Without Williams sisters, US Open quarterfinalist Oudin back in spotlight for Fed Cup final

more images

more images

US Open quarterfinalist Oudin back in spotlight

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy — Melanie Oudin has the bright lights on her again.

Oudin surged from nowhere to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in September. This weekend, with the Williams sisters skipping the Fed Cup final against Italy, she commands the stage.

Top-ranked Serena and Venus are skipping the best-of-five series on red clay at the Rocco Polimeni club. That left Oudin and Alexa Glatch the likely singles players for captain Mary Joe Fernandez.

“It’s definitely a little bit of pressure without the Williams sisters,” Oudin said. “I thought that I might not even be playing, and definitely not No. 1 singles, but it’s a good feeling because I like representing our country and I’ve been on the team twice before. I’m really looking forward to playing and just fighting hard and having a good time again this weekend.”

Oudin has struggled since knocking off four established players — including three-time major champion Maria Sharapova and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva — at the Open.

In her first tournament after her Flushing Meadows run, the 18-year-old player from Marietta, Ga., lost in qualifying in Tokyo, then dropped a three-setter to Glatch in her opening match in Beijing.

“Everyone expects me to win everything now after I did good in one tournament, and I’m still improving, I’m still learning about the game of tennis,” she said.

“I’m working on a lot of different things in my game. Everyone has ups and downs. I happened to be up at the U.S. Open, and I played really, really well and I’m playing well again. I was not playing as well right after, and I got sick a little bit, but I’m ready again and I’m going to be ready for next year, and I’m ready for the Fed Cup this weekend.”

Oudin won a key singles match in the opening round of this year’s Fed Cup against Argentina. She also came through qualifying to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.

For her efforts, Oudin collected the inaugural Fed Cup Heart award from ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti on Thursday. She dedicated the $5,000 check to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.

“My little sister actually had an open heart surgery at the hospital when she was four years old, so it’s really close to my heart,” Oudin said. “They did such a great job taking care of her.”

At 33, Liezel Huber is 15 years Oudin’s senior and the Americans’ team leader. The top-ranked doubles player began her Fed Cup career representing South Africa in 1998. She became an American citizen in 2007 and is making her fourth consecutive Fed Cup appearance for the United States.

“I want to be here and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Huber said. “I chose to play for the U.S., so everything I do this week I shine through my country and my team. That’s why I think I’m the team leader. If they have a problem they can come to me this week. I’m a good listener.”

Italy features two top-20 players in Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, both having had career seasons.

Pennetta won consecutive titles in Palermo, Sicily, and Los Angeles on her way to becoming the first female Italian player to reach the top 10. Schiavone won a $1 million title in Moscow and reached a final in Osaka, Japan, last month.

Huber is hoping the series comes down to the doubles match late Sunday, having won the decisive point in the Americans’ first two matchups this year.

“Every time we go into Fed Cup I wish it comes down to a 2-2 tie,” she said. “It would be great if we had won it before, but it just happened to be the last two ties came down to 2-2 and that’s perfect for me. So I’m ready for Sunday, last match in the dark, under the lights, no sun. Hopefully the crowd will be there — that’s what I’m looking forward to.”