Monday, July 1, 2019

Stanford grads fall on upset-filled day at Wimbledon

Italy's Thomas Fabbiano, a semifinalist in the Aptos (Calif.)
Challenger last August, shocked seventh-seeded Stefanos
Tsitsipas in five sets in the first round at Wimbledon today.
Photo by Paul Bauman
   Ahn and Klahn are gone.
   The Stanford graduates lost to seeds today in the first round at Wimbledon.
   Kristie Ahn, making her Wimbledon main-draw debut at 27, fell to 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-4. Sevastova, a U.S. Open semifinalist last year, had been 1-6 at Wimbledon.
   Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old left-hander, succumbed to 21st-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. 
   Neither Ahn nor Klahn is entered in doubles or mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
   On an upset-filled day, 15-year-old qualifier Cori "Coco" Gauff ousted fellow American Venus Williams, a 39-year-old five-time Wimbledon champion, 6-4, 6-4.
   "On the court, I was not thinking about Venus," Gauff told reporters. "I was just playing my game. No matter who I play against, I want to win."
   Gauff, who idolizes Venus and Serena Williams, became the youngest player to win a main-draw match at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
   Venus Williams made her professional debut in Oakland at 14 in 1994 and reached the final of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford eight times, winning in 2000 and 2002.
   Two women's and two men's top-10 seeds also lost today.
   Yulia Putintseva, a 24-year-old Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, ousted second-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-6 (4), 6-2. Putintseva also upset Osaka in the second round in Birmingham two weeks ago.
   Osaka, 21, has failed to reach the second week of her last two Grand Slam tournaments after winning two consecutive majors.
   Magdalena Rybarikova, a 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist from Slovakia, knocked out 10th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-4. Sabalenka, 21, is coached by Dmitry Tursunov, a former longtime Northern California resident from Moscow.
   On the men's side, Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic surprised sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 in a matchup of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) players.
   Thomas Fabbiano, a 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) Italian who reached the semifinals of the $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger last August, shocked seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3.
   Five other women's and men's seeds fell.
   American Madison Brengle, who won the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October, stunned 16th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova, the recent French Open runner-up who turned 20 on Friday, 6-4, 6-4.
  Shuai Zhang of China eliminated 23rd-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-4, 6-0. Also, Ajla Tomljanovic, the runner-up in the $60,000 Sacramento Challenger in 2017, dismissed 29th-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-3, 6-1.
   Ugo Humbert, a left-hander who turned 21 on Wednesday, subdued fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils, seeded 16th, 6-7 (6), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-0, retired.
   Hubert Hurkacz, a 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Pole, beat 32nd-seeded Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
   Lajovic's countryman, top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic, outplayed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in a clash of 30-something veterans.

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