Since her initial breakthrough in 2011, Christina McHale has tasted many flavors of adversity.  Mononucleosis sidelined the American a year later just as she had begun to establish herself as a young talent worth watching.  When she recovered, McHale lost seven consecutive matches in a stern test of her self-belief. 

The quiet 21-year-old from New Jersey also has suffered her share of on-court disappointments in painfully tight matches.  McHale has lost three-setters at five of her last six majors and once fell to Sara Errani at Roland Garros after leading 5-0 in the final set.  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, however, and players who stay the course often reap the rewards of their resilience.

McHale shows her patience during rallies by waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger.  She also has showed her patience during this arid spell in her career as she waited for opportunity to knock and the tide to turn.  The 2014 season started with another three-set loss in what could have been a statement victory when McHale faced former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open.  Then came a Fed Cup defeat in a crucial match that set the tone for her team’s weekend.

When McHale traveled south to Acapulco, then, she cannot have placed great expectations for herself.  What has unfolded, though, is the best week of her career.  McHale never had reached a WTA final during her initial breakthrough period, yet she will make her debut on that stage when she faces top seed and Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova on Saturday.  To earn that honor, the American defeated four opponents with a range of playing styles.

After she weathered the heavy serve of Kristina Mladenovic, McHale survived the veteran craftiness and shot-making imagination of Kimiko Date-Krumm.  A three-set rollercoaster against third seed Kaia Kanepi looked exactly like the type of match that she has lost over the last two years.  When McHale allowed a one-set lead to evaporate, her fans might have despaired.  But she kept the pressure on her more accomplished opponent until Kanepi cracked when she served to stay in the match.

Most impressive of all, however, was McHale’s victory over fiery Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.  She may have entered their semifinal as a slight favorite, but she soon trailed by a set.  Even when McHale rallied to force a third set, she faced a challenge to her emotional durability when she found herself embroiled in an epic for the second straight night.  A player of her modest status could have contented herself with upsetting Kanepi and reaching her first semifinal of the season.

Garcia did all that she could to encourage McHale to reach that conclusion, saving match point after match point as the semifinal stretched beyond two and a half hours.  The epic final game, on the brink of a decisive tiebreak, tested the concentration of each woman to the utmost.  While McHale must have winced internally as each match point came and went, she found the fortitude to close out the match at that stage and avoid a nerve-jangling tiebreak.

McHale is not a flashy, explosive, or distinctive player.  She probably never will crack the top 10 or contend for major titles.  Still, her perseverance in the face of adversity should inspire and encourage others in similar situations.