Tennis Atlantic

2012 CitiOpen Exclusive Interview: Melanie Oudin on US Open Mixed Doubles Co-Champion Jack Sock, Her Fans
Steve Fogleman, TennisEastCoast.com

Despite losing to Aravane Rezai in three sets in first round singles and losing in doubles in a third set super break, Melanie Oudin was still in good spirits as she prepared to depart from the CitiOpen in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night. After I saw Jack Sock get strong support from the Atlanta crowd at the Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs last December, I wondered if she had anything to do with that.

What is it like to have made Jack Sock an Atlanta celebrity?

He loves the attention. He’s like the new kid on the block. Last year, he finished high school, went on to win Kalamazoo, then got a main draw wild card in the US Open, won a round and got to play Andy Roddick. I mean, he was on Cloud 9. I think he made a great first impression on the crowd, especially at the US Open. I think when you make a great first impression, you gain fans automatically. Especially if you play on Arthur Ashe. Also, he and I were playing together. I know there were a lot of people from Atlanta who went to the Open and saw us play in the mixed doubles. I think he definitely gained some of my fans, also.

How do you cope with all the attention you get at these US tournaments?

It’s really funny. I was just in Europe for a while. Some people know me, but it’s not like the States. It hasn’t been like this for a while. But being here in DC, I don’t know if they advertised me coming here a lot, but whenever I’m walking or even going to watch a match, everyone is coming over. “Oh, There’s Melanie! There’s Melanie! Can we get a picture? Can we get an autograph?”. I’m like “Sure, it’s no problem!”. It’s funny to me. I’ve started to do better again and it really means a lot that the fans I had in 2009 have really stuck with me the last couple of years and are still supporting me.