'I have a lot of support here.' Caty McNally falls in the second round of Cincinnati Open
MASON, OH − Caty McNally’s singles run at the Cincinnati Open might be over, but it’s not hard for the Madeira native not to focus on the positives, even in defeat.
McNally, the WTA No. 104, fell in the second round of the Cincinnati Open to No. 29 seed McCartney Kessler Aug. 10 inside a packed Stadium 3 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
McNally won in her return to the Cincinnati Open Aug. 8, fighting off nerves and opponent Maddison Inglis for a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
In the second round, Kessler, the WTA No. 32 who has won two singles titles on tour this year (Lexus Nottingham Open, Hobart International) and a doubles crown in Canada, was simply too much in ending McNally’s comeback tour.
“McCartney (Kessler), obviously, is in really good form. She’s played a lot of matches this year, so I knew it was gonna be a very tough match,” McNally said. “There were a decent amount of breaks throughout the match, but she didn’t give too much up. Even when I got a break-back, she was staying pretty locked in and making it difficult.”
Despite frustration throughout the match as Kessler ripped off the final four games of the second set to advance to the Round of 32, it’s been a long road for McNally to get back to Mason.
Two years ago, an elbow issue caused her to withdraw just a few days before the Cincinnati Open. Six months later, the same injury ultimately ended in surgery and McNally was out indefinitely.
She was in Cincinnati last year but had just been cleared to start hitting the ball again and had to work through all the physical and mental hurdles that come with going under the knife.
“I can look back and see how far I’ve come, see that I’m playing at this level and I’m not far away from players like McCartney (Kessler) who are doing really well,” McNally said. “For me, I can look at this in a positive way that I can work on. I think it’s a good thing knowing that I have a lot to work on, it means my game is not where I want it to be.”
McNally still has plenty to build off of over the WTA tour’s North American swing.
She had back-to-back semifinal runs in a pair of WTT W75 events (Serbia, Italy) in June and won a main draw match at Wimbledon in July before winning the Hall of Fame Open (Newport, Rhode Island) and a WTT W75 in Evansville, Indiana.
McNally also picked up three WTA 1000 wins over the last few weeks after reaching the Round of 32 at the Canadian Open.
“Right now, it’s easy for me to be negative and hang your head,” McNally said. “I’m not gonna sit here and be too hard on myself.”
Caty McNally, Peyton Stearns still alive in WTA doubles draw
Both WTA Cincinnati natives, McNally and Peyton Stearns, have been eliminated from the Cincinnati Open singles draw but will still be in Mason to play in the doubles tournament.
Stearns and partner Marketa Vondrousova beat Fanny Stollar-Fang-Hsien Wu Aug. 10 in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
McNally, along with partner Linda Noskova (who was also eliminated from singles Aug. 10), will play the tandem of Ulrikke Elkeri-Eri Hozumi in the first round of the doubles draw Aug. 11.
“Now it’s a good opportunity for me to focus on doubles tomorrow,” McNally said. “I have friends and family that will be there tomorrow. I know who has my back, win or lose, they’re always gonna come out and support me. I have a lot of support here in Cincinnati. They love me no matter what.”
This story was updated to add quotes.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Madeira native Caty McNally’s Cincinnati Open comes to an end
