NEW YORK Last year, Beatrice Capra watched every second of Melanie Oudin's run to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. Oudin was a competitor, a friend and an inspiration.

Now it's the Beatrice Capra story to be told at this U.S. Open. Oudin is gone after a second-round loss, but Capra is still in after the biggest win of her career, a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 survival test Thursday against 18th-seed Aravane Rezai.

"I really look up to Melanie," said Capra, 18, from Ellicott City, Md. "I watched all of her matches last year, and I was just so happy for her. It was really inspiring to me because I played her a year before and then she was getting to the quarters of a Grand Slam. ... I think she's pushed all of the Americans to do better."

The crowd on Grandstand Court got behind Capra, as they did Oudin last year. Capra was down 4-2 in the first set against a solidly ranked pro.

"They were awesome today. They really got me through," Capra said. "When I was down 4-2 in the first set, I was thinking it was just going to go downhill. They really helped me and supported me."

Capra rallied to break twice and take the first set. Then she was broken twice to the start the second set, allowing Rezai to get a toehold on the match.

Capra got an early break in the third set, but gave it up. The match was now down to a test of will. Rezai's driving shots were stronger than anything Capra had faced.

In the eighth game with France's Rezai serving, Capra had two break points and failed to convert. After Rezai earned a game point, Capra toughed out a rally, hit a crosscourt winner and then saw Rezai double-fault for the break. Now came Capra's first match point and when Rezai netted a ground stroke, the folks in Camp Capra, including mother Laurie MacGill and sister Pia, were celebrating.

"I was so happy how she handled herself today," MacGill said. "How she showed her maturity."

Three weeks ago Capra lost in the round of 16 at the junior nationals. She had planned to play in the Open juniors, but that was it. Then she got a call from the USTA to invite her to compete in the Open wild-card playoff tournament in Florida. She won it, earning a place in the main draw.

"She was disheartened after the 18 nationals," MacGill said. "I said, 'You don't know what's around the corner.'

"She said, 'Mom, you always say you don't know what's around the corner. What if it's nothing?' I said, 'For you, I'm sure there is something.'"

That something has amplified itself into a match with 14th-seed Maria Sharapova.