Viktor Troicki of Serbia completed a 6-4, 6-2 victory over 22nd-seeded Bradley Klahn, a Stanford graduate from Los Angeles, tonight in the first round of Australian Open qualifying in Melbourne.
The match had been suspended by rain Tuesday night with Troicki, who reached a career-high No. 12 in 2011, leading 6-4, 4-1.
Troicki, 33, evened his career record against Klahn, a 29-year-old left-hander, at 1-1. Klahn won 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round of qualifying in Montreal last August.
Another former NCAA singles champion from Stanford, 15th-seeded Nicole Gibbs, is scheduled to meet Harriet Dart of Great Britain for the first time early Thursday morning (California time) in the second round of Australian Open qualifying.
Gibbs reached the third round of the 2017 Australian Open, equaling her best Grand Slam result. She lot to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-3. It's Williams' last major title.
Dart made her Australian Open debut last year, qualifying before losing 6-0, 6-0 to 2008 champion Maria Sharapova in the opening round.
Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.
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