Melanie Oudin
"I just hit too many unforced errors, and I could not control my emotions. And I wanted it so much, so it was pretty hard to control."
Svetlana Kuznetsova
"She came back, and after winning her previous matches in the same way, she probably thought, 'I can do it again.'"
Nadia Petrova, referring to Melanie Oudin
...are you still nervous when you're 6-0, 5-0 up?
"Actually, I was nervous whole match."
Kateryna Bondarenko
"She said to me, 'This is going to take some getting used to.'"
John Oudin, on his daughter's instant celebrity
Why did you go there (Saddlebrook)? Capriati?
'Well, went there when I was nine. I lost my mom when I was nine. I wanted to get away from home. I loved playing tennis. I was actually only playing for half a year. So I really enjoyed it, but just wanted to get away from home and do other stuff, be around other people. That's why we left."
That was a mature decision. Was it your decision?
"Yeah, it was completely mine. I still don't know how I did it when I was nine. I guess I was older than I thought I was."
Yanina Wickmayer
"I was creating the point or I was losing it. This was it."
Svetlana Kuznetsova
You know, that you have a big draw, big possibility to go far in this draw. Are you thinking about that?
"I did not see the draw. Seriously, I didn't see it."
You want to see it?
"No, thank you."
Kateryna Bondarenko
"...maybe I was a little bit lucky, but that's what tennis is all about. Sometimes you're playing amazing and you lose a match, and sometimes you're a little bit lucky. It's one point that can change the whole match."
Caroline Wozniacki
"I don't actually mean to lose the first set."
Melanie Oudin
6 comments:
Great capture of their thoughts and emotions, thanks.
You're welcome!
Does Oudin's game have the consistency to regularly perform on the tour?
I think it does, Steven, for two reasons: 1. She will improve (the serve is really in need of improvement), and 2. She has the mindset that is needed.
"I started believing I could do it, and I did!"
Ha. It's amazing how easy something so important can be, huh? Yet, still, it's so very elusive for so many.
Imagine how different tennis history would be if everyone just sort of "stumbled" onto such a secret.
I read an interview with her coach, who said he instilled that idea in her when she was a child. He also made it clear that other juniors did not have this mentality instilled in them.
Venus and Serena were brought up the same way by their parents--they were expected to win and to believe that they would win.
And though everyone is busy making comparisons of Oudin's attitude with that of the youthful exuberance of Jennifer Capriati, I think Melanie (despite having a different personality) has more in common with Chris Evert. Evert, even as a 16-year-old, totally believed she could beat everyone on the tour. "America's sweetheart," blah, blah, blah: She was as tough as anyone who ever walked onto a tennis court.
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