Oudin and Muhammad Friends Today, Foes Tomorrow

Grand Slam champions, Olympic gold medalists, and other established professionals lined Tuesday’s show court schedule at the US Open. The only exception to this was on Grandstand, where promising American junior Asia Muhammad opened play against Romana Tabakova of Slovakia. Muhammad, living in Las Vegas and working with Andre Agassi’s cadre of tennis minds, showed why she deserved this billing after her convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Muhammad was tested early by Tabakova, a well-built 17 year old at 5’9”. The Slovak hit a number of accurate passing shots, but her most dependable weapon was her steady two-handed backhand. It needed to perform at peak levels to keep up with Muhammad’s very impressive forehand. Muhammad’s forehand motion and follow-through look advanced beyond her years, and they combined to generate great power on her shot. Though she still has some control issues, her forehand found its mark enough to take the first set 6-3. Muhammad was broken twice in the opening set, but she broke Tabakova three times, giving her the decisive edge. Her service speed helped – Muhammad ended the set with a 113 mph ace.

Across the grounds at Court 13 was Muhammad’s junior doubles partner, Melanie Oudin. The fellow American has played well at Flushing Meadows so far, which continued today after her 6-4, 6-1 win over Nastassya Burnett.

At first glance, the 5’4” Oudin doesn’t look like a commanding presence on court. But once she sets up shop on the baseline, it’s easy to see why Oudin has become the No. 2 junior in the world. Oudin made Nastassya work extremely hard for every point, and although the Italian hit the ball hard, she wasn’t consistent enough to really trouble Oudin.

Both Muhammad and Oudin also competed in the women’s tournament, but each lost in the opening round in straight sets. But they’ve regained momentum in the junior draw, winning every set on their way to the third round. So who’s playing better at the moment? We’ll find out soon enough, when Muhammad and Oudin play against each other in the third round.

In other notable girls’ matches, American Gail Brodsky came back to defeat No. 15 Linda Berlinecke 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, No. 3 seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn advanced after beating Heather Watson 6-4, 6-4, and Madison Brengle (USA) beat Silvia Njiric in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3. In boys’ competition, No. 6 Guillaume Rufin beat Blaz Rola 6-1, 6-1, and American No. 13 Bradley Klahn won in three sets against Christopher Rungkat 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.