Hello everyone. As usual, a big thank you to everyone that is still reading this story, and an extra big gracias to all of you that wrote me a review or note of encouragement. I did receive some feedback saying that it would be better for me to write longer chapters and update less often, but I'm quite content with how I'm doing things now. If the story really is less enjoyable to people that dislike shorter chapters then might I suggest only reading the story once a month? That way you can catch up on a bigger chunk of the action when you read, if that is indeed what you prefer.

Regardless of whether you read this now or later when I have more chapters up, I hope you're still enjoying how the story is playing out!

Rachel reached for a handful of popcorn, her eyes tracking the ball on the screen that was being smashed across a net by a quartet of players. After moments of no sound besides that of rackets connecting with the ball and shoes screeching to a stop on the DecoTurf court, the television erupted in a wave of cheers.

Patrick McEnroe's excited voice joined the commotion, "What a point by the USA! The Czech's had them on the back foot for most of that point, but Rose managed to pull that backhand winner out of thin air!"

Martina Navratilova's voice piped up, "The Czech's had that point under control till that beauty from Rose. Pressure on Melzer to get this serve right now."

Rachel realised that her hand had been hovering near her mouth while she watched the screen with bated breath, and quickly popped the popcorn into her mouth as things quietened down again. She reached her hand into the bowl again, but absentmindedly left it there when Melzer served a fault. The tall blonde player tossed the ball up, and hit a very tame serve at Stephens, who smashed a forehand winner down the line. The television erupted again.

Navratilova's voice rose against the noise, "That was a very poor serve by Melzer under pressure. It was begging to be hit for a winner, and Stephens was happy to oblige."

"And that brings up match point for the Americans! Listen to that crowd! Look, even Fabray is on her feet!" McEnroe exclaimed.

The cameras panned to Quinn Fabray, who was indeed on her feet along with the rest of the US squad. The blonde champion was pumping her closed fist, and shouting out words of encouragement to her teammates on court.

Rachel shouted out, "Match point!" Moments later her father's came scurrying into the room, and sat down beside Rachel on the couch.

All three Berry's watched as Melzer hit a cracking serve to Rose's backhand. The American nearly fell over as she stretched to retrieve the serve, but somehow managed to keep the ball in play. Both Czech players were at the net, and after a few back-and-forth volley's, Rose hit a perfect lob that landed just inside the baseline. Safarova chased after the ball, but was unable to return it on one bounce. Rose and Stephens dropped their rackets as they turned to embrace each other. Seconds later they were engulfed by the rest of the US Fed Cup squad, as the audience stood and applauded their effort.

"What a dominant win by the USA! And that too against the same Czech team that won the title last year! Wow!" McEnroe said.

"I couldn't agree more Pat. Questions were raised when Pillsbury picked Stephens for the last spot in the squad, but the selection was more than justified with this win" Navratilova agreed.

Chants of 'U-S-A. U-S-A' could be heard as the American players paraded their flag around the court. "Rose and Stephens were very impressive today, but don't forget Fabray and Bells' contribution to this rubber. Their singles wins were vital" McEnroe pointed out.

"Oh, for sure" Navratilova said. "The 2-0 lead meant that Stephens and Rose could play with relatively no pressure. All in all, I think Pillsbury will be very satisfied that the tie didn't need to go to a third day."

Hiram turned to Rachel, "They played well."

Rachel nodded, "Extremely."

Hiram studied her for a few seconds, before asking "You alright sweetie?"

Rachel smiled one of her blinding smile, "I'm great Daddy!" Hiram didn't look convinced, and moments later the brunette's smile dimmed, "Ok, so I'm a little bummed out at being on this side of the screen."

"Oh honey!" Leroy exclaimed, before wrapping an arm around his daughter, "It's ok to be disappointed. It just proves how much you want to be there. And I know that you will work tirelessly to achieve that goal."

Rachel nodded, "At least we won. I think I would have been more angry if they hadn't picked me and went on to lose."

"That's true. Country first!" Hiram smiled. Rachel returned his smile with a genuine one of her own. "When's the next round of Fed Cup?" her Daddy asked.

"April" she replied.

"Plenty of time for you to push for selection then" Hiram stated. "Maybe that's all the encouragement you need to do well in Indian Wells and Miami next month" he added.

Her Daddy's words echoed in her mind as Rachel made her way onto the Stadium Court in Indian Wells just over a month later. She raised her hand to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd that had come to the day session, glancing at her box as she did so. The brunette broke into a smile at the sight of her father's applauding alongside Shelby, the look of pride on their faces plain to see. Moments later, she heard the crowd once again applaud as her opponent's name was announced, and she knew that Kitty Wilde was on court.

Rachel had arrived in Indian Wells a week earlier, and had won her way through three rounds of qualifying to make it to the main draw. The final match had been a bit of a battle, but Rachel had dug deep and won against her higher ranked Serbian opponent. Rachel suspected that seeing Emma Pillsbury quietly observing the third set from the sidelines had given her that extra push she needed to find her best tennis.

That win had earned her a first round match against the ninth ranked Canadian. Kitty Wilde was a former number two who had made the finals of two Slams but had been unable to make that last breakthrough. Rachel and Shelby had spent hours analyzing video footage of her matches, and had come up with a game plan that would hopefully see Rachel through to round two. This would be the first time that Rachel was playing a current top ten player, and she was already relishing the opportunity.

The players met at the net for the toss, where it was determined that Kitty would serve first. They began their pre-match warm up, the tournament announcer introducing them to the crowd as they loosened up. Rachel was introduced first, and the half-full stadium gave their relatively unknown home grown player a rousing ovation. The cheers for Rachel were matched by the cheers for Kitty, with dozens of Canadian's making the trip to see the star.

Rachel made her way to her chair when the umpire announced that there were two minutes left for the match to commence. She hydrated herself, glancing back at her box as she did so. Her father's had surprised her by showing up the previous night, and Rachel was delighted to have them there. Having full-time jobs meant that they couldn't watch Rachel play as much as any of them would have liked, so it was always special when they were able to make it to one of her matches. And this was the biggest match of her career so far.

The players made their way to their ends of the court as the crowd fell silent. Kitty served a fault, and Rachel took a big step inside the baseline.

"Attack the second serve" she muttered under her breath. Rachel and Shelby had determined that the best way to get the vital break of serve was to attack Kitty's weaker second serve.

Kitty served again, and Rachel let rip with a cracking backhand crosscourt winner. The shot seemed to stun both Kitty and the crowd, who gasped before bursting into cheers. There was a skip in Rachel's step as she walked to the other side of the court to return.

Rachel and her coach knew they had the element of surprise on their side. For starters, Kitty had never played against Rachel before. But Rachel had also not played many tour level games, period. Which meant that she knew a lot more about Kitty's game than the higher ranked player knew about hers. Shelby had given Rachel clear instructions to bring her best game in the first hour, and keep mixing up her shots to avoid being predictable. Kitty was a player who liked to build an early lead, and Shelby believed Rachel could win the match if she didn't let the Canadian settle down and find her rhythm.

The advice proved spot on an hour and twenty minutes later, when Rachel hit a volley to win the match 6-3, 7-5. The crowd in Stadium Court had slowly built as word of a potential upset spread through the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, to the point where it was now an almost completely packed house. Rachel raised her hands in the air, and turned to grin at her box where Shelby, Hiram and Leroy were on their feet. Her Papa was being trigger happy with a DSLR, and Rachel knew there would be a new picture on the wall when she made it back to their home in New York. She quickly made her way to the net, where Kitty was waiting patiently.

"Well played" the Canadian star said, shaking Rachel's hand before heading to the umpire.

Rachel followed, shaking the umpire's hand when it was her turn. She then turned and looked back at her father's and Shelby, pumping her fist at them as she did. She sat down, letting the moment sink in before putting her stuff away. Everything had gone to plan today. Rachel's serve had not let her down, and she knew that she had won almost all of her net approaches. She knew Shelby wouldn't be too happy at some of the unforced errors she'd made on her forehand side, but her coach would be satisfied that she had made it through the round.

Fifteen minutes later Rachel was in the corridor that led to the Stadium Court, looking at the draw that had been put on the wall. The tennis player had been adamant that she didn't want to see the rest of the draw till she'd made it past the first round, and she took a deep breath as she looked at her next matchup that was prominently displayed on the wall.

Q. FABRAY

vs

R. BERRY