Tennis Atlantic

Surprise, Surprise. Madison Keys finds herself in a third straight Grand Slam Wild Card Final. Today, I asked her if she objected to us calling these things “Madison Keys Invitationals”. As an attorney, I naturally wouldn’t let her answer my own question.

Madison said that she was very proud of her off-season training. The 17-year-old grizzled pro will get another one match shot at a Grand Slam main draw berth tomorrow as a result of the beating she put on Alexa Glatch, 6-0, 6-1 in just 50 minutes.

Mallory Burdette, hardly an old hand herself, is the only thing left in Keys way. They are both ball-pounders. Burdette joked that it will be like playing herself out there tomorrow. I expect three sets and I actually think Burdette stands a good chance to end the teen’s spectacular streak at the playoffs.

Burdette is in due to a grinding win over fellow Atlantan Grace Min, 6-2, 7-6 (7), just one day after finishing off adoptive Atlantan Irina Falconi. Min was in good form this year, especially for a player who didn’t even know she’d be here until five days ago. Remember, Min never even won a game in a first round defeat a year ago at this very same event. This year, she won 20 of them. Burdette’s powerful groundstrokes were too much to overcome for Min, who was gracious in defeat and spent the last hours of the day greeting dozens of old friends and well-wishers around the club.

It’s fitting that this event is held in Norcross, a community where over 90% of the buildings are less than 20 years old. The players fit right in. In fact, the old Racquet Club of the South, at 30, is getting too rusty for this shiny suburb, and Lifetime Fitness has stepped up to give it a facelift, too.

The promised 3 set Final begins at 1 p.m.

And before I forget, thanks for checking out this blog. Like your granddad, we’re not always not always objective nor regular, but we’re pro-American to the end. And unlike some of the Big Old Bad Old Corporate Media, we love and feature American players who are nowhere near the top 30. It’s who we are. We’re not being paid for the big hits, nor are we playing for the big hits. We don’t want your money or for you to click on the silly ad below. We write about who and what we love because we love to do it. Thank You and Happy Holidays.

—S. Fogleman