Thursday, July 4, 2019

Gauff, 15, advances to third round at Wimbledon

   After defeating Venus Williams on Monday to become the youngest player to win a main-draw match at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991, Cori "Coco" Gauff easily could have suffered a letdown.
   Instead, the 15-year-old qualifier dismissed 30-year-old Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, 6-3, 6-3 in 69 minutes on Wednesday.
   "The last three days have definitely just kind of been surprising," Gauff, an Atlanta native now based in Delray Beach, Fla., told reporters. "It just shows if you really work hard, you can get where you want to go. Last week around this time, I didn't know I was coming here. It just shows you have to be ready for everything.
   "I believe everything happens for a reason. People were telling me to keep working hard and your time will come."
   Gauff next will take on unseeded Polona Hercog, a 28-year-old Slovenian who upset 17th-seeded Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 6-4.
Danielle Collins, a semifinalist in last year's inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley
Classic in San Jose, eliminated 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova on Wednes-
day in the second round at Wimbledon. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications
   Two other women's seeds lost. American Danielle Collins, a semifinalist in last year's inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, eliminated 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Sevastova, a semifinalist in last year's U.S. Open, has never reached the third round in seven Wimbledon appearances.
   Dayana Yastremska, a 19-year-old Ukrainian, topped 27th-seeded Sofia Kenin, a 20-year-old Moscow-born American, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Kenin won Northern California Challengers in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
   Unlike Gauff, Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and Madison Brengle of Dover, Del., couldn't back up big wins.
   Putintseva, who ousted second-seeded Naomi Osaka in the first round, fell to Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-4, 7-6 (3).
   Brengle, who surprised French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova in the opening round and won the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October, succumbed to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.
   In an all-Romanian encounter, seventh-seeded Simona Halep beat Mihaela Buzarnescu, the reigning San Jose champion, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
   In the second round of men's singles, 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka, a 21-year-old American, outlasted 22nd-seeded Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 in 3 hours, 13 minutes.
   Opelka, the 2015 Wimbledon boys singles champion, blasted 23 aces and committed just two double faults. He will face 15th-seeded Milos Raonic, the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up to Andy Murray.
   Fernando Verdasco, a 35-year-old Spanish left-hander, took out 30th-seeded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours, 43 minutes.
   Verdasco, who won the 2010 SAP Open in San Jose and reached the final there in 2011, trailed 0-3 in the third set against Edmund, a semifinalist in the $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger in 2015.
   Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic dispatched American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 33 minutes. Kudla reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the final of the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger in 2015.
   Thomas Fabbiano, a 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) Italian who advanced to the Aptos semifinals last August, held off 40-year-old Ivo Karlovic, a 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Croat, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in 3 hours, 7 minutes. Karlovic, who reached the San Jose final in 2007 and won the Sacramento and Tiburon Challengers in 2011, had 38 aces and eight double faults.
   In the first round of doubles:
   --Top seeds and 2017 Wimbledon champions Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil defeated Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
   --Marcelo Demoliner of Brazil and Divij Sharan of India beat 13th seeds and reigning French Open champions Kevin Kraweitz and Andreas Mies of Germany 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.
   --Desirae Krawczyk from Palm Desert, Calif., and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area who plays for Mexico, topped Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Olmos and Santamaria were teammates at USC.
   --Top-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France eliminated Americans Jessica Pegula and Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Babos and Mladenovic seek their second consecutive Grand Slam title. Sanchez defeated Pegula in the final of the 2012 Sacramento Challenger.

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