Big breakthrough for McHale a few hours ago, she beat Vika Azarenka 6-4 7-5 in the final of the Kennedy Invitational at Dellwood Country Club.
She never allowed the Belarussian to get on the front foot in the blisteringly hot conditions, saying that she remembered from their meeting earlier in the year on the best strategy to play her;
"I knew if she gets the first strike on the ball, she can just put it wherever she wants. So I knew I would have to take care of my serve to put pressure on her serve."
"She made some loose errors, which I was surprised about. But I knew that she was going to find her rhythm soon, so I’d have to capitalize on the errors she was giving me."
The cause for the charity event is to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Centre at Eaglewood and Nyack hospitals, and the runner-up Azarenka said she "didn't care about the scores" and instead was there "just to have fun for the crowd".
McHale also came from a set down to oust Melanie Oudin in the match prior.
