Watching Melanie Oudin's cinderella run into the quarterfinals at the US Open has been the highlight of my week. You may remember hearing about her breakthrough performance at Wimbledon a few months ago on this very blog. She also shined on the national stage a few months prior with a big win in a Fed Cup tie against Argentina. The women's game has lost its appeal for me since the retirement of Justine Henin because the world's best women seem to crack under the pressure of reaching the top. Watching Ana Ivanovic push her visor down over her eyes while she cries through a tiebreaker is not a lot of fun. Serena Williams's dominance at the Slams recently is somewhat tainted by what often seems like apathy toward all the other tournaments. Melanie Oudin, on the other hand, seems to think that the "job" of being a professional athlete is actually fun and acts like she enjoys the pressure of competitive sports. She shouts "Come on!" and pumps her fist after every winner, which is refreshing in a game where the #1 player could be heard saying to her coach, "Why am I such a chicken?" in the finals at the French Open.
Most of us don't get the chance to throw our hands up in the air and scream at the top of our lungs very frequently in life-- certainly not while we're on the job. Melanie gives us the chance to scream. Part of the appeal of tennis, for me, is that its stars seem to be motivated by the drive to compete rather than money, and they recognize that they live very charmed lives. Melanie's not the only one having the time of her life.
On Friday, Taylor Dent (who has been fighting to return from a back injury) defeated Ivan Navarro in a fifth set tiebreaker. After the match, he pulled down the umpire's microphone to thank the crowd and took two laps around the court slapping hands with the fans. When asked about the time he spent deciding if he wanted to return to tennis, he said it would have been "irresponsible" of him to have the ability to return and not try. Of the match, he said "The US Open is such a unique experience for a tennis player. It's really unbelievable that I have the privilege to experience it."
In the press conference following Andy Roddick's third round loss to John Isner, a reporter asked Roddick how his 10-12 year old self would have felt if he could have been told the details about how his professional career would pan out. The question seemed to be suggesting the young Andy might have been disappointed to know he'd only win one major, find himself unable to beat his rivals, and suffer one heartbreaking loss after another. Andy's curt reply, "I think he'd take it," emphasized the absurdity of the question. Every time he is asked how it feels to play in an era when he seems to be doomed to find himself second, third, fourth, or fifth best, he responds by saying things like "I'm one of the lucky few who gets to hear the crowd cheer my name."
There are a lot of reasons to love tennis. It's a mental game as much as it is a physical one. A single person can reach the "final four" in 21 straight Grand Slams, and a young kid from Georgia can come out of nowhere to win the hearts of the crowd and beat the big name players. A match can hinge on a few key points, and momentum can shift almost instantly. A player can save several match points and come back and win. And when Melanie Oudin thrust her arms in the air today, it was for love of the game and the thrill of victory. At no point did she seem to be thinking, "I just ensured myself $175,000 instead of the $85,000 I would have made if I'd lost this match!" nor "Now I can renegotiate my Adidas endorsement deal!"
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