from the Chicago Tribune:
Courtney Dolehide's decision to skip the high school tennis season is looking pretty good right about now.
Instead of playing a match against New Trier, the 17-year-old Hinsdale Central senior will be playing doubles in the main draw of the U.S. Open this week in New York.
Dolehide and Kristie Ahn of Upper Saddle River, N.J., will face the No. 8-seeded team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in the first round.
Dolehide and Ahn will be playing together in a tournament for just the second time. They received a wild-card entry into the field Friday after finishing second at the USTA Girls' 18 national hardcourt championships in Berkeley, Calif.
"I've been to big tournaments before, but never a grand slam," Dolehide said. "My locker is right near the No. 1 player in the world (Dinara Safina). I have never been so close to Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. The first day I was here it was definitely exciting. I am getting more used to it as the days go on.
"Everybody pretty much keeps to themselves and focuses on what they have to do. There's not much socializing going on. I come and practice for however long I need to and get out of the environment. It is so different than I am used to. I want to keep everything the same. That is important for me to play well, to keep the same routine."
The U.S. Open appearance caps a terrific summer for Dolehide, who will also play singles in the junior draw next week. Dolehide, ranked No. 513 in the world, recorded the biggest victory of her singles career last week, defeating No. 82-ranked Patricia Mayr of Austria 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of an International Tennis Federation tournament in the Bronx, N.Y. With that victory came a belief that she belongs.
"I am in the draw just like everybody else," Dolehide said. "I am trying to stay focused on what I need to do, and not on all the big-time tennis players around me. I am in the draw just like they are."
Instead of playing a match against New Trier, the 17-year-old Hinsdale Central senior will be playing doubles in the main draw of the U.S. Open this week in New York.
Dolehide and Kristie Ahn of Upper Saddle River, N.J., will face the No. 8-seeded team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova in the first round.
Dolehide and Ahn will be playing together in a tournament for just the second time. They received a wild-card entry into the field Friday after finishing second at the USTA Girls' 18 national hardcourt championships in Berkeley, Calif.
"I've been to big tournaments before, but never a grand slam," Dolehide said. "My locker is right near the No. 1 player in the world (Dinara Safina). I have never been so close to Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. The first day I was here it was definitely exciting. I am getting more used to it as the days go on.
"Everybody pretty much keeps to themselves and focuses on what they have to do. There's not much socializing going on. I come and practice for however long I need to and get out of the environment. It is so different than I am used to. I want to keep everything the same. That is important for me to play well, to keep the same routine."
The U.S. Open appearance caps a terrific summer for Dolehide, who will also play singles in the junior draw next week. Dolehide, ranked No. 513 in the world, recorded the biggest victory of her singles career last week, defeating No. 82-ranked Patricia Mayr of Austria 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of an International Tennis Federation tournament in the Bronx, N.Y. With that victory came a belief that she belongs.
"I am in the draw just like everybody else," Dolehide said. "I am trying to stay focused on what I need to do, and not on all the big-time tennis players around me. I am in the draw just like they are."
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