2009 US Open: Melanie Oudin advances to the quarterfinals.

After defeating Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova during earlier rounds, the 17-year-old American phenom, Melanie Oudin, defeated Nadia Petrova in three sets of 1-6, 7-6 and 6-3 and qualified herself for a quarterfinal match at the 2009 US Open.

The young Oudin had an horrible first set this afternoon as she committed a countless number of unforced errors. But as the match went along, the young tennis player adjusted her game and was more and more regular on the court.

Then Petrova started to commit more mistakes during the second set and really gave a second wind to her young opponent. Serving at 4-3 in the second set, Petrova was controlling the pace of the match but completely lost her focus, allowing Oudin to break her and even the score at 4-4.

The second set had to be decided by a tie break that was easily won by Melanie Oudin by the score of 7-2. The third set was a mirror image of the second set -Petrova generating the most of the unforced errors- but more importantly, Oudin broke Petrova's serve four times during the third set alone to claim the victory.

The unbelievable journey of Melanie Oudin will continue for at least one more match to the delight of the fans gathered at Flushing Meadows. The young and very talented player is already gathering crowds at her young age and will continue to be the talk of the town.

Congratulations and good luck for the rest of the way.

(Picture: Melanie Oudin, Canadian Press.)