Pint-sized American Melanie Oudin Defeats Four Russians in a Row

Why Did Russia's Tennis Powerhouses Fail?

So how did the mighty Russian tennis machine falter?

Melanie Oudin of the United States serves to Nadia Petrova of Russia at the U.S. Open tennis...

Melanie Oudin of the United States serves to Nadia Petrova of Russia at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 7, 2009. Sharapova. Petrova. Dementieva. All banner names in the world of women?s tennis and just a handful of the powerhouses to emerge from Russia onto the world stage. And one by one, each of these towering Russians was beaten by a previously unknown 5?6?? 17 year-old from Marietta, Georgia

(Kathy Willens/AP Photo)
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Russian players and analysts say agree that Oudin is playing a very good tournament, chasing down each ball and creating long rallies, waiting for her opponents to make a mistake. Roza Islamova, the mother and former coach of this year's number one seed, Dinara Safina, told ABC News that Petrova wasn't psychologically prepared and Sharapova is still recovering from an injury.

"This year the calendar of the competitions was changed. All the Russian players were very tired for the U.S. Open and were not in their best form," she adds. "Next year it will be taken into account and I am sure that Russian players will be better prepared."

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Petrova and Islamova were two of several in the Russian tennis world to argue that Oudin is being bolstered by a nothing-to-lose attitude in this tournament as well the support of the hometown crowd. Former Russian world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov suggested to a Russian newspaper that there wasn't enough variety in the Russians' strokes and that, simply, "it seems our tennis players underestimated their opponent."

However, each Russian compliment to Oudin seems to be paired with a "but."

"I like how she plays, her technique and motivation," says Islamova. "She's a new star, but tennis has had a lot of quick stars who did not last long."

"The next tournament will show if she is so good, or was just lucky," says Alexei Zhuk, head coach of the Moscow club where Petrova and Elena Dementieva (who lost to Oudin in the second round) belong.

Regardless of whether Oudin makes it past the quarterfinals, she has been the Cinderella story of the 2009 US Open and the fact that all her victories came against Russians has drawn even more attention.

All eyes, especially Russian eyes, will be on the young upstart as she moves on from Flushing Meadows to see if she will continue to knock out Russia's champions round after round.