Russian cutie pie, 29th seeded Maria Sharapova, had her comeback cut short at the US Open by a youngster by the name of Melanie Oudin. It was a hard fought match by both players, but in the end, it was the 17-year-old Oudin who would come out on top, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Sharapova continues to struggle with her serve, committing 21 double faults. Each player broke serve eight times, but Oudin held serve on the last game to win the match.
Was it a fluke for the No. 70th ranked Oudin? It may be the real thing, since Oudin took out the # 4 seed, Elena Dementieva in her previous match, 5-7 6-4, 6-3. Oudin has “Believe” written on her pink shoes to help keep herself motivated. It seems to be working. If she continues to play as she has so far, the rest of us will begin to believe as well.
Meanwhile, Sharapova continues to struggle with adjustments she is trying to make following her shoulder injury last year about this time. Those adjustments aren’t coming easy. Hopefully, we’ll see the real Sharapova come back and see her continue to climb back to the top.
