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| Christina McHale© David Kenas |
Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., won the Girls’ 18s Easter Bowl title in April and the Australian Open girls’ doubles title in January, where she also made her Grand Slam debut in women’s singles. Currently ranked a career-high No. 10 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, the 17-year-old will be sharing her thoughts and experiences in an exclusive blog she is writing for USTA.com while she is competing at junior Wimbledon.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Hey Everyone!
Today there was both good and bad news. Unfortunately, my partner and I lost our doubles match in three sets, but we certainly tried our best. The good news, though, was that Roddick pulled through against the crowd favorite Murray!
Once again, the huge lawn in front of the big screen was absolutely packed with Murray fans. I don't think another person could have fit, it was so crowded. I could hear their cheers all the way from the court I was playing on, and it felt like I was getting a play by play of the match. I didn't even have to see a scoreboard, I knew that when there was silence, it meant that Roddick had won a point, and when there was a roar of applause, it meant that Murray had won the point. After the match, you could see the obvious disappointment on everyone's faces, as if there had just been a huge tragedy.
Since I lost, I unfortunately will be flying back to the States tomorrow and will have to watch tomorrow's final between Venus and Serena from home. I will most certainly miss the whole atmosphere that there is here at Wimbledon. Until next time!
Thanks,
Christina
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Hey Everyone!
Today was another very long but good day. Isabella and I won our doubles match, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, against the third seeds from Croatia and Hungary. It was a really intense match, so we were thrilled again to be able to get another win. It was actually really exciting because our match, which was originally supposed to be played on court No. 12, was moved to show court No. 3, when the prior matches were taking too long to complete. It was a pretty cool experience getting to play on a larger court like that.
On another note, I am so excited that both Venus and Serena won today and are in the finals against each other! We were all watching the matches from the locker room, and it was really funny to see how all the Americans were cheering every time Venus or Serena would win a point, while all the Russian players would groan.
I have doubles fifth on again tomorrow, so once again it will be another very long day. Good night!
Thanks,
Christina
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hey Everyone!
Today was another bloody hot day!! The day didn’t start off so great, though, because we missed our wakeup call, and so I didn’t get to have the amazing breakfast downstairs in the hotel restaurant. I was behind schedule, so I had to rush to the station to catch my train to Wimbledon or, as they call it here, SW19.
Since I didn’t have doubles today, I had a good hit with Kathy Rinaldi in the afternoon on the Aorangi Practice courts. At around the time that I was ready to head back, Andy Murray was playing against Juan Carlos Ferrero on Centre, and it was absolutely incredible to walk by the big hill that everyone sits on to watch the match on the big screen. It was completely packed, and the fans were going wild.
When I got back to the hotel, I went to the gym for a little and then jumped into the pool for 15 minutes. We then went out for a nice dinner at this little Italian restaurant and then headed back to the room to relax.
Isabella and I play fifth on tomorrow, so it’ll be another long day. Cheerio!
Thanks,
Christina
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hey Everyone!
Today was another extremely hot day, but there was better news. My partner and I won our doubles match, 6-3, 6-4, against some girls from Hungary and Slovakia. Since we played fifth on, we got to the site later in the afternoon, around 1:30 p.m. for my warm up at 2. After that, the rest of the day was pretty much just spent waiting for my match court to open up.
Isabella and I played pretty well, so it was exciting to get a win here. My partner is Australian, so it was funny to hear all the “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” cheers from the random fans who walked by our match. I must say, though, that the staff is pretty strict with the tournament towels here. We tried to take the towel with us after the match, but the court attendant was quick to ask for them back. Maybe next time!
Anyways, I don’t have doubles tomorrow, so it’ll just be a day of practice. Cheers!
Thanks,
Christina
Monday, June 29, 2009
Hi everyone!
This is Christina McHale, and I’m over here in London for junior Wimbledon. Unfortunately, I lost my first round on Saturday, but I still have doubles tomorrow with my partner, Isabella Holland.
This is my first time at Wimbledon, and this Grand Slam definitely has a very different feel and vibe to it. Even though I didn’t do as well as I would have wanted, it has still been a great experience. My mom, sister Lauren, grandma and good friend, Shinnan, are all here with me, and we are enjoying the amazing weather!! Everyone warned me that it can get pretty chilly here, but we have yet to need all the warm clothes we brought.
It’s pretty amazing to see how this event takes over the whole city. Every morning I look through the paper at breakfast, and almost all of the articles are related to the tennis. I haven’t been able to do much sightseeing, but I feel like a pro when it comes to using the metro and the tube system.
I just found out that I play fifth on tomorrow, so I have to go to bed now. Cheers!
Thanks,
Christina