, that the others haven't shown for any duration.

I really hope we're seeing the birth of a champion here, both for US women's tennis, and the WTA as a whole. Venus and Serena aren't getting any younger, and the Russians certainly aren't getting mentally tougher, either.

Actually, the real torture today was watching 'Rogelio' and Djoko escape their inexplicably error-strewn matches today with nothing but a dropped set apiece. (Of course, one gets the sense that Hewitt will never have the belief to beat Fed again in his lifetime, even in a leisurely match on the lawn out behind the seniors' home forty years from now.)

What I saw were two women with tremendous competitive fire slugging it out there today. Sure, Sharapova threw in a lot of doubles - I hear she had shoulder surgery and missed 10 months on the tour. But the rallies were still world-class and Oudin's victory was well-deserved, even if arguably it could have come a few games sooner than it did. With what were probably the toughest nuts to crack in the top half of the draw lying in her wake, it's hard to put a lid on how far Melanie can go now - she could keep on slaying Russians all the way to the final a week from now. What impressed me is that it's easy to be the underdog pulling off the unexpected upset like she did against Dementieva; with all the renewed scrutiny and heavy expectations placed on her young shoulders today, she delivered yet again. Anything can go wrong now, such as a letdown or a flare-up of her quad strain, but it's not inconceivable that the likes of Petrova, Kuznetsova and even Safina could go the way of their countrywomen. I like the idea of Safina v Dulko and Oudin v Kuznetsova quarterfinals, but who knows how this will shake out. This half of the women's draw is looking a lot like the top half of the men's draw in Paris - wide open and tough to predict.

Here's a cute fact: Sharapova had exactly the same number of wins (1) over top 10 opponents before entering Wimbledon 2004 as Oudin before this tournament. Not that I'm predicting Melanie to win, though I do think she'll get by Petrova. I'm not sure about Kuznetsova (I never am). She's been moving quietly and efficiently through the draw, though--anyone seen anything of her matches?

Thank god Kvitova, who apparently was slightly less of a head case than Safina was, put me out of my misery. I was yelling at the computer begging Kvitova not to be yet another player that let Safina off the hook. #1 my ass!!!! Just pathetic. The top half is a mess!!!! Kuznetsova I think is the highest seed left.

I got home in time to see the last half of the third set before Safina limped to defeat finally. It's a relief, really.

It's fine for a top player to have some scratchy opening rounds - the Williams sisters have done it enough times, and I still recall Venus's nightmare opening two rounds back in Wimby 2007 before she cleaned up her play and won the whole thing. But that's just it: the top player should eventually start cleaning up her play as she gets deeper into the event and hits form, and Safina showed no signs of doing that. Why dig herself into yet another dropped first set hole? Or keep falling behind breaks in the decider? Where are the adjustments being made? She still managed to scrape out three match points, and played so passively on them while Kvitova took some big risks and got out of trouble - for that alone she certainly deserves the win. And of course the tiebreaker was one hot mess for Safina, predictably. It's all so strange because she was also dealing with the scepticism surrounding her ranking for both the FO and Wimby and very cleanly went deep into the second week at both with barely any hiccups. The real irony here is that she had such a sweetheart draw and couldn't take advantage. I'm not sure where all the drama came from except possibly fatigue from all the tennis this year, mental and physical. But at least we don't have to spend any more time discussing it.

So Safina drops around 800 pts, which means (assuming Serena defends her title and I've seen nothing at all the first week to suggest that won't happen) Serena will only be a hundred or so points behind and should be poised to finish as year-end No 1 if she doesn't phone it in for a couple of indoor events or the YEC. Looking back, Safina's best shot for her major was Roland Garros, and the woman who bested her then - Kuznetsova - could be the beneficiary here again at least in terms of reaching her third final at Flushing Meadows, assuming she stays steady and draws on her Slam experience, which is vastly more impressive than anybody left in her entire half. Wozniacki will be the first big test for showing if Sveta is up to the challenge, and with her of course you never quite know if she is.

Meanwhile, we're going to have one real surprise semifinalist. Kvitova or the younger Bondarenko, each of whom have been springing upsets lately? Wickmayer, who can actually give the USO the potential for two Belgian semifinalists like the days of Justine yore? Dulko, the first Argentinian semifinalist since her countrywoman Sabatini won it almost twenty years ago? I can't quite get excited about any of them.

I love the top half. Lots of unpredictable matches, and some players with potential.

I thought Kvitova would beat Dinara, but more easily than she did.

Dinara did exactly none of the things she could do to make Kvitova uncomfortable. Petra has the kind of game to take it to her - her forehand is massive and can be breathtaking. She's like a less dynamic Safarova with more relaxed power and safe shotmaking form. I don't get why no one teaches the Czechs how to keep the ball in play on return of serve, they waste so many points that way. It'll be interesting to see where she goes from here - she's still quite young.

Dinara's mental strength and resolve almost won her the match. She collected cheap points while Petra sulked. But Safina's coach was useless today.

As for the ranking, meh. Who cares. I could feel for Safina because of all the carping from Serena and her fans. If Safina needs to learn how to play like a #1, then maybe Serena needs to learn how not to phone it in outside of the slams as well.

Dinara and mental strength in the same sentence? Ooo thats funny. Meanwhile, Serena hasn't even brought up the ranking since Wimbledon. She only addresses it when its brought up to her by THE MEDIA, who I guess are all Serena fans since its all Serena's fault I suppose. Obviously she controls all the newspapers and commentators who talk about it as well.

Its likely that the winner of this year's Open is going to come from the bottom half. So many girls have to be looking at this as a huge opportunity, and the rest of the top players need to be on their games. Serena's likely path if she beats Hantuchova is Pennetta, Clijsters/Venus, and then who knows from the top half. Venus' movement looked pretty shaky in doubles today so Clijsters has got to be looking at this as an AMAZING opportunity to get to the semis. Pennetta has been playing great tennis as well. I still expect Serena to come out of that bottom half though and could possibly face Kuznetsova in the final. Then again, Kuznetsova can be bipolar it seems and that could leave a virtual unknown in the final who will get slaughtered by someone from the bottom who is not a hot mess like the top half has been so far. So...its looking like the final could be a real dud.

Um, like yeah, totally, Dinara's mentral strength and resolve got her to the ranking that you certainly at the very least can't stop complaining about. It certainly wasn't her talent - her game continues to be ungainly and workwomanlike, especially off clay. She's an overachiever unfortunate enough to reach the top while Serena is playing. I'm not even a fan. I watched to see if Kvitova, who I like ok, was playing decent. In this tournament, fight and resolve got her to the third round while playing butt ugly tennis from the first ball. In the most recent other majors she got to finals. Dinara has a tendency to pull through and win ugly matches. I was watching the actual match and not forming my opinions from point tracker.

As for poor wittle innocent Serena and THE MEDIA, I haven't been following Serena's comments of late. I decided I was sick of listening to her back before and during the French Open. You know, back when she was saying graceless things about "the real #1" before Safina even had a chance to play a slam with the title, then backpedaling with bullshit remarks when asked about it on TV.

There was something kind of immature and insecure about that, coming from a veteran older player with many majors to her name. That said I'd still rather watch Serena play instead of Safina play any day of the week. Love the player, am mixed about her personality.

The bottom half of the draw was stronger at the start of the tournament and it's obviously stronger now. But the players in the top half got there by winning their matches, not winning the Lotto. Especially Oudin. Petrova is the kind of useless talent good for ruining Cinderella stories and little else, so Oudin better rest up for Monday.

I don't think some precedent is being set that a tour vet is focusing only on the majors late in his/her career. I'd rather see her here and there all through the year then out for 3 months because she did something to win "Rome and Madrid"

I'm not arguing against that, at all, anywhere above.

What I'm saying is that with all her majors and accomplishments and more years of experience, Serena could have waited until Safina had played even a single major with the #1 rank before talking shit about a young player (ie from a different generation) right as she got the #1 ranking. To do so made her look petty and kind of immature and insecure, IMO.

As for Dinara, in the clutch she's done anything but meet the challenge of being #1 or the wave of nonstop commentary that arose from those remarks. That's on her. Serena's voice might have been in her head during the French final (funnily Serena went out earlier, though by a closer score, to the same player), but she could have answered it. Instead she called herself a chicken.

Dinara just hasn't proven herself. She isn't to blame for the ranking system, though she does bear responsibility for not playing according to rank in slams. (Even there, though, she's not as bad as the complaints suggest: two finals, a semi and a third round isn't horrible in comparison to what Davenport did while #1 -- the only difference is that Serena is winning all the slams again. And losing to scrubs week to week now instead of hardly playing at all like in the past.)

I could still see Safina winning a French Open. The first step for her get her head as right as it can be in a manner other than fighting for points will probably be for her to lose the #1 ranking. But for her to win a hard court slam she'd need to improve in a way I don't currently see happening.

Serena's a bitch...I'll be the first to say it. Sore loser...arrogant, ego. But she has the resume to back it up and I think thats why I let her slide with it. But yeah her Wimbledon comments minus the laughing at Safina in the end is what she should've said from the beginning. Who wouldn't rather want 3 majors at #2 then Rome and Madrid and #1.

Meanwhile...this was Nadia Petrova's reaction for Oudin preventing her from being Sharapova's bitch one more time.

I think it's too harsh to say that the Sharapova/Oudin match was "torture." No, it's never pretty to see a player double-fault 21 times in a match, even a long three-setter, but cut Maria a break. She was out for 10 months (an eternity in modern tennis) and had to change her service motion to avoid straining her freshly-rehabbed shoulder. After going through all that, any player would struggle on serve.

Frankly, the match that was indeed torture in my opinion was the Safina/Kvitova match. I never thought I'd see a player playing deeper in the court than the pre-Stefanki Andy Roddick, but OMG, Dinara was smashed up against the backboard during most of those rallies. She was actually striking the ball pretty well, but no matter how hard you hit the ball, if you're that far back, it's slowed down so much by the time it gets to your opponent's baseline that you're not going to do any damage. Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing Kvitova in the least. She was ranked #72 going into this match, and she conducted herself admirably. It was nice to see at least one player on court jump all over short balls and come into net. But um, you would expect that player to be the #1, not the #72.

You're right BoSox....I didn't know what torture was until the Safina match.

a couple of comments ...

I hope someone else takes over #1 real soon, that way people will stop using Dinara as a convenient punching bag. And she needs to dump that monosyllabic grump coach.

Serena, you're almost 30. Start acting like it, and not a spoiled, petty pre-teen.

I'm appalled at the lack of respect that Svetlana gets from commentators. Last night on Tennis Channel, and this morning on CBS, they showed the top half of the draw, and the gist was the same ... Can you believe one of these players will be in the final? Excuse me dickwads, Sveta has won this title before, been to another final here, and she won the French a couple of months ago.

Yeah, earlier in the tournament they were saying Sharapova was the only one left in the top half of the draw who had won a major. They brought it up a second time in the match (can't remember which commentator) and someone corrected them, but it is kind of ridiculous that they've already forgotten the French. Sveta had a lousy summer, but (judging from the stats) she's found her game here.

I used to forget that Svetlana had won a grand slam. Now that she's won the French I don't think I'll ever forget because she has 2 of them now. But I'd say the top half is a mess with Svetlana as well. What has she done since the French that would have anyone thinking contender? Because she happens to be the highest seed left in that top half? Pffft.

Here's an article about Dinara feeling as though she was disrespected by USTA officials because her match was moved to Armstrong last night.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blo...-officials.html

Speak up for yourself girl. Everyone knows the night matches on the weekends are the crap matches CBS doesn't want anyway so I wish she would've stated her case.


Meanwhile, Serena just destroyed Hantuchova yet again, winning the last 10 games. An absolute CLINIC from Serena. Her serve was poppin, her groundstrokes were rockin, and her footwork was on point. That was brutal. Anyone catch Daniela's brother, Igor? The resemblance is ridiculous. Its Daniela with a beard. I did pick up some "How you doin" vibes though from the architect.

Sveta often gets overlooked, while Maria's every move is discussed. Sad. Must be the looks thing. She has a great personality (SK).

Meanwhile, watching Serena destroy Daniella....the word helpless comes to mind. I see Serena winning this thing.

I will be glad when Dinara is not #1, and end the discussion of that. AND...really wish the Wiliams...both....would play more.

Wow. Na Li took out Schiavone relatively easily. Talk about flying under the radar. I have literally not heard her name mentioned in the media. She seems to do her best work coming off an injury. For whomever wins the Clijsters-Venus match, Na could pose a threat. Does anyone ever keep track of the best player not to reach the Top 10? Na Li may be up there. I think she's had 13 victories over Top Ten players in her career so far and yet has never been ranked higher than 15.

Of course Schiavone could make it to that list of best not to reach Top 10. I didn't meant to disrespect her, JC, obviously she's had her share of great moments...especially in Fed Cup. I guess my point was, that Vika seemed to only be losing to #1 or former #1 players these days, so I was surprised to see her lose to the Italian.



Actually, the Williamses are playing enough tournaments. This is Serena's 14th tournament of the year and Venus's 13th. Players only get to count 16 tournament results in their rankings. I can't remember the sisters playing in so many events in one year. The problem really has been their poor results in non-slams. In particular, Serena losing 3 matches in a row on clay is what really has prevented her from being number one. If you go further back it was that injury in the semis of Miami that hurt Serena. She probably should have rested, but she kept trying to get some matches on clay in, so she kept on losing. I believe if Serena hadn't injured herself in Miami, she would have won the tournament, performed better than early round exits during the clay court season and would be number one now, as a result.

Kim is slaughtering Venus so far. Venus' movement obviously hampered by the knee, but Kim is playing so wonderfully. Her defense is still amazing and she can really hit a big forehand.

And then there was the second set. What a crazy match! Venus is known as a slow starter, but this is off the charts. I don't remember such disparity in sets like this among top players.

Ummm...that Venus/Kim match was pretty bad. Swapping 6-0 sets??? Kim wins in the end and moves on but I don't think I've ever seen a scoreline quite like that one. That was rather interesting. Whats ashame though is that where was the love for Venus from the crowd? You would never see an American crowd not rooting for Murray or the French rooting against Monfils or the Aussies rooting against Hewitt. I think Venus could've had more love in that match. I know Kim's story is great but damn...its supposed to be home court advantage for a reason.

At least the 3rd set was interesting.

Jankovic and Dementieva played a match at the YEC last year in which each one dished a bagel to the other, Jelena winning it 0-6, 6-1, 6-0, but those two have tended to have some rollercoaster matches (not least of which was just a few weeks ago in Cincy where each woman squandered triple match point - actually quadruple in Elene's case - as well as the LA final a few years back). Still, unlike that match, Venus and Clijsters made up for the double whitewash with a pretty thrilling third set after a scratchy start. It actually reminded me more of the men's 2006 FO final, where Roger and Rafa each swapped 6-1 sets and you didn't feel like the match had really begun until the third, kind of like today.

Clijsters gets a lot of credit for her stellar defence (you have to think she's the best in the game on that front now that Jankovic is in decline), and Venus for her offence, but what struck me about the third is the way Kim was able to attack out of nowhere and Venus managed to hang in points longer than she had any business doing (especially on a bum knee). I give Venus credit also for fighting to the last when it might've been easy to go down the double break and slip away; she asked Clijsters all the questions, especially with 15-40 in the final game, and Kim managed to dig deep and pull it out.

Serena is still the strong favourite. I hope Flavia keeps her good run going tonight and will be there to give her a first stern test - they had a pretty tense match in Miami last year, and of course the Italian is a bit of a nemesis for her sister.

This match between Pennetta and Zvonareva has been excellent. Connors and Martina are both throwing flowers at them. Flavia has fought off some match points with some gutsy play. Killer rallies and very few gimme points.

This Zvonareva/Pennetta match is crazy. Poor Vera's head is about to explode. All those match points slipped away. Poor thing.

Only got to watch the third set of Venus and Kim. lol...good timing. They played an excellent set....very competitive, full of intensity. Errors...some. But heart...plenty. I was rooting for both of them (some players are like that) Kim is simply sweet, and very easy to root for. Venus is too. Great matchup between 2 of my favorites...but very bad in that I could have rooted for both of them longer.

Venus sure had some trouble tossing the ball on her serve. I was impressed by the defense played by each player. Against Kim Venus plays the kind of match you'd like to see against Serena, but without the sister pressure.

Kim was tested today. And passed. Who knows, maybe having a baby and settling in to the role that what you do doesn't matter, momma, I'm hungry....might help Kim overcome her fear at the big moments. If she gets to play against Serena, we'll see then if Kim can step it up even more.

Good Hands...is that...you?

Dude, you have to post here more often!

Yeah, it's tough to pick someone to root for when Venus and Kim play, I like them both so much. Kim, Lindsay, and Sybille have proven, with varying degrees of success, that mommy can come back and play tennis. Lindsay's comeback was cut short due to another baby...but she won events when she came back, and she was older than Kim is now when doing so. Kim continues to be a great story, and someone you just CAN'T root against, even when she's playing another icon like Venus.

I have to admit, if Kim meets up with Serena, I'd be rooting for Kim. I like Kim the athlete AND the sportsman, and just Serena the athlete. I think Serena will play her better than Venus did, because she's not bothered by a bad knee, but there's no question who'll be more classy and gracious in victory or defeat.

Kim's movement was just as impressive as I remember. There weren't any splits, but there didn't need to be. She was chasing down balls like an energetic teenager. Her nerves showed her time away from the game more than her body, but look how well she got them under control. Venus will never be an excuse-maker, but there's no doubt her knee was bothering her.

I won't be disappointed if Serena were to win, and she's the favorite, for sure, but Kim and Melanie are definitely my rooting interests at this point.

Totally agree. They were just downright fun to watch. And nice women, with likeable personalities.
I've rewatched the match between Kim and Venus, and I still can't see how there can be that much of a difference. Maybe just a coincidence of a few points here and there, and no game. But it was neat to see Kim playing so well in the 3rd. And yeah she did do the splits a few times. it was in the background when the focus was on Venus.

but what the heck happened in the next women's match??? Zvonera with 6 match points and loses the match, 6-0 in the 3rd?! I was listening to it on the computer, but had to leave. Came back and saw that score. NO match reports out yet. That must be devastating.

Here's my report: I love Pennetta!

She fought off 4 match points with WINNERS on long, well contested points. Heroine stuff. Matched with that personality out of a Fellini movie, always gesturing and ranting out loud after lost points. Vera was crying by the time Flavia fought off that last match point.

With Venus and Vera out, we are down to only 2 players out of the Top 8 making into the quarters of a slam (and that's assuming Sveta can beat Wozniacki). Has that ever happened before? This has been one crazy slam on the women's side. I feel like this speaks to the depth and quality of talent on the women's side. Yes, the women at the top seem more prone to be head cases than the Everts, Navratilovas and Grafs of the world. But, not really ever having watched women's tennis before the 90s, my understanding is that the talent gap was so large between the Top 10 and anyone else, the top women were never sufficiently challenged in the early rounds to even have their nerves tested. They could show up with their C game and still cruise through the draw.

Well Serena is the only person in the top 10 to have made it to the second week of all 4 grand slams this year. She is the only reliable person at the big tournaments these days it seems. Its certainly clearly she's not putting much fire into the non slams. So minus her, the tour is up for the taking. Venus can't get crap done outside of Wimbledon. Safina...well she had done well until this tournament. Say what you want about her (and I say plenty) but she finds ways to scrape through many matches. Her 9th life ran out yesterday though. Jankovic has been quite the mess. Dementieva has been pretty good at the grand slams this year until the Open.

Rounding out the top 10 now is Vera Zvonareva (amazing that someone that fragile can be in the top 7 but speaks to where we are in the WTA right now), Wozniacki, Azarenka, and Pennetta. I would put Kim Clijsters in there as a top 5 player regardless of ranking right now. She will be there in no time. Maria's serve woes are really an issue but I expect by the Australian Open she can hopefully have it back. So we've got some vets in the top 10 with Venus, Serena, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova sprinkled in with a Safina who appears to be on the way down, and the other youngsters who haven't proved much of anything yet. The tour by all accounts is up for the taking certainly in the non slam events. In the slams, its pretty much been Serena outside of clay over the past year. Everyone has a good opportunity. By the US Open though...I think many people tap out. It doesn't always happen that way but this year has been super crazy on the women's side. Now if only we can get rid of that "pesky" Serena and everyone will be happy as pie.

Mmmm hmmmm...all those early upsets are all "wooo hoooo" until we end up with remaining draws that look like they do and then a 6-0 6-0 4th round match. I'd be a pissed ticket holder. That was pathetic from Dulko. But wow...I always thought Kat Bondarenko was better than Alona. Nice to see her in the quarters.

Big whoop. Beatdowns are regular at this stage even when great luminaries like Safina and Jankovic aren't around. And give me a break, most ticket holders weren't even there yet because the people they're looking forward to seeing are Federer and Oudin (currently being bullied by Petrova, who as I suspected, likes nothing more than being a spoiler since she reliably fails to write her own story). But I guess your opinion is the right one ?

For Oudin to have a hope, she's going to have to hold firm and hope Nadia implodes.

No opinion is right or wrong...thats why its called an opinion thank you. Ugh. Anyway...you do make a good point about beatdowns in the late stages. Hell Safina won what....1 game against Venus in the semis of Wimbledon. But 6-0, 6-0. I guess one game less than 1 isn't so bad.

Which is kind of what happened in the second set. Granted, Petrova showed one of her frequent bouts of Russian Head Trauma, Oudin played some aggressive and brave tennis, which led to Petrova completely wilting in the tiebreaker.

Go Melanie!!

THE DREAM CONTINUES!!!! Oudin again loses the first and comes back to win sets 2 and 3!! I mean it was just a matter of time before Petrova had a meltdown. She's one of the more infamous headcase Russians. She, Safina, and Zvonareva should have a club.

What a wonderful story for Oudin. Her court coverage is smooth and those slices are so effective. Then from out of nowhere she can blast one from the forehand up the line or send a backhand down the line winner!!!! WONDERFUL STORY!!!