Tennis teen titans make Final Eight

NEW YORK – American teenager Melanie Oudin continued to build momentum in her surprising run at the US Open, joining three other women qualifying for their first Grand Slam quarterfinals.

The 17-year-old Oudin rallied for a 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 win over 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia on Monday to take her place in the final eight.

Also there for the first time are Caroline Wozniacki, Kateryna Bondarenko and Yanina Wickmayer. Still, none of them are getting over confident. Serena Williams is still in the draw.

For all that, it is the 70th-ranked Oudin who has dominated the attention at Flushing Meadows.

“Nice for a change that somebody’s coming up we haven’t heard about much before,” said men’s No. 1 Roger Federer, who downed No. 14 Tommy Robredo of Spain on Monday to win his 38th straight US Open match.

Oudin’s next opponent is No. 9 Wozniacki, a 19-year-old from Denmark with more wins on tour than anyone this year, and none more important than Monday’s. She’s the only seeded player remaining on a side of the draw that has refused to run to plan.

“Hopefully,” Wozniacki said, “someone from the crowd will cheer for me.”

In the fourth round, most of the cheers belonged, of course, to Oudin.

Against Petrova, she staved off two game points that would have put her behind 5-3 in the second, improving her record to six wins from seven at Grand Slams – Wimbledon and the US Open – this summer in matches where she’s lost the first set.

At Flushing Meadows, she has beaten No. 4 Elena Dementieva, No. 29 Maria Sharapova and now, Petrova, all Russians and all in come-from-behind fashion.

“You don’t know if she’s winning or losing,” said her father, John. “She doesn’t seem nervous out there – and I don’t know where that came from.”

Wozniacki beat No. 6 Svetlana Kutsenova of Russia 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in a later match, eliminating the only remaining player on that side of the draw with a Grand Slam tournament title to her credit.

It means all four of these quarterfinalists have every right to believe they could make it to the finals.

“Right now, I think she’ll play Serena in the finals,” said Oudin’s twin sister, Katherine. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Nor, it seems, is Federer, whose 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Robredo was as much of a breeze as anyone can expect in the fourth round. He is seeking to become the first player to win six straight titles at this American major since Bill Tilden in the 1920s.

One more win and he’ll extend another impressive streak, pushing it to 22 straight semifinal appearances in Grand Slams.

“I guess when it snaps is when it’s a pity,” Federer said. “As long as it’s going, you go with it. It’s not something I aim for. I’m aiming for almost bigger, to be quite honest.”

US Open at a glance

NEW YORK – A look at Monday’s play at the $21.6 million US Open tennis championships:

WEATHER: Partly sunny and cool. High of 72 F (22 C).

ATTENDANCE: Day: 37,388. Night: 23,771. Total: 61,159.

MEN’S WINNERS: Fourth Round: No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 10 Fernando Verdasco and No. 12 Robin Soderling.

MEN’S LOSERS: No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 14 Tommy Robredo, No. 15 Radek Stepanek and John Isner.

WOMEN’S WINNERS: Fourth Round: No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, Kateryna Bondarenko, Melanie Oudin and Yanina Wickmayer.

WOMEN’S LOSERS: No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 13 Nadia Petrova, Gisela Dulko and Petra Kvitova.

TOP PLAYERS ON COURT TUESDAY: Men: No. 2 Andy Murray vs No. 16 Marin Cilic, No. 3 Rafael Nadal vs No. 13 Gael Monfils, No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro vs No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez. Women: No. 2 Serena Williams vs No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, No. 18 Li Na vs Kim Clijsters.

STAT OF THE DAY: For the first time in the Open era, no American man has advanced to the quarterfinals.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There are no tears because I believed that I could do it. And it’s like now I know that I do belong here. This is what I want to do, and I can compete with these girls no matter who I’m playing. I have a chance against anyone.” – Melanie Oudin

ON THIS DATE: Sept. 8, 1999: Richard Krajicek sets the US Open record with 49 aces, yet loses his quarterfinal match to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in five sets.  AP