Melanie Oudin Plays in her Hometown - In a Circuit Event

It's not something you see everyday, a top-40 in the world tennis player taking the court in a USTA Circuit event.  It is the equivalent of Chipper Jones taking the field in for the Class A Rome Braves.

The USTA Circuit Event in Atlanta is the minor leagues of women's professional tennis.  Playing doubles only with Australia's Bojana Bobusic, Oudin is playing as a favor for this tournament hosted by her home club in her hometown and to get a little work in before the U.S. Open Series begins in a week or so in California.

Oudin started strong, but got broken a couple times in the first set before her and Bobusic won in a tiebreak.  The played better in the second set to beat their young American opponents 7-6, 6-2.

There were about 500 fans in attendance, and there were ballkids on the court.  There was a chair umpire and a couple linespeople.  A far cry from being a Wimbledon a couple weeks ago.