BLONDE AMBITION; Mel hailed by Yanks after shock victory.

Byline: DAVID McCARTHY 

UNCLE SAM is getting all excited down Flushing Meadows way. Or rather, Auntie Samantha is.

The reason? A 17-year-old blueeyed blonde from Georgia knocked out No.4 seed Elena Dementieva on Thursday afternoon and all of a sudden Melanie Oudin is being hailed in these parts as the saviour of American women's tennis.

Which is just ridiculous when you think about it. After all, the two best women's tennis player in the world are American, no matter if the rankings say Dinara Safina holds the accolade.

But Serena and Venus Williams have always been regarded as something different, even in their own back yard.

Yes, they are American all right but they aren't blue-eyed and they certainly aren't blonde. And no matter how the Yanks try to dress it up, that's what they want their next superstar to be. It's been too long since they've had a Tracey Austin or Chris Evert to salute and they don't like it very much.

Appreciate

The players know it, too, and they don't like the fact theWilliams sisters' monumental achievements in the sport have been all but overlooked in the rush to acclaim the Next Big Thing.

Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova were both asked in the wake of their matches late on Thursday night if they were excited by the prospect of Oudin emerging as a major talent and while they were fulsome in their praise of the kid, they were quick to slap down the suggestion American women's tennis needs a new star. Not when they've got the two biggest already.

Roddick was asked: "Everyone keeps waiting for the American girl to come through, aren't they?" He answered: "From what I've been looking at and reading, it doesn't seem like Venus and Serena are in a hurry to go anywhere.

"Everyone is always looking for the next thing but the present, as far as the women's game goes, is pretty good. You'll only start to appreciate that once Venus and Serena have gone. But they are talking about being around for another four, five, six years."

Sharapova, who plays Oudin today in what will be an intriguing third-round tie, was asked:"Is it good to see an American woman player coming up?" The Russian's response was as sharp as her play has been this week. She said: "I think it's great but not only do you have that, you have Venus and Serena who are two and three in the world. I think they're doing pretty good."

Sharapova knocked out one 17-year-old American, Christine McHale, on Thursday night - losing just three games in the process - and although she is expecting a tougher test today against another one, the 2006 US Open champion should come through.

She is ranked 29th here, having missed nine months of the season following shoulder surgery, and is due to meet Venus in a potentially explosive fourth round tie.

But first she has to beat Oudin - and the crowd, of course.

The 22-year-old added: "I've a tough match ahead of me. She's going to come out swinging hard and with nothing to lose.

"It's totally understandable that the crowd will be on her side.We're in New York City. I'm a Russian girl playing against a young, up-andcoming girl who has a tremendous amount of potential."

All this talk about Oudin being the next great American hope is not the teenager's fault, of course. All the girl is doing is winning matches and she does look like becoming a major force in the game. She knocked Jelena Jankovic out of Wimbledon after coming through the qualifiers and followed up by eliminating the fancied Dementieva to set up the showdown with Sharapova.

Believe

And the contrast can hardly be stronger. Sharapova, the glamour girl of the game, all Nikeyed-up and making as much from modelling as tennis, against the 5ft 6in kid who drives a 2005 Toyota 4Runner and still cleans the courts at her local club when she's finished banging the balls over the net.

She wears tennis shoes with Believe stamped on them - maybe Marvin Andrews got her them - and that is a commodity she has in abundance.

The youngster said: "It's all about believing I can beat these girls and hang in there with them. If I didn't have that there's no way I'd be able to win matches like the ones I've won. I win because I believe I can do it.

"I don't listen to what other people say about me, like good or bad things. I just go out there and play my game.

"When I play with no fear, that's when I play my best. I don't worry about anything. I just play my game and it usually works."

As for being tipped to be the next American to elbow the Williams sisters out of the way, Oudin showed a lot more respect to the siblings than some have.

She said: "I think it's really cool to be called the third-best American behind the Williams sisters. That's just incredible because I've been watching them since I was a little girl. They've been like my idols.

"I'm really proud to be the third-best American."

Or the best in the eyes of those who are blinded to the obvious.

CAPTION(S):

GOLDEN GIRL: Much is expected of Melanie Oudin after beating experienced Elena Dementieva - despite playing with a heavily strapped thigh, right