Friday, September 9, 2011

Oudin and Sock win U.S. Open mixed doubles championship

Wild cards Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock won the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship tonight when they defeated 8th seeds Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank 7-6, 4-6, 10-8. It's tempting to say that Oudin and Sock defeated Dulko, because the great doubles player from Argentina often had to handle her team's duties on her own. Given the inconsistency of Schwank, it's notable that the match was as close as it was.

The tiebreak at the end got a bit dicey. Serving at 6-9, Schwank hit an ace that was called out by the line official. The team challenged the call, but the point had to be played again. Dulko and Schwank then saved a match point, after which Schwank hit another ace. But when Sock served at 9-8, Schwank was unable to return the ball inside the court.

Oudin and Sock, who upset top seeds Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan in the second round, played extremely well in the final. And after Oudin's dramatic fall from from popularity in singles, how nice it must feel for her to win this title.

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