Players, Officials and Volunteers all Surviving Heat and Humidity at USTA Women’s 10K in Atlanta

JOHN'S CREEK, GA - The most intense heat of the Atlanta summer hit The Falls at Autrey Mill Tennis Center this week, where play is being contested in the Norman Wilkerson Memorial USTA Pro Circuit Tournament.  This is a tournament where young players on women's tour are attempting to earn their stripes and move up to larger tournaments all over the world.

The USTA representative running the Pro Circuit event, Missy Malool has been making sure players, linespeople and volunteers are prepared for the extreme heat.  Malool is a veteran when it comes to running events like this as she's been doing it for 15 years.  It's the players that make it all worthwhile for Malool. "They are all good kids," Malool commented as she went over her preparations for the day.  

Round of 16 action began at 9 a.m. sharp to avoid the heat of the day for singles matches.

The feature match of the morning showcased a former NCAA champion in Amanda McDowell playing a hard hitting Chinese player in Xin Win.  Win contrasted McDowell's steady game with big serves and more aggressive play, but McDowell appeared to be more accustomed to the Georgia heat and that was enough to win in straights.

On outside courts, fans were able to catch a glimpse of a 15 and a 16-year old who may be the next big names in American women's tennis, Taylor Townsend and Hannah King.  The two girls both hail from the state of Georgia, so home court advantage was in play for both.

15-year old Townsend was showing the form that earned her a semi-final birth in a 50K event earlier this year in Carson, CA.  Townsend pounded away from the baseline to beat a talented Italian player in Federica Grazioso.

Out on Court 3, King, a blonde lefty who plays remarkably like Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova was a sight to see.  After a slow start, King showed why her all-court game will take her up the WTA rankings sooner rather than later. Playing a competent Russian in Angelina Gabueva, King pulled out all the stops.  This match was a battle of wills and the Russian had a little too much experience in the end to take a three-set victory.  

Also advancing to the quarters to be played on  Friday were top seeded Lauren Davis, another improving junior player in Hayley Carter of Hilton Head Island, SC, American player Alexis King, and a scrappy Chinese player in Di Zhao.

Friday's top two matches will bring together McDowell and current college player from the University of Florida, Lauren Embree.  Embree, who was granted a wildcard into the event has been very impressive.  She makes very few unforced errors and anticipates very well.  This contest is too close to call.

In the second feature match, Davis, one of America's top young players will face an unknown (a least to her) in Zhao.

Notes: Temperatures may actually cool off a few degrees heading into the weekend so heat indices will be 100 degrees instead of 108.

Among the faces seen on the grounds Friday morning were former ATP Tour player and current Georgia Tech women's coach Bryan Shelton, former WTA top-10 player Stephanie Rehe who is serving as a trainer this week, and Ken Thomas from RadioTennis.com.