McHale, Bogomolov Win Kennedy Funding; Hampton Wins 2nd Straight 50K Challenger; Williams Falls in Pittburgh Final
It's been quite a weekend for 18-year-old Christina McHale. After beating Melanie Oudin yesterday in the semifinals of the Kennedy Funding Invitational in New York on Saturday, McHale downed Sony Ericsson champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 7-5 this afternoon to win the charity exhibition. McHale lost in the first round of the $50,000 Grapevine Pro Circuit event in Dallas this week, and the Kennedy Funding doesn't help with WTA points, but it has to do a world of good for her confidence. The question of whether she'll turn pro (which she hadn't as of mid-May) is getting to be more and more urgent; if she turned down the prize money at the Kennedy Funding, it could have been $40,000 uncollected, if the women receive the same as the men. Alex Bogomolov, the 2001 Kalamazoo 18s champion and 1998 16s champion, won the men's event, defeating Michael Russell, the 1994 Kalamazoo 16s champion, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4. For more on that match, and on McHale's win over Oudin, see this Journal News article. For more on McHale and her preparations for this year's US Open, see this article from northjersey.com.
In Grapevine, Texas today, Jamie Hampton won her second consecutive $50,000 women's Pro Circuit event, defeating 18-year-old Kurumi Nara of Japan, the No. 3 seed, 6-3, 6-4. Hampton, a 20-year-old from Alabama, who spend most of 2009 recovering from injury, lost her only set of the tournament in the opening round. With her WTA ranking of 188, Hampton has already assured herself of a spot in the US Open qualifying draw. With this win, after taking the Boston 50K title last week, Hampton is certainly on the short list for a US Open main draw wild card, along with McHale, Sloane Stephens and Alison Riske. There are likely just four available, with the French and Australian reciprocals, Junior National and NCAA champion likely receiving the other four. 
Megan Moulton-Levy, the former William and Mary star, and Lindsay Lee-Waters won the doubles in Texas, avenging their Boston finals loss to Kim Couts and Tetiana Luzhanska 6-2, 7-5. Moulton-Levy and Lee-Waters, the top seeds in Texas, also won the doubles championship at the $50,000 event in Carson in May. Thanks to Brandon L'Heureux for the above photo of Moulton-Levy and Lee-Waters from today's final.
For complete draws, see the Pro Circuit page at usta.com.
Today in Pittsburgh, Tennessee sophomore Rhyne Williams could not duplicate his 2007 win at the same $10,000 Futures tournament, losing to No. 3 seed Adam El Mihdawy 6-3, 7-6(6) in the final. But Williams and Tennys Sandgren, also a member of the team that reached the 2010 NCAA finals, won the doubles title, beating top seeds Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Greg Ouellette of Florida 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review had this story about the men's semifinals and the final of the ITA Summer Circuit women's event between Kara Cecil and Ronit Yurovsky. Complete draws can be found at the ATP website.
13 comments:
Saw where Chris Harrison played the qualies in Aptos. Does this mean he's healthy and going to play the Zoo?
@jr 10s
I don't believe that was Christian Harrison. There is another older player named Chris Harrison who usually plays Aptos.
I spoke to Christina tonight.
-It was a $40,000 purse for the women's winner.
-She said Azarenka completing the match (her win at Charleston was 2-6,2-2 ret.) soldifies the big win over her and is a confidence booster.
-She is still an amateur.
@readers: check my blog at tennisbuddy12.wordpress.com
@Joey:
Both of the papers who are reporting on McHale's match today are saying she turned pro last month.
Joey – I’ve read your tennis blog and posts on this and other sites. You usually have great insight and information. Based on what Colette just posted though, your credibility shoots to zero.
You said, “I spoke to Christina tonight” which says you have a personal relationship with the player. If that is true, how could you get her amateur vs. professional status wrong??
@Colette
Unless the decision was being kept under wraps, according to Christina's mom (who I spoke with at the Cleveland ITF) she was still an amateur. She said she was taking a year off to decide.
Thanks for the clarification. Sorry about that
For what it's worth, here is the WIKI on Christina -- 1st sentence says she is a pro. This is a black-and-white topic, isn't it?? Strange...that her mom would deny something as exciting as her daughter turning pro......
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Last updated on: June 7, 2010.
Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992[1]) is a professional American tennis player. She is a right-handed player.[1] Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 157, which she reached on June 7, 2010. Her career high ranking in doubles is No. 357, which she reached on June 7, 2010.
@John
Yeah, I don't know why Christina's mom didn't acknowledge she turned pro, unless she wanted Christina to break the news first. But from the news articles it looks like she did indeed turn pro.
While wiki says Christina is a pro, it also says that Kristie Ahn, Nicole Gibbs, and Beatrice Capra are professionals also. So we always have to take wiki with a grain of salt
I am one who really thinks kids should go to college first, but I think now that she should go pro. $40,000.00 is a lot of money! But she needs to take college classes online so she is still educated.
Shouldn't there be something on the Kennedy website that shows if they really paid her out the money or not?
@Colette
That is news to me.
@John
Thank you for the comment. I am glad you took the time to read my blog. Sometimes, I feel like nobody reads it. I wouldn't put my credibility at zero. I was IM'ing Christina last night. She didn't flat out say "Yeah, I took the $," but she didn't say she had not. I even told her that it must have been tempting to take the 40k, and she didn't say she did in deed take it. Just last week before Grapevine, she was definitely taking the year off and would make her decision. I will try and get more information on her turning pro or not.
And simonsays is right. At Cleveland, she was still an amateur, as her mom told us both point blank. And wikipedia isn't the most reliable source. Anyone can put anything. Someone may think if you play pro events, you are a pro, and that isn't the case.
@joey
so basically you made an assumption on your conversation with her? you actually do not know whether or not she is pro or amateur. let's wait and see from an official source if and when she turns pro.
until it comes from christina's mouth its all speculation.
@tennis
No, she said she was taking the year off to figure things out when I talked to her last week, right before Grapevine.
When I talked to her last night, I assumed that she was still indeed an amateur. Yes, I did assume, but last week, she was still an amateur. She could be keeping this decision under wraps, but I doubt it. If she did indeed turn pro, it's not that I wasn't a credible source.
Post a Comment