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Christina McHale in competition at the 2008 Dunlop Orange Bowl.
© juniortennis.com
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- John Isner won a wild card spot in the 2009 Australian Open on Saturday, December 20th by beating Jesse Levine 6-3, 7-5.
Donald Young, Wayne Odesnik, Jesse Levine and John Isner competed at the USTA Training Center in Boca Raton, Fl. for a chance to advance to the Australian Open. When it was all over the 145th ranked Isner was victorious.
Young defeated Odesnik in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. The match between Donald Young and Jesse Levine to determine second place, scheduled for Dec. 21, was cancelled when Levine withdrew.
Christina McHale earned her first career Grand Slam singles main draw entry to the 2009 Australian Open, defeating Gail Brodsky, 6-1, 6-0, in the final of the USTA's Australian Open wild card playoffs on December 18.
McHale, a 16-year-old from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., won the wild card to Melbourne over seven other American women who were competing in the round robin event hosted by the USTA in Boca Raton, Fla. and she went a perfect 4-0 in the competition.
She is currently ranked No. 377 in the world and reached a career-high of No. 373 in mid-November. McHale trains at the USTA Player Development facility in Boca Raton and also competed in the prestigious 2008 Dunlop Orange Bowl recently, where she advanced to the Girls 18s final, before falling to Julia Boserup in three sets.
McHale was also a Future Fed Cupper in 2008 (along with Boserup), traveling with the U.S. Fed Cup Team to La Jolla, Calif. for its quarterfinal match against Germany for an opportunity to train and practice alongside the team.
The other American women competing for the spot in Melbourne besides McHale and Brodsky were Madison Brengle, CoCo Vandeweghe, Vania King, Lauren Albanese, Mallory Cecil and Asia Muhammad.