Marietta tennis sensation Melanie Oudin 's celebrity wasn't enough to keep her in a Times Square hotel room a little longer but it has been enough to force her to hire security to keep aggressive autograph seekers away.
The 17-year-old's week-long reservation at the Marriott Times Square ran out over the weekend so she had to leave, the Sports Business Journal reported.
Yet, as she's defeated higher-ranked competitors, Oudin is being recognized on New York streets.
Fans are mobbing her as she heads toward the practice courts. And they wait at her hotel.
"Just because all of this is happening, it's not like I'm going to change (as a) person," Oudin told reporters. "I just love to play tennis, and I'm doing well. And I'm winning. That's the only thing that's changing."
And the national media loves her.
"It's going to take a while to get used to it," her coach, Brian de Villiers, told reporters. "She's used to going where she wants, when she wants. It's strange for this little kid."
Her celebrity has increased with each win, all in three sets after she lost the first ones. She defeated fourth-ranked Elena Dementieva last Thursday.Then she beat Maria Sharapova, a former U.S. Open champion now ranked 29 ,on Saturday. Monday night she took No. 13 Nadia Petrova in the fourth round .
Tonight in the quarter finals, Oudin, ranked 70th, goes against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, ranked No. 9
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