By Mike McIntyre

Seventeen year old American qualifier Melanie Oudin has proven to be the surprise story of the women's draw at Wimbledon this year as she knocked off sixth seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday. Oudin is listed at 5'6'' and reminds me of Justin Henin in terms of her physique. While not physically imposing, Oudin used a versatile arsenal of shots and a well disguised drop shot to upset the former world number one.

Oudin had set points in the first set tie break, but was unable to capitalize and lost the breaker by a score of 10-8. After taking the first set, Jankovic took a thirteen minute medical timeout and was visited by both a trainer and doctor who took her blood pressure. This lengthy delay caused ESPN's Brad Gilbert to remark how such prolonged breaks should be banned. Gilbert felt quite strongly that if a player is unfit to play they should lose the match. Speaking about what happened Jankovic had the following to say:

"After the first set, I felt really dizzy, and I thought that I was just gonna end up in the hospital. I started to shake. I was losing my ‑ how you say ‑ consciousness. I didn't know. I was really gonna lose it, you know, to fall down and just, you know, probably go ‑‑ call the ambulance and leave the court. But I came back. Like I started to feel a little bit better."

The two traded several breaks of serve in the second set, and at one point Oudin was two points away from defeat. Down 4-5, 15-30 she used a sneaky dropshot hit from well behind the baseline to confound Jankovic. Oudin took control of the match in the third set as Jankovic whithered away.

Ranked outside the top hundred players in the world coming in to the tournament, Oudin will see quite a jump after her success here this week. She will next face the eleventh seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Na Li 6-4, 7-5.

In her press conference after the match, Oudin seemed unfazed by the success she has experienced thus far at her first Wimbledon.

"Yeah, uhm, you know, I went out there and actually did really well. 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."

Not since the Williams sisters broke through has a young American woman enjoyed such success at a Grand Slam. Oudin has already proven herself in Fed Cup action for the United States when she won the opening match against Argentina in February. Regardless of how far she continues to advance at Wimbledon, Oudin has given American tennis and unexpected shot in the arm.