Zverev defeats Medvedev for second ATP Finals crown

Alexander Zverev practices his serve during last month's
BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Alexander Zverev has yet to win a Grand Slam title.

   But the 24-year-old German came away with the next-best individual prizes this year.

   Zverev, seeded third, added the Nitto ATP Finals title to his Olympic singles gold medal with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Daniil Medvedev, seeded second, in a matchup of mobile 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) giants today in Turin, Italy.

   Zverev, the 2018 champion who ousted top-seeded Novak Djokovic on Saturday, snapped a five-match losing streak to the 25-year-old Russian and evened the head-to-head series at 6-6.

   Medvedev must settle for winning his first major title in the U.S. Open this year. With his surprising 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory in the final, he prevented Djokovic from becoming the first man to sweep the four major titles in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969.

   Earlier today, Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut earned their second ATP Finals doubles title in three years. The third seeds beat second-seeded Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain 6-4, 7-6 (0).

   Ram won the doubles title in San Jose, Calif., on the ATP Tour in 2011 with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky, who retired in 2018. Salisbury took the doubles crown in the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger with Brydan Klein.

Zverev downs Djokovic, will meet Medvedev for title

Alexander Zverev practices his serve
during last month's BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Almost four months ago, Alexander Zverev ended Novak Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam.

   Today, Zverev denied Djokovic a chance to tie Roger Federer with six ATP Finals titles.

   The third-seeded Zverev beat the top-seeded Djokovic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Zverev, who saved a set point in the first set, also defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics en route to the gold medal.

   Zverev, the 2018 ATP Finals champion, is scheduled to face second seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Sunday at 8 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel) in a matchup of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) veterans. Medvedev dispatched No. 8 seed Casper Ruud, a semifinalist in the 2018 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger at 19 years old, 6-4, 6-2.

   Medvedev is 6-5 with five consecutive victories against Zverev, including a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) decision in round-robin play this week.

   In Sunday's doubles final, second-seeded Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury are set to play third-seeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut at 5:30 a.m. (Tennis Channel).

   Ram and Salisbury beat top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 4-6 7-6 (3) [10-4]. Herbert and Mahut, the 2019 champions, dismissed fourth-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4.

   Ram won the doubles title in San Jose, Calif., on the ATP Tour in 2011 with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky, who retired in 2018. Salisbury took the doubles crown in the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger with Brydan Klein.

   Granollers, a 35-year-old Spaniard, advanced to the singles final in the 2018 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger, losing to then-20-year-old Michael Mmoh. 

Rublev receives Ruud awakening in ATP Finals

Casper Ruud beat Andrey Rublev for the first time in five
career matches to reach the semifinals of the ATP Finals.
2017 photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway edged No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) today to reach the semifinals of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

   Ruud had been 0-4 against Rublev, although three of the matches were on clay and Ruud retired in the other one.

   Both Ruud, 22, and Rublev, 24, played in Northern California Challengers as teenagers. Ruud, the son of former top-40 player Christian Ruud, advanced to the Fairfield semifinals at 19 in 2018. Rublev lost to former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round in Aptos at 17 in 2015.

   Ruud is scheduled to face No. 2 seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Saturday at 5 a.m. PST. Medvedev has not lost a set in two career matches against Ruud. 

   In the other semifinal, No. 1 seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic is set to meet No. 3 seed and 2018 titlist Alexander Zverev at noon. Djokovic is 7-3 against Zverev, who ended the Serb's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics en route to the gold medal.

   In the first doubles semifinal, No. 1 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia are slated to play No. 2 seeds Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain at 2:30 a.m. 

   No. 3 seeds and 2019 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France are set to meet No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina at 9:30 a.m.

   Tennis Channel will televise all four matches.

   Ram won the doubles title in San Jose on the ATP Tour in 2011 with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky, who retired in 2018. Salisbury took the doubles crown in the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger with Brydan Klein.

   Granollers advanced to the singles final in the 2018 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger at age 32, losing to 20-year-old Michael Mmoh.

Medvedev saves two match points in ATP FInals win

Daniil Medvedev practices during last month's
 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   No. 2 seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia saved two match points in a 6-0, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8) victory over alternate Jannik Sinner, playing in his home country, today in the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

   Medvedev, who already had clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals, finished 3-0 in round-robin play. The 20-year-old Sinner, who replaced injured countryman Matteo Berrettini, went 1-1.

   Sinner reached the second round of the 2019 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger at 17 after winning the Lexington (Ky.) Challenger the previous week.

   Medvedev is scheduled to play the winner of Friday's match between No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia and No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway (Tennis Channel, 5 a.m. PST). 

   In Saturday's other semifinal, top seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic is scheduled to face No. 3 seed and 2018 titlist Alexander Zverev.

   Meanwhile, No. 1 doubles seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia joined No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the semifinals. They will meet teams to be determined.

   Granollers reached the singles final in the 2018 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger at age 32.

   World TeamTennis — The Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, with San Francisco Bay Area product Mackenzie McDonald, are in second place at 3-1, one-half match behind the San Diego Aviators. The Chicago Smash, featuring Fresno, Calif., product Sloane Stephens, are fourth at 2-3.

   The top two teams in the five-team league will meet in the WTT Finals on Nov. 28. All matches are being played in Indian Wells.

Muguruza conquers Kontaveit for title in WTA Finals

Garbiñe Muguruza excelled in the now-defunct Bank
of the West Classic at Stanford. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   No. 6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain defeated No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-3, 7-5 tonight to win the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico.

   Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, was the first Spaniard to reach the title match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost to Steffi Graf in 1993.

   Not only did Muguruza feel at home in Mexico, the 5,138-foot (1,566-meter) altitude accentuated the 6-foot (1.82-meter) veteran's powerful game.

   Muguruza won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament in 2017 before it moved to San Jose.

   Kontaveit was seeking her third consecutive title. She won four championships in 10 weeks after hiring coach Dmitry Tursunov.

   In the doubles final, No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic beat No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

   ATP Finals — No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway outlasted alternate Cameron Norrie of Great Britain 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Turin, Italy.

   Ruud, a semifinalist in the 2018 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger, improved to 1-1 in round-robin play. Norrie, who won Tiburon and Stockton back-to-back in 2017 Northern California Challengers, replaced Stefanos Tsitsipas (elbow injury).

   Ruud is scheduled to play No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev (1-1) of Russia on Thursday for a semifinal spot. Norrie cannot advance.

   Meanwhile, No. 2 doubles seeds Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain saved two match points in a 6-7 (7), 6-0 [13-11] victory over No. 3 seeds and 2019 champions Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France.

   Ram and Salisbury, who won the U.S. Open doubles title last month, moved to 2-0 but are not guaranteed to reach the semis.

   Ram took the doubles crown in San Jose on the ATP Tour in 2011 with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky. Salisbury captured the 2017 Stockton Challenger with Brydan Klein. 

Medvedev tops Thiem for title; Sherif falls in final

   Daniil Medvedev won the biggest title of his career today, defeating Dominic Thiem 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, a 24-year-old Russian, also beat five-time champion Novak Djokovic and second-ranked Rafael Nadal during the week. Medvedev, seeded fourth, became the first player to sweep the top three players in the world rankings in the season finale, according to atptour.com.

   Medvedev, who went 0-3 in his ATP Finals debut last year, also became the fifth consecutive first-time champion in the indoor hardcourt tournament. He followed Stefanos Tsitsipas last year, Alexander Zverev in 2018, Grigor Dimitrov in 2017 and Andy Murray in 2016.

   Medvedev made $1.564 million, and Thiem took home $861,000.

   In the doubles final, fifth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia topped seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-2, 3-6 [10-5] for their first title together.

   Koolhof and Mektic, who joined forces at Adelaide in January, split $254,500. They reached the U.S. Open final, losing to Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil.

   ITF Women's Circuit — Top-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt to win the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

   Since losing in the second round of the French Open, Kanepi has won 15 of 16 matches, all in $25,000 tournaments, with three titles. The 35-year-old veteran has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open twice each and been ranked as high as No. 15 in 2012.

   Sherif, 24, lost for the first time in 12 matches. She won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Unseeded Brandon Nakashima, 19, of San Diego beat fourth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India 6-3, 6-4 in the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open for his first Challenger title.

   Nakashima, who will soar 37 places to a career-high No. 165 on Monday, saved all eight break points against him and did not lose a set in the hardcourt tournament. He ousted top-seeded Thiago Monteiro in the second round and eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a San Francisco Bay Area product, in the quarterfinals.

   Gunneswaran, a 31-year-old left-hander, lost a Challenger final for the second consecutive week. He fell to Denis Kudla last Sunday in Cary, N.C.

   Nakashima reached his first Challenger semifinal in Fairfield, Calif., last fall, and Gunneswaran advanced to the semis of the 2017 Tiburon, Calif., Challenger. Both were $100,000 tournaments.

   In the final round of qualifying for the $52,080 Lima Challenger on clay, fifth-seeded Thiago Agustin Tirante, 19, of Argentina beat top-seeded Collin Altamirano, 24, of Sacramento, Calif., 6-4, 6-4. Altamirano, who received a first-round bye, played his first match since March.

Cal coach Ram loses doubles heartbreaker in ATP Finals

   Much like Dominic Thiem earlier in singles, Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin staged an amazing comeback in a decisive tiebreaker today to reach the title match in the Nitto ATP Finals.

   The seventh-seeded Melzer and Roger-Vasselin saved a match point in their 6-7 (4), 6-3 [11-9] victory over second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury in the indoor hardcourt tournament in London.

   Ram, 36, of Carmel, Ind., and Salisbury, a 28-year-old London native and resident, led 7-1 in the match tiebreaker before Melzer, a 39-year-old left-hander from Austria, and Roger-Vasselin, a 36-year-old Frenchman, reeled off seven consecutive points. 

   Ram then won both points on his serve to earn a match point at 9-8. After Roger-Vasselin, the son of 1983 French Open singles semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin, missed his first serve, Melzer nailed a forehand volley while falling to the court. 

   Roger-Vasselin held for 10-9 to garner his own match point. On Salisbury's second serve, Melzer ripped a backhand passing shot down the middle to end the thriller.

   In the second set, Roger-Vasselin saved two break points to hold for 4-2 and two more to win the set.

   Melzer and Roger-Vasselin are scheduled to play fifth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia on Sunday at 7:30 a.m PST (Tennis Channel). Koolhof and Mektic dispatched fourth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3, 6-4.

   Thiem, seeded third, edged top-ranked Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5) in 2 hours, 54 minutes to reach the final for the second consecutive year. Thiem, who lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas last year, trailed 0-4 in the third-set tiebreaker.

   Djokovic saved four match points in the second-set tiebreaker and one in the decisive tiebreaker. He entered the match 15-1 in tiebreakers this year.

   In Sunday's final at 10 a.m. (ESPN2), Thiem will face fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who eliminated second-seeded Rafael Nadal 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Nadal, who has never won the ATP Finals, served for the match at 6-3, 5-4. 

   ITF Women's Circuit — Second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt beat unseeded Jule Niemeier of Germany 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 in 2 hours, 59 minutes to reach the final of the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, off the coast of northwestern Africa. 

   Sherif, who won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago, extended her winning streak to 11 matches. She will face top-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia for the first time. 

   Kanepi, 35, dismissed sixth-seeded Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2. Kanepi has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open twice each and been ranked as high as No. 15 in 2012. 

   ATP Challenger Tour — Fourth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India advanced to his second final in two weeks, beating unseeded Christopher Eubanks of Atlanta 6-4, 7-6 (2) on a hardcourt in the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open.

   Gunneswaran, a 31-year-old left-hander who lost to Denis Kudla last week in Cary, N.C., is set to meet unseeded Brandon Nakashima, 19, of San Diego for the first time on Sunday at 8 a.m. The match will be streamed live.

   Nakashima, who ousted top-seeded Thiago Monteiro of Brazil in the second round, routed unseeded Mitchell Krueger of Dallas 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first Challenger final. 

   Gunneswaran advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Tiburon, Calif., Challenger, and Nakashima reached his first Challenger semifinal in Fairfield, Calif., last fall. Both were $100,000 tournaments.

   In the doubles final, second-seeded Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan beat unseeded Mitchell Krueger of Dallas and Jackson Withrow of Omaha, Neb., 7-5, 6-4.

Djokovic reaches ATP semis; McDonald falls in Florida

Novak Djokovic, playing at Indian Wells in 2017, avenged a loss to Alexander
Zverev in the title match of the 2018 ATP Finals. Photo by Mal Taam

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (4) today to reach the semifinals of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   Djokovic, a five-time champion, avenged a loss to Zverev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German, in the 2018 final of the indoor hardcourt tournament.

   Djokovic finished 2-1 and Zverev 1-2 in the four-man Group Tokyo 1970. The ATP Finals began 50 years ago in Tokyo.

   Both players have come under fire recently. Djokovic was defaulted from the U.S. Open in September for flicking a ball in anger and accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat. Zverev has denied accusations of domestic abuse by his former girlfriend Olga Sharypova.

   In Saturday's semifinals, Djokovic is scheduled to face third-seeded Dominic Thiem at 6 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel), and second-seeded Rafael Nadal is set to take on fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev not before noon. 

   In a doubles semifinal, second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a 36-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain will meet seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France at 10 a.m.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Unseeded Brandon Nakashima, 19, of San Diego eliminated eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-3, 7-6 (8) on another windy day in the quarterfinals of the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open.

   Nakashima, who ousted top-seeded Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-4, 6-3 in the second round, won seven straight games from 1-3 in the opening set of his first career match against McDonald, playing on his adopted home courts at the USTA National Campus. 

   In the second set, Nakashima saved a set point serving at 5-6 with a backhand passing shot down the line and later converted his fourth match point.

   McDonald won the first of his two Challenger singles titles in Fairfield, Calif., 38 miles (61.2 kilometers) northeast of Piedmont, in 2017. Nakashima reached his first Challenger semifinal last fall in Fairfield.

   Nakashima is scheduled to meet unseeded Mitchell Krueger of Dallas on Saturday after the 8 a.m. PST semifinal between fourth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India and unseeded Christopher Eubanks of Atlanta. Both matches will be streamed live.

   Krueger, 26, defeated qualifier Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Krueger, a quarterfinalist in the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger in 2015 and 2016, topped Nakashima 7-6 (7), 7-5 in the first round of qualifying for the 2018 Indian Wells Challenger in their only previous meeting.

   Gunneswaran, a 31-year-old left-hander who reached last week's final in Cary, N.C., routed sixth-seeded Dmitry Popko, a Russia native who plays for Kazakhstan, 6-0, 6-3. 

   The 6-foot-7 (2.01-meter) Eubanks, 24, subdued second-seeded Denis Kudla, an Arlington, Va., resident who won the Cary title, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in 3 hours, 5 minutes.

   Eubanks, who trailed by a service break in the second set, blasted 17 aces, committed 10 double faults and saved 16 of 18 break points against him.

   Gunneswaran and Eubanks will meet for the first time. They reached the semifinals of $100,000 tournaments in Tiburon (2017) and Aptos (2018), respectively, in Northern California. 

   ITF Women's Circuit — Second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt beat Lara Selden, a 21-year-old qualifier from Belgium, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Carania, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

   Sherif, who won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago, extended her winning streak to 10 matches. She will play another 21-year-old, Jule Niemeier of Germany.

   In the other semifinal, top-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia will meet sixth-seeded Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands.

   Kanepi, 35, has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open twice each and been ranked as high as No. 15 in 2012. Hogenkamp, 28, climbed to a career-high No. 94 in 2017.

Cal coach Ram advances to doubles semis in ATP Finals

   Second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain edged third-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4) [10-4] today to reach Saturday's semifinals in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   Ram, nicknamed "Rampras" because his serve is similar to Pete Sampras', and Salisbury, playing in his hometown, saved two set points to break for 5-5 in the first set of the indoor hardcourt tournament. On the second set point, Krawietz and Mies failed to put away several overheads.

   Ram and Salisbury won their first Grand Slam men's doubles title, together or separately, in the Australian Open early this year. Krawietz and Mies earned their second consecutive French Open crown last month.

   In a late singles match, second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, the defending champion, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 for a semifinal berth. Nadal, 34, has never won the ATP Finals.

   Nadal, 34, and Roger Federer, 39, each have won a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Tsitsipas, 22, has yet to reach a major final.

   The ATP Finals, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, consists of the top eight singles players and eight best doubles teams of the year.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, dismissed Elias Ymer of Sweden 6-3, 6-3 to gain the quarterfinals of the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open.

   McDonald is scheduled to play Brandon Nakashima, 19, of San Diego for the first time on Friday after the 7 a.m. PST match between second-seeded Denis Kudla, who won the title in Cary, N.C., last week, and unseeded Christopher Eubanks. The hardcourt tournament is being streamed live.

   Nakashima ousted top-seeded Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-4, 6-3.

   McDonald won the first of his two Challenger singles titles in Fairfield, Calif., 38 miles (61.2 kilometers) northeast of Piedmont, in 2017. Nakashima reached his first Challenger semifinal last fall in Fairfield.

   ITF Women's Circuit — Second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt beat Marta Custic, an 18-year-old wild card from Spain, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

   Sherif, who won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago, extended her winning streak to nine matches. She is set to play Lara Salden, a 21-year-old qualifier from Belgium, on Friday.

Medvedev dominates Djokovic in ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic, practicing at Indian Wells last year,
remains in the running for his sixth title in the ATP
Finals. Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 today in the round-robin phase of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   Medvedev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian, defeated Djokovic, who's still in the running for his sixth title in the ATP Finals, for the third time in their last four matches.

   Medvedev clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals at 2-0 in the indoor hardcourt tournament. Djokovic will meet Alexander Zverev, both of whom are 1-1, on Friday for the other semifinal spot in the four-man Tokyo 1970 Group. The ATP Finals began 50 years ago in Tokyo.

   The fifth-seeded Zverev, who has denied recent accusations of domestic abuse, eliminated Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

   In doubles, second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain are scheduled to play third-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany on Thursday at 10 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel) for a semifinal berth.

   ATP Challenger Tour — This time, Teymuraz Gabashvili and Dennis Novikov's opponents went on a run to win a match tiebreaker. 

   Playing their fifth consecutive match tiebreaker, Gabashvili of Russia and Novikov, a 27-year-old San Jose, Calif., product, fell to second-seeded Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 6-7 (4), 6-2 [10-5] in the first round of the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open on a windy day at the USTA National Campus. 

   Gabashvili and Novikov won the doubles title in last week's $52,080 Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary, N.C., prevailing in match tiebreakers in all four of their contests. They reeled off the last nine points against fourth-seeded Golubev and Nedovyesov in the quarterfinals and the last four points against Hunter Reese of Knoxville, Tenn., and Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16) of the Netherlands in the semifinals.

   Reese and Verbeek also lost today, 6-4, 4-6 [10-7] to Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul of France.

   In singles, eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, is set to play Elias Ymer of Sweden on Thursday at 7 a.m. for a quarterfinal berth. The match on McDonald's adopted home courts will be streamed live. 

   ITF Women's Circuit — Second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt beat wild card Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the opening round of the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

   Sherif won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago.

   Kaia Kanepi, 35, of Estonia is seeded first in the Open Gran Canaria. She has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open twice each and been ranked as high as No. 15 in 2012. 

Ram, Salisbury lose but stay alive in ATP Finals doubles

   Second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain lost to fifth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 6-0 today to fall to 1-1 in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   Ram, 36, and Salisbury, a 28-year-old London native and resident, won the Australian Open early this year. They will face third-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany on Thursday at 10 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel) in the indoor hardcourt tournament. The winner will advance to the semifinals.

   Krawietz and Mies, who won their second consecutive French Open title last month, eliminated eighth-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-2, 7-6 (5).

   In singles, third-seeded Dominic Thiem topped second-seeded Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), and sixth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, the defending champion, saved a match point in his 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory over seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev.

   Thiem, last year's runner-up, clinched a semifinal berth at 2-0. Nadal and Tsitsipas, both 1-1, will meet on Thursday not before noon for the other semifinal spot in their four-man group. Nadal seeks his first ATP Finals title.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, routed Teymuraz Gabashvili, a 35-year-old Georgia native who plays for Russia, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Orlando (Fla.) Open at the USTA National Campus.

   Gabashvili, a former top-50 singles player, and Dennis Novikov, a 27-year-old San Jose, Calif., product, won the doubles title in last week's Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary, N.C.

   McDonald, playing on his adopted home courts, is scheduled to face Elias Ymer, a 24-year-old Swede, on Thursday for a quarterfinal berth. In their only previous meeting, McDonald defeated Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the first round of the 2018 Australian Open. 

   Wild card Sam Riffice, a University of Florida junior who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, withdrew with a "medical" issue.

Zverev stuns Djokovic for title; Bryan, 40, sets record

   Even though he's only 21, Alexander Zverev has long been touted as a future Grand Slam champion.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German reached his first major quarterfinal this year and could go further in 2019, perhaps all the way.
   One day after beating second-seeded Roger Federer in straight sets, the third-seeded Zverev shocked top seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 today to win the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
   Zverev, who began working with International Tennis Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl in August in an effort to improve his Grand Slam results, became the youngest ATP Finals champion since Djokovic 10 years ago at 21.
   Zverev also became the first player to defeat Djokovic and Federer in the tournament, and the first to beat the top two seeds in the semifinals and final of the event since Andre Agassi in 1990.
   "This is the biggest title of my career so far," Zverev, who had lost to Djokovic 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday in a round-robin match, told reporters. "This trophy means a lot, everything, to all the players. I mean, you only have so many chances of winning it. You play against the best players only. How I played today, how I won it, for me it's just amazing."
   Djokovic, who had won 35 of his previous 37 matches, was trying to tie Federer's record of six ATP Finals titles.
   "(Zverev) had big serves. I wasn't returning well," said Djokovic, who returned to No. 1 this month after undergoing right elbow surgery in February. "I wasn't making him move too much. I was making way too many unforced errors.
   "From 4-4 in the first set, my game fell apart. But if we put things in perspective, it has been an amazing year and a great comeback."
   Zverev pocketed $2,509,000, and Djokovic collected $1,432,000.

   ATP Finals doubles -- Since pairing for the first time in June, Mike Bryan and Jack Sock have won three titles.
   And we're not talking Umag, Winston-Salem and Chengdu.
   We're talking Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Nitto ATP Finals.
   Bryan (Stanford, 2017-18) and Sock of the United States completed a dream half-season with a 5-7, 6-1 [13-11] victory over Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the title match of the ATP Finals.
   Bryan and Sock, seeded fifth, saved a championship point at 10-11 in the match tiebreaker and converted their sixth championship point when Herbert double-faulted. Herbert and Mahut, the eighth seeds and this year's French Open champions, had routed Bryan and Sock 6-2, 6-2 in 53 minutes on Friday in round-robin play.
   Bryan, 40, became the oldest champion in the history of the ATP Finals and the sixth player to win the title with at least two partners. It was the fifth crown in the tournament for Bryan, who won the others with twin Bob Bryan, and first for Sock, the singles champion in the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger in 2012 and the doubles runner-up in the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger in 2011 with countryman Nicholas Monroe.
   Bob, who's recovering from August hip surgery, and Mike plan to reunite next year. They have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles together but none since the 2014 U.S. Open.
   "I've had a magical partnership with Jack, but his No. 1 focus has always been singles," Mike said in a New York Times story published Tuesday. "He knows he was just filling in until Bob comes back."
   Mike Bryan and Sock became the first team to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same season since Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Todd Woodbridge of Australia in 2003.
   Herbert and Mahut were bidding to become the first French team to win the ATP Finals since Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro in 2005.
   Bryan and Sock shared $479,000; Herbert and Mahut split $279,00.
   ATP Challenger Tour -- Second-seeded Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, beat wild card Roy Smith, a sophomore at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) in a matchup of American left-handers to win the $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series -- Houston.
   The match was moved indoors because of rain.
   Klahn won his seventh Challenger singles title, his second this year and the biggest of his career. He rose 20 places to No. 77, 14 spots below his career high in 2014. Klahn underwent his second operation for a herniated disc in his back in 2015.

Zverev booed after beating Fed; Bryan in doubles final

Alexander Zverev, shown in 2016, said he was "really upset"
by the London crowd's reaction after he beat Roger Federer
in the semifinals of the ATP Finals. Photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second time in less than three months, a young player was booed after defeating an icon in a big tournament.
   Third-seeded Alexander Zverev toppled second-seeded Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (5) today to reach the final of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
   Zverev, a 21-year-old German, halted play after hitting a second serve at 4-4 in the tiebreaker when a ballboy accidentally dropped a ball during the point. According to the rules, the point must be replayed. With another first serve, the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev fired an ace.
   The pro-Federer crowd at O2 Arena thought Zverev, the son of the former Soviet pro with the same name, was using gamesmanship.
   "I was a little bit sad at the end with the booing and reaction of the crowd," Zverev, the first German since Boris Becker in 1996 to reach the title match of the ATP Finals, told reporters. "I was very emotional afterwards. The booing went into cheering kind of afterwards, which kind of helped me.
   "I was really upset afterwards in the locker room -- I'm not going to lie. I had to take a few minutes for myself."
   Federer, who made his Northern California debut in a March exhibition in San Jose, supported Zverev afterward.
   "It's unfortunate that this happened," said the 37-year-old Federer, who fell to 3-3 against Zverev. "Sascha doesn't deserve it."
   The controversy was reminiscent of the U.S. Open final in September, when the crowd booed 20-year-old winner Naomi Osaka during the award ceremony after Serena Williams had been assessed a game penalty for her third code violation.
   Zverev is scheduled to face top-seeded Novak Djokovic on Sunday not before 10 a.m. PST (ESPN2). Djokovic, seeking his sixth crown in the tournament, dismissed fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 35-2 since the start of Wimbledon.
   This is the first time Djokovic has reached the title match in the ATP Finals without dropping a set.
   Djokovic beat Zverev 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday in the round-robin phase of the ATP Finals to improve to 2-1 (2-0 on hardcourts) in the head-to-head series.
   In Sunday's doubles final at 7:30 a.m. (Tennis Channel), fifth-seeded Mike Bryan (Stanford, 2017-18) and Jack Sock will meet eighth-seeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France.
    Bryan and Sock, this year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open champions, topped fourth-seeded Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3, 4-6 [10-4]. Herbert and Mahut, who won the French Open in June, edged second-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-3, 5-7 [10-5].
   Herbert and Mahut routed Bryan and Sock 6-2, 6-2 in 53 minutes on Friday in round-robin play.
   Bryan, 40, hopes to become the oldest doubles champion in ATP Finals history. He is 4-2 in finals in the tournament, all with twin Bob.
   WTA Tour -- Unseeded Maegan Manasse (Cal, 2014-17) and Jessica Pegula of the United States nipped third-seeded Desirae Krawczyk of the U.S. and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area who plays for Mexico, 1-6, 6-4 [10-8] to win the $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series -- Houston.
   It's by far the biggest title of the 23-year-old Manasse's career and her first with Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terrence and Kim Pegula.

Bryan, Sock lose but reach doubles semis in ATP Finals

   Mike Bryan and Jack Sock didn't exactly end the round-robin phase of the Nitto ATP Finals on a high note.
   But the fifth seeds reached Saturday's doubles semifinals anyway.
   Eighth-seeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut dominated Bryan (Stanford, 2017-18) and Sock 6-2, 6-2 in 53 minutes today in London to win Group Knowles Nestor. Both teams finished 2-1. Top-seeded Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic (1-2) and third-seeded Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo (1-2) were eliminated.
   Fourth-seeded Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares (3-0) and second-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (2-1) advanced in Group Llodra Santoro on Thursday. Sixth-seeded Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus (1-2), seventh-seeded Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya (0-2), and ninth-seeded Henri Kontinen and John Peers (0-1) were ousted.
   Kontinen and Peers, the two-time defending champions, replaced Mektic and Peya after the 37-year-old Peya suffered an elbow injury.
   In singles today, top seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic beat fifth-seeded Marin Cilic 7-6 (7), 6-2 to improve to 34-2 since the start of Wimbledon. Also, third-seeded Alexander Zverev downed eighth-seeded John Isner 7-6 (5), 6-3. Isner replaced two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal, who withdrew on Nov. 5 with ankle and abdominal injuries.
   Djokovic (3-0) and Zverev (2-1) advanced to the semifinals in Group Guga Kuerten, while Cilic (1-2) and Isner (0-3) were eliminated. Second seed and six-time champion Roger Federer (2-1) and fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson (2-1) moved into the semis in Group Lleyton Hewitt, while sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem (1-2) and seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori (1-2) fell short.
   In Saturday's semis on Tennis Channel, Bryan and Sock are scheduled to face Murray and Soares at 4 a.m. PST, followed by Federer against Zverev not before 6 a.m., Cabal and Farah versus Herbert and Mahut not before 10 a.m., and Djokovic against Anderson not before noon.
   Federer, 37, is 3-2 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev, 21. Federer won their last meeting, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-1 in the round-robin portion of last year's ATP Finals.
   Djokovic defeated the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) to win his fourth Wimbledon singles title in July. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 7-1 and owns a seven-match winning streak against Anderson.

   WTA tour -- Third-seeded Desirae Krawczyk and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, will play unseeded Maegan Manasse (Cal, 2014-17) and Jessica Pegula for the doubles title in the $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series -- Houston.

Federer beats Anderson; both advance in ATP Finals

Roger Federer, playing in a March exhibition in San Jose, reached the semifinals
of the ATP Finals for the 15th time. Photo by Mal Taam

   Roger Federer avenged a loss to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon, defeating the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) South African 6-4, 6-3 today in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
   Both the second-seeded Federer, who made his Northern California debut in a March exhibition in San Jose, and the fourth-seeded Anderson, a quarterfinalist in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose in 2012, finished 2-1 in Group Lleyton Hewitt to reach Saturday's semifinals. Sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem and seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori were eliminated with 1-2 records.
   Federer, who has won a record six titles in the ATP Finals, advanced to the semis for the 15th time. Anderson, who rallied from two sets down and saved a match point to stun Federer in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July, became the first South African to move into the semis of the elite tournament since it began in 1970.
   Federer will face the second-place finisher in Group Guga Kuerten, and Anderson will meet the group winner. In Friday's round-robin finales, third-seeded Alexander Zverev (1-1) is scheduled to meet eighth-seeded John Isner (0-2) not before 6 a.m. PST, and top-seeded Novak Djokovic (2-0) will play fifth-seeded Marin Cilic (1-1) not before noon.
   In a doubles round-robin finale, fifth-seeded Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) and Jack Sock (2-0) will meet eighth-seeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (1-1) not before 9:45 a.m.
   Tennis Channel will televise all four of Friday's matches live beginning at 4 a.m.

Radwanska retires at 29; Bryan wins in ATP Finals

Agnieszka Radwanska reached the
final at Wimbledon in 2012 and Stan-
ford in 2013. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2012 and the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2013, announced her retirement today at age 29.
   "Unfortunately, I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can't live up to my expectations," Radwanska, a petite 5-foot-8 (1.73 meters), said in a statement. "Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I'm not able to push my body to the limits required."
   Radwanska became the first Pole to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era, catapulting her to a career-high No. 2, and the first to win the WTA Finals (2015 in Singapore). She reached two Australian Open semifinals and one French Open quarterfinal, won 20 WTA singles titles and earned more than $27.6 million in prize money, seventh all time.
   Known as "the Magician" for her crafty play, Radwanska was voted the WTA Fan Favorite for six consecutive years.
   Radwanska lost to Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2013 Bank of the West final after thrashing the Slovakian 6-0, 6-0 in the Sydney final six months earlier. Radwanska also reached the Stanford semifinals in 2010 and the quarterfinals in 2011 and 2015, the last of her six appearances in the tournament.
   The Bank of the West Classic moved to San Jose this year as the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic after a 21-year run at Stanford.
   ATP Finals -- Fifth-seeded Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) and Jack Sock of the United States beat top-seeded Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (4) in London to improve to 2-0 in Group Knowles Nestor.
   Bryan and Sock, this year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open champions, are scheduled to play Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (1-1) on Friday in a round-robin finale.
   In singles, top-seeded Novak Djokovic outplayed third-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-1 and clinched a semifinal berth as he seeks a record-tying sixth title in the ATP Finals.
   Fifth-seeded Marin Cilic topped eighth-seeded John Isner 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 to improve to 1-1 in Group Guga Kuerten. Isner fell to 0-2.
   Isner won his first pro title in the Shingle Springs Futures in the Sacramento area in 2007 and reach the Chico Futures final in 2006. Ten years ago, he advanced to the singles quarterfinals of the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose and the doubles final of the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger with countryman Rajeev Ram.

Federer bounces back; Mayo loses Challenger debut

Roger Federer, playing in a March exhibition in San Jose,
remains alive in his quest for a seventh title in the ATP
Finals. Photo by Mal Taam

   Second-seeded Roger Federer rebounded from a straight-sets loss to Kei Nishikori on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem today in the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
   Federer, who made his Northern California debut in a March exhibition in San Jose, stayed alive in his quest for a seventh ATP Finals title with a 1-1 record.
   Federer is scheduled to play fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson, who demolished the seventh-seeded Nishikori 6-0, 6-1 in 64 minutes to improve to 2-0, on Thursday in a round-robin finale.
   Anderson, 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), saved a match point and stunned eight-time champion Federer 2-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July en route to the final. Federer had won all eight sets in four previous matches against Anderson, never even needing a tiebreaker.
   Anderson won a $15,000 Futures tournament in the Sacramento suburb of Loomis in 2007. He also reached the quarterfinals of the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose and played part-time for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in 2012.
   Nishikori lost in the second round in all three of his appearances in the SAP Open (2008, 2009 and 2011). Brad Gilbert of San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area coached Nishikori in 2011.
   USTA Pro Circuit -- Keenan Mayo, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Illinois freshman who grew up in Roseville in the Sacramento area, lost to fellow qualifier Ryan Shane, the 2015 NCAA singles champion from Virginia, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the $75,000 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana (Ill.). Mayo, playing on his home courts, made his Challenger main-draw debut.

Bryan, Sock win ATP Finals opener; Mayo to debut

   Fifth-seeded Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) and Jack Sock of the United States beat third seeds and 2017 runners-up Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-3, 7-6 (5) today in a round-robin opener at the Nitto ATP Finals in London.
   Bryan and Sock, this year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open champions, saved a set point with Sock serving at 4-5 in the second set. Kubot double-faulted on match point.
   Mike Bryan's 40-year-old twin, Bob, is recovering from hip surgery in August. They have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles championships and captured four ATP Finals titles (2003, 2004, 2009 and 2014).
   The ATP Finals consists of the top eight singles players and best eight doubles teams of 2018. The four singles players and four doubles teams with the best records after three round-robin matches each advance to Saturday's semifinals.
   Also in Group Knowles/Nestor, top-seeded Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia downed eighth-seeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 7-6 (3). Bryan and Sock are scheduled to play Marach and Pavic on Wednesday at 4 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel).
   In Group Llodra/Santoro, second-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia are 1-0 with fourth-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil. Sixth-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Michael Venus of New Zealand are 0-1 with seventh-seeded Nikola Mektic of Croatia and Alexander Peya of Austria.
   USTA Pro Circuit -- Keenan Mayo, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Illinois freshman who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, is scheduled to make his Challenger main-draw debut on his home courts in Champaign, Ill., on Tuesday.
   Mayo, 18, will play fellow qualifier Ryan Shane, the 2015 NCAA singles champion from Virginia, in the first round of the $75,000 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana.
   Mayo defeated Sem Verbeek, a 24-year-old Dutch left-hander who starred at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) on Sunday in the final round of qualifying.

Bryans eliminated from ATP Finals

   The end of Bryan brothers' Hall of Fame career is approaching.
   It could come next year for the 39-year-old former Stanford stars. But not now with Mike Bryan and Canada's Daniel Nestor tied for the most doubles match victories with 1,056.
   Fifth-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan ended another disappointing season with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to alternates Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia today in the ATP Finals in London. Marach and Pavic replaced Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcel Granollers of Spain because of an undisclosed injury.
   The Bryans, who grew up in Camarillo in the Los Angeles area and now live in the tax haven of Florida, finished 1-2 in round-robin play. They have won the title four times, most recently in 2014.
   In Saturday's semifinals, top-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil will face eighth-seeded Ryan Harrison of Austin, Texas, and Michael Venus of New Zealand, and second-seeded Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia will meet fourth-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil.
   Each semifinal team except Murray and Soares won a Grand Slam title this year. Kontinen and Peers, the defending champions in the ATP Finals, triumphed in the Australian Open. Harrison and Venus took the French Open crown, and Kubot and Melo prevailed at Wimbledon.
   Third-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Horia Tecau of Romania went 0-3 in the ATP Finals. They won the U.S. Open.
   The Bryans, owners of a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, failed to win one for the third consecutive year. Their number of tour-level titles has declined in each of the last five years from 11 (tying their career high) to 10 to six to three to two. They have 112 overall.
   The Bryans led Stanford to NCAA team championships in both of their years there (1997-98). Bob Bryan won a rare Triple Crown in 1998, also claiming the NCAA singles and doubles titles (with Mike).

Bryans lose to top seeds in ATP Finals

   Top-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil beat fifth-seeded Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-3 today in a round-robin match at the ATP Finals in London.
   Kubot and the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Melo, this year's Wimbledon champions, improved to 2-0 in the Woodbridge-Woodforde group to clinch a berth in Saturday's semifinals.
   The 39-year-old Bryan twins, four-time champions, fell to 1-1. To advance, the ex-Stanford stars must defeat seventh-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcel Granollers of Spain on Friday, and Kubot and Melo must beat fourth-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil.
   Murray and Soares routed Dodig and Granollers 6-1, 6-1 to improve to 1-1 in the tournament featuring the top eight teams of the year. Dodig and Granollers are 0-2.
   French Open champs Ryan Harrison of Austin, Texas, and Michael Venus of New Zealand lead the Eltingh-Haarhuis group at 2-0. 
   The Bryans won the ATP Finals in 2003 and 2004 in Houston and 2009 and 2014 in London. They have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles but none since the 2014 U.S. Open.
   The Bryans grew up in Camarillo in the Los Angeles area and now live in Florida.