Marietta, Ga., native Melanie Oudin is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 68, thanks in large part to her stellar Wimbledon debut last month. The emergence of Oudin, 17, was the talk of the All-England Club during the first week of the tournament; the teenager’s run to the fourth round as a qualifier was highlighted by an emotional three-set victory over Jelena Jankovic, the No. 6 seed. Last week Oudin chatted with TENNIS.com about her breakout season, her heroes, her goals and jealousy in the American ranks.
You were a junior phenom. Was it a difficult decision to turn pro?
I turned pro last year. It was a pretty big decision. But in the real world, it's not. All you do is accept money. I never wanted to play college tennis. I was so nervous the first tournaments I played. I felt like a different person. But I got used to it.
Now you're playing against women you used to watch on TV. Is that weird?
Yeah. Like playing Jankovic at Wimbledon. It was crazy. They asked me when I was going to play her, have you seen her play, scouted her or whatever and I'm like, yeah I saw her play on TV, at the U.S. Open last year.
You were the youngest American to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1993.
I didn't expect it at all. I was just playing, and it happened to click at Wimbledon. Going into it, I was looking to qualify. I almost lost my first round [in qualifying]. From playing in Roehampton [where qualifying is held] to [the main draw] at Wimbledon, it was like a whole different tournament. I played a seed, too. [Oudin defeated No. 29 Sybille Bammer in three sets in the first round.] I handled it well. Getting to the third round, I had nothing to lose by then. I was the underdog completely against Jankovic. I had a lot of people cheering for me, it was crazy. The whole experience was unbelievable to me.
Jankovic didn’t exactly dole out the credit to you afterwards. Did you pay attention to any of that?
I didn't read any of it. People told me. Everyone I think that saw the match or saw the stats... Everyone has their opinion. I was the one who ended up winning that day so basically that's all that mattered to me.
That same day in her press conference, Venus was asked if you'd ever come to her for advice. She said it doesn't really work like that in the pros. Do you wish it did? Here you have the two icons of the game, now 18 Grand Slam singles titles between Venus and Serena…
I think that would be cool. But just watching them though, I can learn tons of stuff. Just the way they act. I went and watched [Venus’] press conference and stuff, and learned how she handled herself in answering the questions. I've watched her a lot. I can learn a lot from them, both her and Serena.
With a twin sister who plays, you know all about sisterdom in tennis. What was it like to be home-schooled while Katherine went to regular school?
It was hard. We'd been together forever. Same schools, same classes a lot of the time. In the seventh grade, I home-schooled for the first time and she went back to middle school. That was when I decided that I was going to really work at this and turn pro. I couldn't become pro and go to normal school. It just wouldn't work. It was really hard. I missed out a lot, going to parties, dances, all that stuff, to train, and go to practices early in the morning, and tournaments, being gone. And she hasn't gotten to see the world like I have. But now, we've both matured and gotten older. We support each other.
Who did you look up to growing up?
Justine Henin. I love the way she plays. When I learned—watching her—that was my goal, to play like her. And also the fact that I think she's a little shorter than me and she was No. 1 in the world. [Oudin is 5-foot-6.]
You represented the U.S. in Fed Cup in February against Argentina, but weren’t on the team that beat the Czech Republic in April. Any ideas who might be making the team for the final in November?
It basically depends on if the Williams sisters play. If they play, I don't know if I'll be on the team. It's the week after the YEC [year-end championships in Doha, Qatar], and [Fed Cup] is in Italy. I hope they play because we want our best players to play. But I want to be on the team too. (laughs)
**
Oudin made headlines across America with her upset win over Jankovic at Wimbledon. (Ian Walton/Getty Images)Do you feel like U.S. tennis fans are looking at you thinking, please do something, you're the Americans’ best shot for the future?**
People have told me, "We want you to do something here, you're supposed to be the next one coming up." I don't listen to it that much. It doesn't bother me. People can say that if they want. People want me to do well, which is good. But I don't feel too much pressure about doing well. I can just play how I can play.
Do people expect you to be older? You're 17 but you've already done so much…
It's weird. At tournaments, people think I act older. They don't think I'm 17. But at home, I act more like a normal kid. I'm around all my friends that are my age. But here, it is my job. It's like a business, so I have to take it like that.
Is there anyone you look forward to playing who you haven't yet?
Definitely the Williams sisters. Either one of them. Just to see how I would do against them. I've watched them since I was little.
What are your goals?
I'm shooting for Top 50 by the end of the year. I think that's realistic. I still have a bunch of tournaments until the end of the year. Cincinnati, Toronto, New Haven...
Are you going to have to play in qualifying in every single one of them?
(Oudin grins)
You're like the qualifying kid. Do you insist on playing qualifying?
(laughs) That's what people have been saying! I'm three-for-three in my last three qualifyings. I'm hoping to just keep it going. People ask me, aren't you sick of qualifying? I'm honestly not. I don't mind qualifying. Sometimes if it's three long, long matches, and then it's kind of a pain if I get into the main draw and play someone who's really good. I'm tired. But it gives me experience. I get matches. I need to get my match count up for the year. I get used to the courts and by the time the main draw comes around I'm totally ready.
How well do you know the other up-and-coming Americans, and is there a feeling of cohesion?
I think that's kind of the problem in the United States. A lot of the American girls are so jealous of each other, and if someone does well they're not really happy for them. They don't try to compete against them and go "okay, I hope we can push each other and do better and hopefully we can get up the rankings." It's not like that. That's what the Russians do and all these other countries and that's how they're doing so well. I've been working really really hard. And I know they have too. I think if we could push each other more, and I'm definitely willing to do that, that's how we're going to get better. And help American tennis by doing that.