Things went pretty much according to plan on the women’s side Monday at the Australian Open.

Fernandez took a chance on Vandeweghe after a reportedly bad practice week from Melanie Oudin. Oudin has had a down year since her quarterfinal breakthrough at the US Open last year. Fernandez benched Oudin on Saturday, then on Sunday Oudin showed her veteran composure by not only upsetting Top 10er Francesca Schiavone but blowing out the Italian, allowing her only four games.

U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez will have to choose between the overwhelmed Coco Vanderweghe and Melanie Oudin, who was benched from the first day for a poor practice week, in the first match on Sunday.

Vandeweghe is much like Oudin when she first appeared on tour — not in the best of shape, with a bit of a “gut” visible, and a poor mover. That changed for Oudin when she worked with her trainers to erase the extra body fat and gain speed. Hopefully that is ahead for Vandeweghe, and not just a reliance on a thumping serve and forehand.

Oudin must have put in some horrifying practice sessions this week for U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez to make that decision.

Notes: (1) Dementieva opens against Peng, and (3) Wickmayer against the Osaka finalist Schnyder; wildcards went to Dementieva, Russian Yulia Putintseva, Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella, and France’s Virginie Razzano; in last year’s final Francesca Schiavone defeated Olga Govortsova.

The development was that Montreal’s star power suddenly began to dip with all the pull-outs, and Lapierre came back to Ivanovic with the wildcard offer — which she promptly told him, in so many words, to stick up his ass.

The sadly-slowing American drumbeat goes on this week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open. World No. 1 Serena Williams is sidelined with a cut foot, and elder sister Venus is out with a tweaked knee. No Americans are seeded, and only one American, Melanie Oudin, got directly into the main draw via her ranking (barely).

Loaded non-seeded field with former No. 1s Ivanovic and Safina, and former No. 2 Kuznetsova unseeded; first-round match-ups of interest are (6) Bartoli vs. Hantuchova, (7) Peer vs. (WC) Ivanovic, (8) Wickmayer vs. Kuznetsova, and potential second-round match-ups after seeded byes (1) Jankovic vs. Rezai and Stosur vs. Azarenka or Oudin

Wow, two unseeded former No. 1s in Henin and Ivanovic; lots o’ first-round meetings of interest…