The Next Big Thing

There have been plenty of tennis players that I've wished, dreamed and predicted big things of and for.

There was the resilient Mexican Melissa Torres who made noise at her home tournament over 18 months ago. Then there was Michelle Larcher de Brito, the young Portuguese star who was Jennifer Capriati, reincarnated at the Sony Ericcson Open last March.

Or more recently, Marina Erakovic, Laura Robson, Ernests Gulbis and a host of others.

So don't be surprised that I'm writing about a brand-new up-and-comer. And don't be surprised if she doesn't exactly win the US Open in the next two years, either. But the thing about sports writing is this: you must take chances on certain players. There will be future champions, there will be breakthrough stories. Perhaps today's qualifier is tomorrow's champion... you just never know.

The girl is Melanie Oudin. She's not much different from the rest of the players I've written about on here, except one minor detail: she's American. Actually, let's call that detail major, not minor. Why? You ask. This is why: separate from the Williams sisters, there have been zero American grand slam champions in the last five years. Yes, zero.

Oudin may not be Venus or Serena, but this past week she had her first big pro breakthrough, winning two matches at the Tier III Bell Challenge in Quebec City, which comes at the tail-end of a successful year for the 17-year-old.

(Oudin has a powerful baseline game. But what junior player doesn't these day? Photo by kpessa via Flickr.)

Successful may be an understatement, winning 28 matches - mostly at small, American challenger tournaments - and losing in the first round of just two pro events: Miami and the US Open. In this year, she's also won this country's most prestigious junior tournament, the Easter Bowl, and recorded wins over eight Top 200 players.

But what does all mean for Oudin? It means that she, along with US Open junior champion Coco Vandeweghe are the future of American girls tennis, at least for now. ESPN The Magazine made her a part of their NEXT campaign this past year, and she's one of a handful of players that the USTA has put mega bucks behind to help further her individual career.

But considering the Monique Vieles, Ashley Harkleroads, and Bethanie Matteks (who beat her this week) before her, it's unlikely that Oudin will have any sort of a lasting career - much less reach the No. 1 world ranking as she hopes to do. Sans the Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport, just three Americans stand inside the Top 100 on this week's rankings, and at the US Open, (without the Williams and Davenport) the group of starts and stripes went a dismal 1-12.

So what makes Oudin different? Different than Alexa Glatch or Vania King or Ashe Rolle or Mashona Washington, you might wonder. It's her slow, steady, mature and calculated rise to the pro tennis ranks that gives her an edge. At the age of 17, she hasn't been catapulted onto the international stage, but rather allowed to take on each level of tennis - from regional to national to international - and let her game adjust. It's not a guarantee by any means, but it's an approach that could benefit in the long run.

You might call it the Anti-Williams approach, and though there have been endless critics of what the two sisters have done, they've made it all right. So is Oudin destined for a crash?

Or is she the next big thing?

Campaign Trail: Elect Andy in '08

Andy Roddick began his campaign for 2008 US Open champion with quite the advertising campaign. There's the Canadian commercial where Roddick is plastered on a billboard, his I'm-as-confident-as-ever interview for the hardcourt season and a press corps that's eating it all up.

Sound familiar?

Roddick is doing his best to campaign for a slot that he lost at this tournament last year: The Office of Third Best (TOOTB). You all remember that it was Novak Djokovic who stole that title from Andy, beating him in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup and then proceeded to beat Nadal and Federer for the title.

(Jimmy Connors couldn't cut it as Andy's campaign manager. Photo by Arch Noble via Flickr.)

But Andy wants you, and all of tennis, to believe that he is indeed still holds TOOTB. That he, Andy Roddick, can not only campaign to be TOOTB, but also have a chance to win the election everyone is gunning for this summer: US Open champion.

Roddick has made one smart decision: he's not going to Beijing. That's right, Andy is staying in the Good Ol' US of A to do his campaigning, to make sure that everyone puts him in the running for the title, and that maybe, just maybe, he can win his first slam in five long years.

A few days ago, Matt and I attempted to talk about this very topic: is it fair to put players like James Blake and Andy Roddick on the same level as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic?

Andy has become somewhat of an outsider over the last few years, and his campaign to reassert himself is just more evidence of such a downward progression. When it all comes down to it, it depends on how Roddick can play on the court, and he didn't play so well today ... maybe doing too many interviews, Andy?

If he wants to win over votes, perhaps he should try it on the court a little more, right? That's where the election is won and lost. And can he ever get past being TOOTB? Now that would be a miracle.

Tennis Chatter: The Sunday Scramble

I feel as though I have a lot of catching up to do on here and in the tennis world in general, but as I surfed the web this morning checking out the latest scores and story lines, I realized that I really didn't miss that much over the last ten days.

As I promised, here is the second feature story I've done for our local paper, The Independent Record. It's been quite the learning experience for me over the last week to write these two stories. Though they dealt with the same event, they were vastly different in subject matter and leg work.

The first I had six days to work on, get interviews for, re-think and edit over and over again, but yesterday had me at the pole vault event for four-plus hours before heading home and hunkering down in my basement to crank out an equally-long story. I felt a bit of pressure, but lucky the words came off the keyboard with relative ease, which is always any writer's hope. I could tell you the dozen or so little things I found in the two stories that I was self-critical about, but instead I'm going to see these last seven days as a learning experience. What else could it be?

This next week, I'm doing two pieces (again, one feature, one "game-day") on the Shodair Soccer Classic happening here in Helena. I'm pretty pumped about being a part of the Shodair festivities this summer as my older brother was a participant years ago went the event was just getting off the ground. I know there will be some great stories to tell, I'll just have to dig deep to find them.

Being around pole vault reminded me of one thing yesterday: tennis really is a niche sport. As much as I think we all want tennis to succeed on a global stage, it is, and will always be, for us tennis enthusiasts. Yes, there will be times when the world's eyes are on our sport (think Wimbledon 2008), but for the most part, we bask in the quietness and uniqueness of this sport.

Such is the same in pole vault, which in and of itself is its own sport within track and field, but inspires such a niche and often cult-like following that it's pointless to ever try to make pole vault mainstream. You can't kick around the pole vault in the back yard or hit it against the wall, can you? It's always going to exist as it does: a sport that few love and are passionate about, but most have no idea what the hell is going on.

That's the thing I get most often when talking about tennis to others: I just don't get how it works. Yes, tennis scoring is beyond confusing, which I think plays a big role in why we will never be a football, soccer or basketball. And I'm not saying tennis should just hang out with its five fans and be happy for the rest of its existence, but there needs to be a realization on a bigger level that this kind of sport can only be so big, just like pole vault.

Perhaps I am speaking from a naive point of view. No, I wasn't alive when John McEnroe was America's bad boy and tennis stars were like rock stars. But our world has vastly changed since then ... it's hard to think tennis could ever have that status again.

With all that said, I think what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have done for the sport is spectacular. As we head into the meat of the US Open Series schedule, I will be interested to watch just how things shape up. This past weekend was a blow to American tennis: Serena pulled out at the BOTW, Blake and Querrey both lost their semis at Indy, and Venus and Lindsay both pulled out of LA before they even hit a ball. Will these American tournaments live and die by the American participation? It's hard to tell.

It isn't hard to tell, however, that the entire tennis world - not just Americans - will be a little less interested in the Simon-Tursonov and Wozniak-Bartoli finals than had those aforementioned players won their matches yesterday. Will it be another USOS plagued by injuries and pull outs? I sure hope not.

But then, there's those things call the Olympics, too...

Tennis Chatter: End of the Weekend

It's always tough to watch the weekend wrap-up like it was never here. I even have three-day weekends this quarter, but the days still fly by like they weren't even there in the first place.

I haven't felt this removed from the tennis scene in a long while, but alas, tennis was still being played all around the world as Davis Cup completed round one and the women were at two separate sights for smaller tourneys.

I'm still a little baffled by the in-and-out (and out-and-in) performance of Novak Djokovic this weekend. He doesn't play Friday, but then appears Saturday on the doubles court and gets a two-set-to-one lead (including 3-0 in the third!) over Nicolay Davydenko only to pull out again? Aye dios mio! Make up your mind, Djoko! I just feel like he showed so much guts and guile in Melbourne... and then, this?

If you haven't discovered Nole's web site yet, it's a treat.

The Princess of Boring won at Paris this weekend, beating up-and-comer Agnes Szavay in the finals. I would've really loved to have seen Szavay win this one, but we certainly can continue to expect great things from the Austrian. I think she might be a top ten player by the end of the year, especially if she continues to learn from experiences like this one. (If you're wondering who the Queen of Boring is, click here. But really, did you not know?)

The American men made quick work of the Austrians and their horrific clay court this weekend. Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers beat Austria - bad bounces and all - in three matches. Roddick struggled the most, needing five sets to win the opening rubber against Jurgen Melzer.

On the Baseline news discusses the popularity of tennis and how it can be improved while Erwin over at TSF gives us a run-down of Davis Cup attire, including the Frenchmen, who the U.S. takes on in North Carolina in April.

Tennis Chatter: Between the Cups

It's Wednesday in Seattle, which means rain, wind and gray skies all come together for one day of inspiring weather! Needless to say winter is in full force here, but we're lucky not to be in the South, where I can't imagine the devastation the tornado victims are going through right now.

It's been a wacky week in the neighborhood that I live in: last week there was a shooting at a burger joint, then a woman threatening to kill herself on a church roof along with a wondering homeless lady who came into my cafe Monday morning pleading with me to call 911.

I guess living in the city never has it's dull moments, right?

The dull moment that engrossed the tennis world (aka last week) is over for now, as the women have battled it out in round one of Fed Cup and the men are getting set for their own ties this coming weekend.

My friend Erwin over at TSF has put together a little preview (with some visuals, of course) of what he is calling the "Center of his Universe:" the Russia versus Serbia tie.

While Russia-Serbia is promising plenty of good-looking guys and hopefully some good-looking tennis, there are plenty of enjoyable match-ups in the first round of the men's action.

If you missed this juicy story from last week's tie between Israel and Russia, I would check it out. Craig Hickman gives a great play-by-play of how Maria Sharapova pulled a Justine (via the '04 Aussie, not '03 French). It even includes a clip from JuJuBean's disgraceful moment! How spectacular!

For some reason, the YouTube clips have been pulled of the incidents in Israel. Speculations as to why... ?

And while the American men focus on taking care of the Austrians this weekend, Joel Drucker tells us what Andy Roddick needs to focus on in order to once again be a top 5 threat on the ATP Tour.

The Road of Harkle

Is this the springboard Ashley Harkleroad needed to get back inside the top 40?

Harkleroad become the poster girl for the U.S. Fed Cup win over Germany this past weekend, taking the spotlight away from Lindsay Davenport's comeback and perhaps announcing that she may be ready to lead the next generation of American tennis players.

I think it's too soon to say, and if history is any indication, Harkleroad is a streaky player at best. She was a terror of good tennis in the spring of 2003 with wins over players like Daniela Hantuchova, Emelie Loit and Meghann Shaughnessy.

The last four collective seasons have been a struggle for the Georgian, who went 106-77 over four years. But the no. 74 player in the world has opened the year 7-3 and now bolstered that performance with an impressive steely-nerve weekend in Fed Cup.

Can she continue her upswing? Only time will tell us for that question.

Feeling Damp

Lindsay Davenport and the U.S. women's Federation Cup team are feeling a little damp after two days of their tie against Germany in which just two matches have been complete due to persistent rain.

This was to be the new mom's triumphant return to the Fed Cup circuit, but she faltered on Saturday against unheralded German Sabine Lisicki in the tie's opening match before Ashley Harkleroad was able to even things up with a straight set win of her own.

Play is scheduled to resume today, but whether or not Lindsay can resume the form she opened her comeback tour with last fall is unknown. Many times when a player returns, they experience a sort of honeymoon period when the ball looks bigger, the angles look easier and opponents shots feel slower.

But perhaps Davenport has floated out of this period and has come back to earth in a sense. She won three of the first four tournaments she played in since September, but played alarmingly bad in her opening match at the Australian Open against Sara Errani, winning 7-5 in the third.

Following that win, D-mama went on to be crushed by tournament champ Maria Sharapova in the second round, providing little resistance in a match that was built up to be a blockbuster.

So as many of us had guessed last summer when Davenport first announced her comeback, perhaps the American's tennis ship really has sailed. She has a chance today to prove me wrong, when she takes the court for both a singles and doubles rubber.

Thanksgiving in Portland: A Week Too Early

As we made our way into Portland last night on I-5, I couldn't help but wish that the holiday was a week later this year. What an event it would've been: the Russians stomping into America on Thanksgiving weekend to play Roddick and company on American turf. What theatre it would've been!

Yet, in many ways, tennis has had its share of theatrics over the past eleven months, and more than anything, it would be great to end the season with something every true tennis fan loves: captivating tennis.

Sure, the drama is always compelling - especially when it comes to Davis and Fed Cup - but wouldn't it be great to watch James Blake gut it out in five sets to break a 2-2 tie and win the Americans their first Cup in this new millennium? I sure would love that.

If you've forgot about Mr. Sampras cramping twelve short years ago in the Davis Cup final, there's a comprehensive list of American-Russian battles up on the DC web site. Included is last year's semifinal, where Dmitry Tursunov beat Andy Roddick 17-15 in the fifth to give the Russians the edge.

And if there hasn't been enough to talk about with the claims of Tommy Haas being poisoned in the semifinals, or if Roddick will be healthy enough to play at all, it sure would be nice to see some terrific stuff played at the Rose Garden - even if I can't see it live.

No Ditty Dally

(Ditty at the 2007 US Open qualies - where she lost in the third round. Photo by robbiesaurus via flickr.)

Julie Ditty has taken her time to get into the Top 100 on the WTA Tour. Her run to the semifinals of the Bell Challenge in Quebec City last year was her first-ever appearance in a WTA semifinal after six seasons on tour.

Bonnie D. Ford has a terrific piece on the Vanderbilt grad over at ESPN. Check it out.

Tennis Chatter

Andy Roddick withdrew from Bangkok today following the withdrawals of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. What do these guys think this is, the WTA? Not only did Roddick show up for the tournament, but his injury didn't occur until a practice session on Tuesday. At least his knees are skid-free, right?

Roddick's sometimes-rumored-girlfriend Maria Sharapova also used the W-word on Wednesday, pulling out of Stuttgart with a lingering shoulder injury. Maybe Maria saw the AIPT post of her winning zero games against Davenport in 2005 and she's now in hiding in her hotel room. Or her friend Paris called her and they're going to crash Octoberfest together.

Doubles specialist Marcelo Melo was banned for two months from the ATP Tour for a doping violation. Melo plans to take the two months to hang out with good friend Mariano Puerta.

Joel Drucker puts in his two cents on how to improve player development in the U.S. My advice? Bring back the Cap.

Look for an upcoming special on Chinese women's tennis one year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Tenth Time's the Charm

James Blake finally did it.

After deeming Wimbledon the place to shake off his demons, Blake came up too short at the All England Club in late June, having to save his magic for the Magician himself - Fabrice Santoro - in a thrilling night match at Arthur Ashe.

And though Blake's road only gets tougher with Stefan Koubek in the third round and potential match-ups with Tommy Haas, Nicolay Davydenko and Roger Federer looming, he'll take comfort in his victory over the Frenchman. But for Blake to win his first Grand Slam, he'll have to pull out some of the tricks he did Thursday night against Santoro.

Not only does the five-set win give Blake a new confidence (he's now 1-9 in such matches), but it also sends a message to the rest of the men's draw: James is ready for anyone.

Though Santoro, mostly a journeyman who's made his living by playing crafty (and oftentimes ugly tennis), is far from the league of Federer, Blake has to know now that he can (and probably will) be stretched to five sets again during this tournament.

2-9 anyone? James'll take it.

Tennis Chatter: The Open Begins

John Isner served an impressive 34 aces in his upset win in the first round of the US Open.

2007 Roland Garros junior champ Alize Cornet snacked on 29th seed Samantha Stosur in just 68 minutes.

Andy Murray hushes critics and shrugs off injury to lose just five games while advancing to the second round.

Other than Venus and Serena, American women went just 2-6 on the day. The other two winners? Meghann Shaughnessy (who beat American Vania King) and Asha Rolle, who upset 17th seed Tatiana Golovin.

Rolle's win put an exclamation point on African American tennis for the night following the wins of the Williams sisters and the honoring of Althea Gibson for her tennis legacy.

Canadian Triple

The last few weeks have been pretty good for Canadian tennis: Frank Dancevic made his run to the finals at Indianapolis before making the quarterfinals at his home tournament in Montreal.

Now, in Toronto, it's the women's turn to fly the Maple Flag.

Three wild cards - Marie-Eve Pelletier, Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak - all recorded first-round victories at the Rogers Cup, belting their way past higher-ranked players.

I always get excited about tournaments like the Rogers, especially for the home country. I think in a lot of ways, Americans lose touch with their tennis stars - and all sports stars for that matter - because of the vast size of our country. In places like England, Canada and even France, there's a romantic feeling around their tennis that comes alive when each respective country hosts a tournament. Something we can't match here in the states.

So to see Pelletier, Dubois and Wozniak all win their openers, that not only feels good for the tournament organizers, but for the fans as well. Can any of them get to round three? Well, that's a different story. But there's always hope for the underdog on the homecourt, that's for sure.

Taylor Dent Exclusive

I just spoke on the phone with Taylor Dent about an article I'm doing for SMASH about an up-and-coming junior named Michael McClune.

I have to say that Taylor couldn't have been nicer when it came to McClune and just in general. Dent has been out since February of last year with back injuries. He was as high as #21 in the rankings in the summer of 2005, and was part of the group that included Robby Ginepri, James Blake and Mardy Fish as Andy Roddick's supporting cast.

I had to ask him about his comeback and this is what he had to say:
"I have a PT scan on my back in a few weeks and hopefully that goes well. I'm looking forward to getting back on the tour."

Not much meat in the statement, but it sounds like Taylor is optimistic that he might be headed toward playing professionally again. My guess: Aussie '08.

Ten Days: Ten Topics

Being gone from the tennis world - from the entire world, for that matter - for 10 days feels like a lifetime. Four delayed flights, five days at the cabin and one late-delivered bag later, I'm back in the TENNIS Magazine offices this morning. But, to my utmost shock and surprise, the tennis world continued while I was away. Here's what I missed the most.

1. Jennifer Capriati was on court at the Acura Classic after the women's final to help bid farewell to one of the WTA's most beloved tournaments. I hope it wasn't a pseudo farewell for J-Cap too...

2. Lindsay Davenport officially took the Hingis Train for her comeback transportation. From WTT to doubles to singles. Let's see if the new mama can make some waves on her return to the tour.

3. Sam Querrey and John Isner announced their arrivals on the tour. Is anyone else seeing a taller-than-6'3-trend here?

4. Troy blogged on the Road Trip commercial and the fans loved it! How could they not though, really?

5. The ATP is the next NBA? Yikes.

6. Luke Jensen came to Montana and I totally missed it. Damn, and he could have yelled loudly into my face instead of the TV screen, I'm so sorry I didn't get that real-life experience.

7. Venus supposedly hits the hardest ball in women's tennis - well, at least at last week's Acura. But what I don't understand is that if you're taking the hardest hit shot from a category of six or so, how does that warrant the hardest average? I smell system flaw.

8. Kim Clijsters hasn't updated her web site in two weeks! Someone call the authorities! Well, she could be trying to get pregnant...or saving puppies from the streets of Belgium. No worries, Kim fans, her book is still slated for publishing.

9. The ATP is getting so awkward that they hosted a fashion show to kick off Canada this week.

10. Madison Brengle won her first match in LA as a wild card. Up next? Dementieva or Makarova. Hmmm...

New York Return

After a glorious week in Montana, I'll board a plane this afternoon to head back to NYC. I can't believe I've missed so much in just a week!

Sam Querrey. John Isner. Who are these guys?

Can't wait to let the blogging begin this week.

The Querrey Query

A question was posed to 19-year-old Sam Querrey today at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis: are you ready for the big time?

His answer came in the form of 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(6) victory over fifth-seeded Ivo Karlovic in the second round, saving two match points during the two-hour, twenty minute match.

It's been an up-and-down year for Querrey, the next big hope for American tennis. After starting the year 12-7 and launching himself to a career-high ranking of #66 in April, Querrey had been 1-8 since, entering Indianapolis with a 13-15 year-to-date mark and a #91 rank.

So after a first-round triumph over Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the first round, Querrey used his solid serve to defeat Karlovic, a fellow big-server in a match of the tournament's two tallest players.

Up next for Querrey is James Blake, a match-up that Blake has won both times at 6-3 in the third.

Whether or not Querrey will have the answer to the Blake quiz is a matter on its own, though Blake has had his troubles this year, as well. But for now, Sam Querrey seems to have studied well enough recently to get passing grades in the school of big-time tennis.

Now it's time to work for some extra credit.

Quality Control

If you're looking for some quality tennis this week, look no further than the men's tournament stop at Indianapolis.

Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake are the top two seeds following their monumental final in 2006.

Robby Ginepri, Michael Russell, Amer Delic and junior Wimbledon champ Donald Young all make appearances in this year's draw.

Oh yeah, and the women are at Stanford...

Sampras the Sap

Pete Sampras dominated the world of tennis for over a decade with relentless tennis. He still holds the record for most Grand Slam titles at 14, and his over 250 weeks at number one and 64 singles victories put him in the mix as one of the GOAT - Greatest of All Time.

But Sampras showed us a softer side last week at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Newport, R.I. This tear-jerking first part of his speech will make any non-tennis fans turn their head, and also make those of you who were anti-Sampras think again about your disdain for the King of Swing.

Rockin' the Crib

Just a few weeks after giving birth to her first child, Lindsay Davenport is already talking about returning to the professional tennis tour.

In a conference call yesterday, Davenport said that she hasn't made any "final decisions" yet, but the new mom seems quite eager to get back on the court.