I’m not a fan of tennis, hell, I don’t even remember the fundamentals of the game any longer BUT I am a fan of a good underdog story.
Melanie Oudin, a 17 year old tennis player, just finished her biggest match at Wimbledon by beating Jelena Jankovic. So, what does that mean? Well, Melanie Oudin was ranked 124th in the world… Jelena Jankovic was 6th seated. Basically, Melanie wasn’t expected to rollover and die as Jelena Jankovic continued her push toward the finals.
What I find most impressive about the situation was the quote Melanie gave after her performance.
“I was just thinking that she was any other player,” Oudin said, “and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament — not like on the biggest stage at Wimbledon. I think I handled it really well.”
It’s no big deal, it’s just another day and another match. That is the mentality to have. Helena Jankovic, however; wasn’t as down to earth about the situation:
“From what I have seen, she can play if you let her play,” said Serbian Jankovic.
“But she cannot hurt you with anything. She doesn’t have any weapons, from what I’ve seen.
“She’s a consistent and quite solid player. She doesn’t make so many mistakes. But she doesn’t do anything either, so it’s like she’s depending kind of on you.”
By that very logic, Jelena, either you let her win or YOU really sucked when playing her.
While I’m sure Melanie is excited about the event, and we may never hear of her again after today – I don’t know, remember, I don’t follow tennis – the humility she showed and story surrounding the whole situation is enjoyable to watch.