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Christina McHale Rises, Melanie Oudin Falls In Cincy
By Lauren Lynch
© Western & Southern Financial Group Open
(August 10, 2010) The Cincinnati hard courts were a crossroads as American women headed in different directions at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open. Wild card Christina McHale upset 15th-seeded Nadia Petrova to reach the second round, while US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin continued her slide in suffering her ninth loss in her last 12 matches.
Wimbledon doubles finalist Elena Vesnina converted all seven break points she earned in overwhelming Oudin, 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes. The 42nd-ranked Oudin has failed to surpass the second round in nine consecutive tournaments.
World No. 132 McHale held a 7-6(4), 5-3 lead over Petrova when the Russian veteran retired from the match due to heat exhaustion.
New Jersey native McHale is the lone American woman to reach the second round.
"This is definitely one of my biggest wins," said McHale. "Obviously she is a very good player and I had to deal with her great shots. The heat was also a factor but I tried to stay as cool as possible."
Petrova, who pounded Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open in January, took a treatment timeout while trailing 3-2 in the second set. Trainers applied ice packs to cool her down.
"I was surprised, but I'm just excited to move on to the next round," said McHale. "I know she called the trainer but I didn't know what she called the trainer for. I didn't try to focus too much on her."
McHale, who saved five of six break points, will play Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita for a spot in the round of 16. The winner of that match will face either fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters or former World No. 1 Dinara Safina.
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