Love for tennis paved journey to U.S. Open

That’s the what, but what about the why? The coach for the next highest-ranked American, Marietta’s Melanie Oudin, No. 67, has one definite theory.

“There is a lot of talent out there,” said Brian de Villiers, who coaches Oudin out of the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross. “Personally, I don’t think [young players] are pushed enough. I don’t think they have the big picture of the dream. Life in the States is very results-now; people aren’t willing to believe in something and stick to it over the long run through the ups and downs.”

So, no, impatience never has been a trait of the highest-ranked American woman not named Williams.

Only 17, Oudin made a big splash at Wimbledon this year, as a qualifier who advanced to the fourth round and beat sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic along the way. Staging her coming out party on the supreme court, Oudin improved her ranking dramatically — from the mid-120s — while her prestige took a corresponding leap.

And, if only because few other young Americans are stepping up, there will be a new, narrowed focus on the young Oudin’s U.S. Open.

Her post-Wimbledon schedule was curtailed by a left leg injury that she says should not be a factor in New York. A year ago, Oudin played as a wild card entry in the Open’s main draw and lost in the first round, while making it to the semis in the junior draw. She opens play this year in the main draw against 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, currently ranked 38th in the world.

“I think the Americans are looking for someone new to support and follow. I think it’s great, but I think it’s a tremendous amount of pressure for her right now,” said her mother, Leslie Oudin, as she watched Melanie at practice last week.

“There is some pressure there, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s good for you sometimes,” Melanie said last week before another training session at the Racquet Club.

The way Oudin burst onto the scene was slightly misleading. The process that ushered her here hardly happened overnight.

And, to date, there is little evidence that the sudden acclaim has set the kid’s head to spinning.

If you are what you drive, then Oudin is no diva in the making. She tools around in a used 2005 Toyota 4Runner.

And if words are to be trusted, she is entering the Open on a modest note: “I think [all the attention] is nice. I still feel like the same person; I just did well in a tournament, that’s all.”

Focused, determined

The Oudin story never seems to involve the word “prodigy.” It is a proud omission.

“I know that I haven’t gotten anything for free,” Melanie said. “I’ve always had to work extremely hard for everything I’ve gotten.”

Her grandmother, Joan Robertson, who still plays today at the age of 77, was Melanie’s conduit to tennis. Melanie, twin sister Katherine and younger sister Christina all were inspired by Grandma to get out there and hit.

At a youth tournament at the age of 9, Melanie and Katherine played some youngsters coached by de Villiers. Their grandmother knew him, knew his work and suggested to her daughter that she enlist him to give lessons to the girls.

Ever since, he has worked with the family and now tutors 11-year-old Christina, who has visions of following Melanie’s career arc.

Making a stab at normalcy within the bubble of youth tennis, the Oudins could not bear the idea of sending a daughter away to some academy to be raised by a coach. It even took Melanie the better part of a year to persuade her mother to begin home schooling her in the seventh grade.

It was the only way to accommodate the minimum of four hours a day devoted to hitting and conditioning.

She will take no books with her to New York this week. Playing U.S. Open singles, doubles and mixed doubles will be education enough.

Initially, Melanie began as more a regional sensation than any kind of national phenom. Even as a 9-year-old she was obviously athletic, but being relatively small, there was nothing remarkable about her physical gifts, both she and her coach agree.

There are holes even now to be filled. The 5-foot-6 Oudin is concentrating these days on trying to make both her serve and her backhand more powerful.

As she steadily progressed —winning 27 consecutive matches on the major junior circuit in 2007, turning pro the next year — what separated her from many young players was her resolve.

“We have lots of kids, they can all hit the ball and they like to play,” de Villiers said. “One thing she had that a lot of kids didn’t have at that age was the ability to really focus, be determined. She never quit, and she’d do exactly what I told her.”

De Villiers is no nanny; he is a hard-nosed coach in tennis shorts. Some of his work with Oudin was a calculated trial. He would reschedule practice to some evenings when he knew Oudin would rather go see a movie or hang with her friends. On European trips, he’d call for 6 a.m. practice, citing the need to acclimate to the time change. He’d add an extra round of conditioning after a hard practice. All, he said, to gauge how badly she really wanted to become an elite player.

So far, he said, he hasn’t found the sacrifice that Oudin is unwilling to make.

Love of tennis no sacrifice

This is a precarious time for Oudin. Everything to this point has been a methodical, metaphorical climb of a ladder, one manageable rung at a time.

Now, with her Wimbledon breakthrough and her profile so suddenly raised, the pitch of that climb is steeper, the pace accelerated.

Such are the demands of the life she has chosen, a far stricter set of standards than, say, a trigonometry final.

With a twin sister who is having the more “traditional” teen experience — going to school and playing tennis at the Walker School in Marietta — Melanie has an intimate view of the life she has given up for tennis. It is as if she could almost see herself in that parallel universe of proms and periodic tables and Career Day assemblies.

“You can tell that’s where she wants to be,” said Leslie, motioning to the practice court where her daughter was chasing balls side to side.

“When I made the decision to go home school, I knew I was going to miss out on a lot of the high school stuff,” Melanie said. “For me, it was what I wanted. I made my decision and that was it. Even though my sister got to do a lot of other stuff, it was worth it to me. Now I see those sacrifices are paying off.”

Her coach hates that word — sacrifice.

“We’ve had this conversation a million times. It’s not a sacrifice,” he said. “She loves to play, always wanted to play, that’s the key. Who cares if you don’t go to the prom? You’re 17 years old, and you’ve been around the world many times. She’s so far ahead of the average 17-year-old.

“She has achieved something, has had the discipline to do it. All the stuff she wanted to do, she went for.”

Instead of a sacrifice, then, call it a barter with fame. Oudin will trade the taffeta gown for some chic, yet sweaty, athletic wear. And exchange prom night for a prime court assignment in Flushing. Because nobody dances their way to the upper reaches of tennis.

U.S. Open

Surface: Hard courts.

Site: The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Schedule: Play begins Monday. The women’s singles final is Sept. 12; the men’s singles final is Sept. 13.

2008 Men’s Singles Champion: Roger Federer of Switzerland.

2008 Women’s Singles Champion: Serena Williams of the United States.

New This Year: Video replay technology has been added to the Grandstand, giving the tournament three courts with electronic line-calling.

Key Statistic: 34 — Consecutive U.S. Open matches won by Federer. He is bidding to win a sixth consecutive title at the American Grand Slam tournament, something that hasn’t been done by anyone since Bill Tilden from 1920-25.

On TV: ESPN2 (starting Monday), Tennis Channel (starting Monday), CBS (starting Sept. 5).

-- Associated Press