WIMBLEDON, England — As a child growing up in Marietta, Ga., Melanie Oudin would watch Venus and Serena Williams on TV and tell anyone who would listen that she was going to play at Wimbledon, too, one day.
Who knew she’d be right? And do so well, so quickly?
Making her Wimbledon debut at age 17 after getting through qualifying, the 124th-ranked Oudin joined the Williams sisters in the fourth round at the All England Club by beating former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday in the most startling result of the tournament’s opening week.
“I was just thinking that she was any other player, and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament — you know, not, like, on the biggest stage, at Wimbledon, playing my first top-10 player,” Oudin said. “I mean, I go into every match the exact same, you know, like, no matter who I play. It’s not, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m playing the No. 1 player in the world.’ ”
Another American qualifier, 133rd-ranked Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., couldn’t extend his run in the men’s tournament, losing to No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. That leaves No. 6 Andy Roddick as the last American man in the tournament.
The only time Oudin really lost her way was when her match ended and it was time to leave Court 3, a patch of grass known as “The Graveyard of Champions,” because of the long list of stars upset there. She wasn’t quite sure where to go and asked someone to direct her toward the exit.
Not all that surprising, when you consider that a year ago, Oudin entered the junior event at Wimbledon — seeded No. 1 among the girls — and failed to make it out of the second round, losing 6-1, 6-3 to eventual champion Laura Robson of Britain.
While Oudin was working on her big win, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams was enjoying a matter-of-fact contest on Centre Court, winning the first eight games en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory over 34th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.
Oudin wasn’t the only teen who turned in a significant win: 19-year-old Sabine Lisicki of Germany beat two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 7-5.
The sixth-seeded Roddick entered Saturday 8-0 against No. 26 Jurgen Melzer and now is 9-0 after a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 victory.
At a glance
A look at Wimbledon’s third round on Saturday:
Weather: Partly cloudy, with light rain in the afternoon. High of 82 degrees.
Attendance: 43,432, an increase of 2,556 from Day 6 in 2008.
Men’s seeded winners: No. 3 Andy Murray, No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 8 Gilles Simon, No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 20 Tomas Berdych, No. 23 Radek Stepanek, No. 24 Tommy Haas, No. 29 Igor Andreev.
Men’s seeded losers: No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 11 Marin Cilic, No. 12 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 16 David Ferrer, No. 26 Jurgen Melzer, No. 30 Viktor Troicki, No. 31 Victor Hanescu.
Women’s seeded winners: No. 1 Dinara Safina, No. 3 Venus Williams, No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, No. 17 Amelie Maur- esmo.
Women’s seeded losers: No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 6 Jelena Jankovic, No. 15 Flavia Pennetta, No. 18 Samantha Stosur, No. 19 Li Na.
Stat of the day: 22-3 — Roddick’s 2009 record in tiebreakers after going 2-for-2 against Melzer during a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Quote of the day: “That was my goal coming into the tournament: qualifying.” — 124th-ranked Melanie Oudin
Today’s schedule: No matches; Wimbledon takes the middle Sunday off.
On court Monday, fourth round: No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 13 Robin Soderling, No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 4 Novak Djokovic vs. Dudi Sela; No. 1 Dinara Safina vs. No. 17 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 2 Serena Williams vs. Daniela Hantuchova, No. 3 Venus Williams vs. No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, Melanie Oudin vs. No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Monday’s forecast: Sunny, with a chance of showers in the afternoon. High of 86 degrees.
Monday’s TV: ESPN2, 5-8 a.m. and 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; KUSA-9, 8-11 a.m.
On the Web:
