Melanie Oudin Upsets Maria Sharapova

Melanie Oudin has struck again. On Saturday, Oudin upset No. 29-seeded Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the round of 16 in the U.S. Open.

After upsetting No. 4 seeded Elena Dementieva on Thursday, the 17-year-old American expressed nothing but excitement to be playing in New York. Asked how she would feel to play Sharapova, Oudin humbly said it would be an honor to match up against the usual crowd-pleaser.

Although maybe for different reasons, the crowd was certainly pleased with the match they got on Saturday afternoon.

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In a painfully close match, Oudin pulled out the victory due to consistency, patience, and a relentless approach that kept Sharapova from getting into a rhythm. She played well, showing good footwork and court awareness as her play continued to improve throughout the third set.

Sharapova offered this match up for Oudin's taking. She had 63 unforced errors and more double faults (21) than Oudin has years.

Neither player held their serve very well, with eight breaks a piece. Oudin found herself up a break at 5-4 and serving for the match, but Sharapova was able to hold her off with a break of her own to tie the third set.

After losing the following game on one of her many costly double faults, Sharapova looked noticeably frustrated with herself. Just look at her service game to find out why.

Oudin led 6-5 in the final set and only had to hold serve in order to pull off another amazing upset. In doing so, she is set to play No. 13-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open.

She has grabbed a lot of attention this year in the Open, playing smart tennis and pulling off a couple of major upsets. Oudin is the third-ranked American woman behind the Williams sisters, and when asked about how winning this matched changed her career goals, she said there is no limit to how high in the rankings she could climb.

One thing at a time, Melanie. Just focus on winning your next match before worrying about the rankings.