Youngsters' title a rare gem at US Open

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So there was little Melanie Oudin, the darling of New York and the US Open two years ago, who has disappeared since then. And with her, Jack Sock, the new teen US tennis hope playing his first US Open since turning pro. Two young, blond, smiling, somewhat shy kids on the court, playing in the mixed doubles finals.

2011 US Open

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The finals! These two kids. Exactly how could anyone not be cheering for them? It looked like Ken and Barbie out there.

And not only that, but they’re like a comedy bit:

“Mixed doubles is probably the last thing I thought I’d get to the final of,’’ Oudin said.

“Thanks,’’ Sock said.

Well, on Friday, with the crowd chanting “USA! USA!’’ they did it.

They beat eighth-seeded Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank of Argentina 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-8 (tiebreak).

What would they do to celebrate?

“Pack. What time is it?’’ Sock said.

“It’s late already,’’ Oudin said.

“I can’t make it,’’ Sock said. “Chipotle is going to close in 20 minutes.’’

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Let’s be honest about what happened here. Mixed doubles is the bargain basement of tennis. Tennis is a niche sport. Doubles is a niche within a niche. That makes mixed doubles a niche within a niche within a niche.

But in some ways, that just made the story all the more charming.

Their title is not going to define the Open, but sometimes it’s the little things — like two nice kids winning a major tennis championship — that seem like discovered gems.

You might remember Oudin from her run to the singles quarterfinals two years ago. She was the buzz of New York and of tennis, in the way that only a US Open can bring out. She was a 17-year-old from nowhere. And over the course of a week and a half, she emerged on national TV shows and the national media rushed to her hometown in Atlanta for another helping of her apple pie story.

She became known for the word BELIEVE, which she had written on her shoes. Remember? Eventually, adidas was making shoes with the word on it.

What happened to her since then? Not much, actually. She has struggled, and the expectations from her thrilling run were too much.

Does she still have the BELIEVE thing going?

“No,’’ she said. “I don’t have a deal with adidas anymore.’’

How telling. The shoe deal is gone, and so is belief.

Well, two years later, Oudin looks and sounds roughly the same, still upbeat and smiling. Maybe a little more muscular. And you wonder if this win might change her.

A little success, at any level, could take some of the pressure and demands off Oudin.

The frill of it all

New York fashion week? Naw, it was just the 2011 US Open.

“Winning any kind of (Grand) Slam title is pretty huge no matter what it's in,’’ she said. “Mixed doubles is pretty cool. But, yeah, I mean, I feel like a lot more confident. I feel like I have been playing pretty well. . . . I will have a lot more confidence, I think, going into my next singles matches coming up.’’

Sock won the junior national championships, which got him into the US Open. And then he won his first round before losing to Andy Roddick. At 6 feet 2 with great power and soft hands, he offers real hope for US tennis.

Oudin and Sock had match point against them in the first round.

In the second round, they beat Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber, two of the world’s best doubles players. From there, there was no stopping them.

“I’m not going to lie; I didn’t look past the second round too far,’’ Sock said, admitting he figured they’d lose in the second round. “I played with the Bryan brothers this year. I was on the court 38 minutes. Thrashing. I think that included the warmup, so . . .’’

Just a year apart, Oudin, 19, and Sock, 18, seem like a veteran and an up-and-comer. They met in December — “She was too big for me before that,’’ he said — in a tournament that the US Tennis Association puts together. Winner gets a wild card, a free pass, into the Australian Open. They became friends and decided to try mixed doubles at the Open.

Sock said it was relaxing to play with a friend.

“For me, actually, he jokes pretty much the whole match,’’ Oudin said.

“Just little jokes here and there. Helps me to relax, like laughing, smiling.’’

But when he first started doing it, didn’t she want to tell him to shut up?

“It’s funny,’’ Oudin said. “I don’t really tell him to shut up.’’

“She does,’’ Sock said. “Yes, she does.’’

It’s going to be fun in six or seven years, when Sock is doing well on tour, to throw some of this stuff back into his face.

Well, it’s hard to know what to make of this. But sometimes, a deeper meaning just doesn’t exist. Just two kids out having fun and playing tennis.

Just Ken and Barbie winning the US Open. And then off to Chipotle.