CHICAGO — Taylor Townsend's coach believes the Englewood native will be in top form for America's biggest tennis tournament, the U.S. Open.
"We're in a good situation to win a couple rounds in the Open, but mainly we just want to continue to improve," said Kamau Murray of Kenwood-based XS Tennis.
Justin Breen previews Townsend's run at the U.S. Open:
Townsend, a graduate of Lenart Regional Gifted Center in Chatham and a product of XS Tennis, made international headlines when she advanced to the third round of the French Open. In the last year, the 18-year-old has improved her WTA ranking from the mid-500s to her current spot at No. 103 in the world. Townsend is 26-9 in singles play this year and has earned nearly $200,000.
Headed to The Big Apple!! I am so excited! ! Let's get ready to turn up at the #USOpen2014 new yorkerzzzz
— Taylor Townsend (@Taylor_Townsen) August 20, 2014Townsend received one of eight wild card spots for the U.S. Open. The draw for the Open is Thursday, with the Flushing Meadows, New York, tournament beginning Monday.
"I think we'll see a new and improved player," Murray said Wednesday. "She beat three players in the top 100 last week [Alison Riske, Sílvia Soler-Espinosa and Klara Koukalova], and hopefully she started to believe that's where she belongs."
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