Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Strawberries and Cream from Wimbledon: Christina McHale of the US upsets 24th seed Ekaterina Makarova

Christina McHale (center) with her
sister Lauren and Asia Muhammed
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)

She is an unseeded player from New Jersey--originally from Teaneck and now from from Englewood Cliffs.

She knows some Mandarin as her family lived in Hong Kong as she grew up.

Finally, Christina ranked #71, is homeschooled through Kaplan Online High School since age 15 since she elected to move down to USTA Training Center headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida.

Yesterday, this amazing 19 year old knocked out a top ranking player in 3 sets 2-6, 6-1, 8-6 to advance to round 2 of the 125 year-old Wimbledon Championships.

What amazed me was her steadfast determination and consistency. Down 0-40 on her serve as she led 7-6 in the third set, she went on to win the next 5 points in a row to stun her opponent and thrill the crowds of fans at the All England Tennis Club.

In the post game interview on ESPN, she brushed aside comparisons to Melanie Oudin who a couple of years ago emerged as the best hope for American ladies tennis. Christina commented she does not think about this pressure. She is totally focussed on improving her game and ranking.

With this attitude, Christina, you come across as a winner both on and off the court

Good luck, Christina

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