Melanie Oudin stuns Elena Vesnina in the third round brawl – AEGON Classic 2012
A stunning display of high quality tennis from the American underdog contender, Melanie Oudin, stunned the world number 82, Elena Vesnina, in the third round of the AEGON Classic, being played in Birmingham, England. The 208th
ranked American qualifier took just 61 minutes of play to hunt down the superior ranked Russian tennis ace in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, to earn a spot in the quarter-final round of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International Tour event.
It was a completely one-sided affair, with the 20-year-old American dominating every minute of it. Oudin spared barely two games for the Russian rival in the entire matchup to register her 19th victory of the running
season in the most assertive manner. It was the fourth time these two went one-on-one against each other and Oudin kept her winning knack intact to level the head-to-head series at 2-2. She defeated Vesnina at the Indian Wells Masters last year but it was
a far cracking win for her this time round.
Vesnina registered a big upset in the second round when she overturned the seventh seeded American contender, Christina McHale, in a gruelling three-setter, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5. She couldn’t repeat her magic in the third round brawl
against Oudin and fell out of the tournament in a pathetic fashion. The 25-year-old Russian utterly failed to register a single break point in the entire matchup, squandering away two vital opportunities to finish on the losing side. Five out of seven break
point conversions from the American youngster left her stranded in the contest and she had no option but to surrender in the second set.
Oudin served first in the contest after winning the toss and went on for an all-round onslaught right from the beginning. She stung three successive break points to rocket away to 6-0 in the opening 20 minutes of play. She clinched
11 out of 13 first serve points and successfully defended the two break threats from Vesnina in the opening set to get one up in the contest.
Vesnina finally held her serve for the first time in the following set and took the scores to 2-2. Oudin shifted her gear once again and two more consecutive break points in the sixth and eighth games wrapped up the proceedings
for her at 6-2, awarding her a berth in the quarter-final draw. The American will take on her fellow compatriot, Irina Falconi, in the round of eight on Friday.
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