I couldn't help but think of the height of the Cold War this afternoon, after watching 17-year old Georgia native Melanie Oudin effectuate another comeback in front of her increasing legion of adoring fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, this time defeating 13th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the fourth round. Amazingly, it was Oudin's fourth consecutive victory at this year's US Open over a Russian player.

Now, we are quite far removed from the 1980s and the Evil Empire label ascribed to the former USSR. Russia is, in fact, at the very least, a flaky ally despite a somewhat cynical view towards Vladimir Putin and the current President, Dmitry Medvedev. And for most born after 1980, the locus of geopolitical antagonism from our perspective here in the United States has shifted to other nations.

But there are parallels that immediately came to mind - more specifically, the US Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid in 1980 and its remarkable upset of the Russians. Of course Oudin has quite a ways to go before her accomplishments this week merit even a mild comparison with the heroes of 29 years ago. And she'll likely be stopped before she's able to hoist the winner's trophy, which will most surely be in the possession, again, of Serena Williams by late next Saturday night.

Yet consider; just as the 1980 team was overmatched and considered second rate compared to the Soviet hockey machine, women's tennis in America - aside from the Williams sisters, obviously - has been deemed DOA for a good decade. And the numbers bear it out. Oudin, at number 70 in the world, is the third-highest ranked American behind the Williams sisters. The drop in the talent pool here has been inversely matched by the ascendancy of Russian women. This came first in the person of one-time tennis/celebrity Anna Kournikova. The famous beauty was then followed Elena Dementiava, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova and continues with the current number one - perhaps the most dubious number one in the history of sports - Dinara Safina.

And throw in the fact that her physique and playing style offer the perfect contrast to the tall, strong and powerful Russian contingent. Oudin is listed at 5'6, though that would appear a generous number. The teenager is slight of build, even smaller than that last great "short" player, Justine Henin. She is not the owner of overpowering groundstrokes like Sharapova or Dementiava, and her serve is downright slow. Yet her game is suffused with a fierce competitive streak and an unbending tenacity that douses the apparent weaknesses in her game.

Can one imagine a more perfect underdog to foil the potent Russians? Imagine the propaganda that would have spewed forth from the more conservative political elements in this country had these matches been taking place twenty-five years ago?

Thankfully there's no need for that. And what may turn out to be the most encouraging part of Oudin's inspiring run is it will instill a more creative element in women's tennis. It's been missing dearly since Henin's sudden retirement. The women have increasingly played a one-dimensional game: that is, who can out-hit the other from the baseline first. And aside from Serena's dominance, there's been little consistency in the top of the rankings. This is in stark contrast to the men who are lucky to have a calcified group at the top - with only one American among them, Andy Roddick - who are regularly playing each other in the final rounds of tournaments.

However shocking and unexpected Oudin's current run to fame at the Open is, it really shouldn't be that surprising. It seems that even in the periods where many decried the paucity of US players at the top of the sport, a player came along and instantly changed the situation.

Think back to the mid 1980s when John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were no longer winning Slam titles and the US went nearly five years without a victory at a Grand Slam event (similar to today: the last American man to win a Slam title was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open). The only player on radar was a then overrated and over-hyped Andre Agassi. Then out of nowhere came this Californian named Pete Sampras and he was joined by a finally successful Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang to usher in one of the strongest eras for American men.

In fact, every seven to ten years a new talent - whether expected or unexpected - emerges to advance the sport forward in this country:

Jimmy Connors - 1972
Chris Evert - 1972
John McEnroe - 1977
Tracy Austin - 1979
Pete Sampras - 1990
Jennifer Capriati - 1990
Venus - 1997
Serena - 1999
Andy Roddick - 2003

But the sense of urgency is there, legitimately. And especially among the men, where, with John Isner's loss to Fernando Verdasco Monday night, this year will be the first time in the history of the US Open that no American man has reached the quarterfinals.