Thursday, July 11, 2019

Gibbs, back from cancer surgery, reaches quarters

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13), playing in her first tournament since undergoing cancer surgery, beat qualifier Alycia Parks, an 18-year-old professional Port St. Lucie, Fla., 6-2, 6-2 today to reach the quarterfinals of the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Gibbs, who had surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles, is scheduled to play unseeded Quinn Gleason, a former Notre Dame star from Mendon, N.Y., on Friday.
   Gleason, the doubles runner-up in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October with Luisa Stefani of Brazil, surprised eighth-seeded Deniz Khazaniuk of Israel 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
   Seven of the quarterfinalists are American. The other is Mayo Hibi, a longtime Southern California resident who plays for her native Japan. She won the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger at 17 in 2013.
   Altamirano loses -- Collin Altamirano, a 23-year-old Sacramentan, lost to fourth-seeded Denis Istomin, 32, of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-0 in the third round of the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Altamirano, a semifinalist last year in Winnetka as a qualifier, was coming off a victory over former University of Virginia teammate Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, the 2017 NCAA singles champion, by the same score.
   Istomin reached the fourth round of the 2017 Australian Open, stunning six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.
   Istomin also reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, falling to Milos Raonic, and climbed to a career-high No. 33 later that year.

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