Melanie Oudin defeats Caroline Wozniacki at the 2009 US Open

Melanie Oudin defeats Caroline Wozniacki. Well, at least that’s what the USA fans are cheering for tonight at Arthur Ashe staduim. This little 5′6″ 17 year-old from Marietta, Georgia is getting the attention she deserves for US women’s tennis.

Melanie Oudin pink yellow shoes - 2009 US Open

 Caroline Wozniacki, the first Danish woman to be ranked in the top 10, defeated the last remaining Russian in the field, sixth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, last night in similar fashion to Oudin victories, coming back to win, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). She will meet Oudin in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Screaming & grunting to be banned from tennis, really? Sorry Sharapova…

Time magazine and others report that officials at this year’s Wimbledon tournament might crack down on loud screams during play – possibly banning it.

Maria Sharapova Screams while hitting

With new attention brought to it Martina Navratilova’s call for grunting to be deemed cheating, the International Tennis Federation is poised to crack down.The ITF is considering broadening the measures that officials can take in penalizing repeat offenders such as Maria Sharapova. Umpires already can award a point against players if their grunting is deemed to have hindered their opponent. But now the ITF is weighing up whether to include “noise hindrance” in its code of conduct, according to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper.

Under the new rule, persistent offenders could be

Maria Sharapova loses in the French Open, with only 2 games in her favor

Facing match point in the quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova was no dreaming about winning her first French Open title.  She didn’t want to lose without a single won game.  But her never give up, never surrender attitude at least helped her keep her pride.

Maria Sharapova loses in the French Open against Cibulkova

A tired, rusty Sharapova barely skimmed a shutout but lost Tuesday to Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 6-2. Cibulkova was one point from victory at 5-love in the second set before Sharapova finally found her form. She won that game and then another, hitting a flurry of winners and saving four match points before Cibulkova closed out the win. Sharapova was playing in just her second tournament after a layoff of nearly 10 months because of a right shoulder injury. The three-time Grand Slam champion had

Maria Sharapova makes a comeback at the French Open

Maria Sharapova is proving that not only is her shoulder fit to fight, her game has come back too. 

Last year the former world number one underwent arthroscopic surgery on her serving shoulder and spent three months without touching a racquet, a sobering time she said allowed her to gain some perspective.

Maria Sharapova is making a comeback at the french open (Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)

Just Wednesday, Maria Sharapova found herself in a genuine battle for survival against a tough opponent in the second round at the French Open and came through with the shoulder in one piece (still bandaged) and another victory to boost her confidence.

The score against Nadia Petrova, a former world No. 3, was 6-2, 1-6, 8-6 and Sharapova had to battle back from 4-2 down in the final set.

“I think it was a great match where I had to fight my way through many, many challenges and I did,” Sharapova said. “I thought I served well. It was actually one of the things I did best in the match. It was important to get a high percentage of first serves, to take control of the points. Nadia is a very aggressive player and she likes to get you on the run.”

“I kind of started stumbling away. Things went in the wrong direction,” said Sharapova, “I was just glad I

Brother & Sister have achieved #1 tennis ranking, now what?

Dinara Safina yells in victory

Russia’s Dinara Safina has now became the No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player in the world this past Monday, knocking out Serena Williams of the United States. Safina’s brother, Marat Safin, was once the top-ranked men’s player. Thanks to the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings Williams fell to No. 2 after 11 straight weeks at the top. We all know WIlliams has been bothered by a leg injury, lost in two recent tournaments, and withdrew from a third.

The 22-year-old Safina, winner of four WTA titles in the past year, is the second Russian to hold the No. 1 ranking. Maria Sharapova, now famous, previously was top-ranked for 17 weeks. Safina has nine WTA titles overall and has placed second in two majors. Definitely not a shabby record to say the least.

“It’s a great honor to reach the No.1 ranking and it is a dream every girl who has ever wanted to play professional tennis shares,” Safina said. “It is even extra special for me since my brother Marat was able to reach the No.1 ranking and I am happy to share this achievement with him.” Of course, Marat didn’t hold the position very long, maybe Safina can do better. Of course Marat would do well well at prison tennis tournaments.

Russian Elena Dementieva is third in the rankings, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia is fourth and Venus Williams of United States is No. 5.

Who will be the next woman to take the #1 position and hold it for at least a year. This is how legends are remembered. It’s hard to get to #1 in tennis, but much harder to stay their any length of time. Just ask new daddy Roger Federer or Tiger Woods, they’ve been there and lost that. Who do you think Safina will get sponsored by now that she’s #1. She definitely doesn’t have the “marketing appeal” that the mighty Maria Sharapova had so she probably will not land the massive endorsements.