Djokovic wins 9th AO title; Brooksby breaks through

Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy and Serbian flag after winning
the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   For someone who supposedly tore an abdominal muscle in the third round, Novak Djokovic did pretty well in the Australian Open.

   That's not entirely shocking.

   The top-ranked Djokovic rolled to his third consecutive Australian Open singles title and — brace yourself — ninth overall in the tournament, beating fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 today in Melbourne. 

   "Definitely, emotionally, the most challenging Grand Slam that I ever had, with everything that was happening — injury, off-court-stuff, quarantines," Djokovic, who improved to 18-0 in Australian Open semifinals and finals, told reporters. "A roller-coaster ride."

   It was the 33-year-old Djokovic's 18th Grand Slam singles crown, two short of the record held by Roger Federer, 39, and Rafael Nadal, 34. The trio have won 15 of the past 16 majors — Dominic Thiem won last year's U.S. Open with Djokovic defaulted and Nadal and Federer absent — and 58 of the last 70.

   Djokovic snapped Medvedev's winning streak at 20 matches and improved to 5-3 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian.

   "He's really good (at) reading an opponent's game, knowing what you will do next, how to beat you," said Medvedev, who had won three of his past four encounters against Djokovic, all in best-of-three-set matches. 

   Medvedev, 25, fell to 0-2 in Grand Slam finals. He lost an epic match to Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open.  

   Djokovic pocketed $2.13 million for the title, down from $3.12 million last year for pandemic-related reasons. He will remain No. 1 at least through March 8, giving him 311 weeks at the top to break Federer's mark.

   Medvedev, who collected $1.16 million, will rise one notch to a career-high No. 3 on Monday.

Jenson Brooksby poses with his trophy in
South Africa. Photo courtesy of ATP Tour.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Jenson Brooksby, 20, of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area won his first Challenger title today, topping Teymuraz Gabashvili, 35, of Russia 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the $52,080 PotchOpen II in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Both players were unseeded.

   "I was pretty nervous at the start," Brooksby, who turned pro in December, admitted on atptour.com. "Teymuraz started out strong and caught me a bit off guard, but I battled past the nerves, thankfully, to get through."

   Brooksby, who earned $7,200, will soar 66 places to a career-high No. 249 on Monday. As an 18-year-old qualifier, he stunned Tomas Berdych, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010, in the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Gabashvili, who climbed to a career-high No. 43 in 2016, will improve 32 spots to No. 247. He reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2010 and 2015.

Cal coach Ram, Salisbury fall short in AO title defense

Joe Salisbury, left, and Brydan Klein pose after winning the doubles
title in the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   About 16 hours after winning his second Australian Open mixed doubles title, Rajeev Ram returned to Rod Laver Arena to defend his men's doubles crown.

   This match did not go as well. 

   Returning brilliantly, ninth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia beat fifth-seeded Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain 6-3, 6-4 in the final in Melbourne.

   Ram, 36, is nicknamed "Rampras" because his serve resembles legend Pete Sampras'. 

   Dodig, 36, won his second Grand Slam men's doubles title, while Polasek, 35, played in his first major final.

   Polasek retired for five years (2013-18) because of back, spine and left-leg injuries. He became the second Slovakian to win a Grand Slam title. Daniela Hantuchova won four major mixed doubles crowns.

   Men's singles final — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is scheduled to face fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. PST on ESPN (replays at 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. on ESPN2 and 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tennis Channel).

   Djokovic, 33, is 4-3 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 25. But Medvedev has won three of the past four meetings, all in best-of-three-set matches. In their only previous Grand Slam encounter, Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open.

   Djokovic seeks his third consecutive Australian Open singles title, ninth overall and 18th in majors, two short of the record held by Roger Federer, 39, and Rafael Nadal, 34. Djokovic is 17-0 in Australian Open semifinals and finals. 

   Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have combined to win 14 of the past 15 majors — Dominic Thiem won last year's U.S. Open with Djokovic defaulted and Nadal and Federer absent — and 57 of the past 69.

   Medvedev has won 20 consecutive matches, including 12 wins against top-10 players (one against Djokovic). In his only other Grand Slam final, he lost an epic match against Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Cal women — Freshman Jada Bui lifted the No. 17 Bears (5-1) to a 4-3 victory over No. 3 UCLA (5-2) in Berkeley. Bui, from Canada, defeated Abi Altick 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 on Court 4. 

Osaka beats Brady for title; Cal assistant wins mixed

Naomi Osaka, shown in 2014 at age 16, improved to
4-0 in Grand Slam finals. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Third-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan won her fourth Grand Slam singles title today, dominating 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   From 4-4 in the first set, Osaka won six consecutive games. 

   "She played really well when she had to," Brady, who lost to Osaka 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 in the U.S. Open semifinals last September, told reporters. "She hit good shots when she needed them."

   Osaka, who saved two match points in her fourth-round victory over Garbine Muguruza, improved to 4-0 in Grand Slam finals. 

   Osaka became the first woman to win her first four major finals since Monica Seles 30 years ago. The only other player to accomplish the feat in the Open era, which began in 1968, is Roger Federer.

   "That's very amazing company," Osaka said.

   Among active women, only 39-year-old Serena Williams (23) and 40-year-old Venus Williams (seven) have won more Grand Slam singles titles than the 23-year-old Osaka.

   Osaka pocketed $2.13 million for her second Australian Open singles crown, down from the $3.12 million that Sofia Kenin collected for winning last year's title. Osaka, formerly ranked No. 1, will rise one notch to No. 2 on Monday.

   Brady, 25, settled for $1.16 million in her first Grand Slam final. She is projected to jump 11 places to a career-high No. 13. 

   Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at 16 at Stanford in 2014. Brady starred in Northern California Challengers, sweeping the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advancing to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to Sofia Kenin.

   Men's singles final — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is scheduled to face fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. PST on ESPN (replays at 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. on ESPN2).

   Djokovic, 33, is 4-3 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 25. But Medvedev has won three of the past four meetings, all in best-of-three-set matches. In their only previous Grand Slam encounter, Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open.

   Djokovic seeks his third consecutive Australian Open singles title, ninth overall and 18th in majors, two short of the record held by Federer, 39, and Rafael Nadal, 34.

   Medvedev will play in his second Grand Slam final. He lost an epic match against Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Mixed doubles final — In a late match, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, defeated Australian wild cards Samantha Stosur and Matthew Ebden 6-1, 6-4. 

   Krejcikova won her third consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles crown after triumphing with Ram in 2019 and Nikola Mektic of Croatia last year. 

   Stosur and Ebden were playing for their second Australian Open mixed doubles titles. Stosur won with countryman Scott Draper in 2005, and Ebden triumphed with Jarmila Gajdosova, a Slovakian-born Australian, in 2013.

   Men's doubles final — Ram, from Carmel, Ind., and Great Britain's Joe Salisbury, the fifth seeds and defending champions, are scheduled to meet ninth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia tonight at 8 (PST) on Tennis Channel. 

   Ram, 36, Salisbury, 28, and Dodig, 36, seek their second Grand Slam men's doubles titles. Polasek, 35, will play in his first major final. 

Cal assistant Ram to play for AO men's doubles repeat

   Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury will play for their second consecutive Australian Open men's doubles title.

   The fifth-seeded Ram, 36, of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury, 28, of Great Britain beat sixth-seeded Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother from Great Britain, and Bruno Soares of Brazil 6-4, 7-6 (2) tonight in the semifinals. 

   Murray and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016. 

   Both Ram and Murray captured a doubles title in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., Ram in 2011 with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and Murray in 2007 with Eric Butorac.

   Ram and Salisbury are scheduled to face ninth-seeded Ivan Dodig, 36, of Croatia and Filip Polasek, 35, of Slovakia on Friday at 8 p.m. PST (Tennis Channel).

   Dodig, who won the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo of Brazil, and Polasek, who will play in his first Grand Slam final, topped second-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday.

   Men's singles semifinals — Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia outplayed fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in a late match (replay Friday at 11 a.m. PST on ESPN2).

   Tsitsipas, 22, stunned second-seeded Rafael Nadal, the 2009 champion, on Wednesday after trailing two sets to none. Nadal now is 232-2 after winning the first two sets in Grand Slam matches. Fabio Fognini of Italy accounted for the other victory in the third round of the 2015 U.S. Open.

   Medvedev, the 2019 U.S. Open runner-up to Nadal, is slated to face top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. on ESPN (replays at 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. on ESPN2).

   Djokovic, 33, is 4-3 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 25, but Medvedev has won three of the past four meetings (all in best-of-three-set matches). In their only previous Grand Slam encounter, Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2019 Australian Open.

   Djokovic seeks his ninth Australian Open singles title and 18th Grand Slam singles crown, two short of the record held by Roger Federer, 39, and Nadal, 34.

   Women's singles final — Third-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan is scheduled to play 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., on Saturday at 12:30 a.m. on ESPN (replay at 5 a.m. on ESPN2).

   Osaka, 23, eyes her fourth Grand Slam singles crown and second in the Australian Open. Brady, 25, will play in her first major final.

   Osaka is 2-0 against Brady at the tour level, including a 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 victory in the U.S. Open semifinals last September en route to the title.

   Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at 16 at Stanford in 2014. Brady starred in Northern California Challengers, sweeping the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advancing to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to Sofia Kenin.

   The Australian Open champion will pocket $2.13 million, down from $3.12 million last year. The runner-up will collect $1.16 million.

   Women's doubles final — Second-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus beat third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 for their second major title. Mertens, 25, and Sabalenka, 22, also won the 2019 U.S. Open.

   The Australian Open winners split $463,740, and the runners-up shared $262,786.

   In singles in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose. Sabalenka reached the 2019 final, and Mertens advanced to the semifinals the previous year in the inaugural tournament.

Osaka outslugs Serena to reach Australian Open final

Naomi Osaka, shown at 16 in 2014, improved to 3-1
against Serena Williams. Osaka will meet Jennifer Brady
for the Australian Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Showdown? What showdown?

   In a much-anticipated match, third-seeded Naomi Osaka outslugged 10th-seeded Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4 tonight to reach the Australian Open final in Melbourne.

   Williams, a seven-time Australian Open champion, fell short for the 11th time in her attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. 

   Williams, 39, put her hand over her heart as she said goodbye to the crowd, leading to speculation that this was her last Australian Open.

   "If I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone," Williams — who won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — said in her post-match news conference before walking off in tears.

   Osaka, 23, of Japan improved to 3-1 against Williams, including a victory in the contentious 2018 U.S. Open final.

  The 2019 Australian Open champion, Osaka is scheduled to meet 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., on Saturday at 12:30 a.m. PST on ESPN in a rematch of their U.S. Open semifinal last September. Osaka triumphed 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 en route to the title. She is 2-0 against Brady at the tour level.

   Brady, 25, beat 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam final.

   Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at 16 at Stanford in 2014. Brady starred in Northern California Challengers, sweeping the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advancing to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to Sofia Kenin. 

   In the first men's semifinal, top-ranked Novak Djokovic eliminated qualifier Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Djokovic, seeking his ninth Australian Open singles title, will play the winner of the Friday, 12:30 a.m. (PST) match between fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev and fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas on ESPN.

   Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Rajeev Ram, a 36-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, reached the mixed doubles final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Australian wild cards Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans.

   Krejcikova and Ram will meet either unseeded Desirae Krawczyk of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain or Australian wild cards Samantha Stosur and Matthew Ebden.

   Krejcikova eyes her third consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles crown after triumphing with Ram in 2019 and Nikola Mektic of Croatia last year.

Barty blows big lead; Nadal stunned; Gibbs retires at 27

Ashleigh Barty of Australia fell to 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech
Republic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   The home-country drought in the Australian Open will continue for at least another year.

   Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty of Australia blew a big lead today and lost to 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.

   Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, bolted to a 5-0 advantage in the first set while dropping only six points. She led 2-0 in the second set, and Muchova took a medical timeout after winning the next game. 

   "I was a bit lost on the court, and my head was spinning, so I took a break," the 24-year-old Muchova, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, said in a post-match interview. "And it helped me."

  No Aussie man or woman has won the singles title in the Australian Open since Chris O'Neil on the women's side 43 years ago.

   Muchova is scheduled to meet 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., on Wednesday (PST) after the 7 p.m. semifinal between third-seeded Naomi Osaka and 10th-seeded Serena Williams (ESPN2). 

   Fans will be allowed to return to the tournament Thursday, ending the five-day COVID-19 lockdown in the state of Victoria.

   Brady, 25, eliminated compatriot and close friend Jessica Pegula, who was unseeded, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second Grand Slam semifinal. A first-time major finalist is guaranteed.

   Both Brady, a former UCLA All-American, and Pegula, who skipped college, starred in Northern California Challengers. 

   Brady swept the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advanced to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to defending champion Sofia Kenin.

   Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, reached the Sacramento final in 2012 at 18 and the Stockton semifinals in 2018.

   Muchova edged Brady 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in the second round on clay at Prague in 2019 in their only previous meeting. 

   Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev advanced to the men's semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, seeded seventh. 

   Medvedev, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open, will play seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who stunned the second-seeded Nadal 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5 in 4 hours, 5 minutes. 

   Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion, had lost only once in a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. That occurred in the third round of the 2015 U.S. Open against Fabio Fognini. 

   Nadal and Roger Federer remain tied with a record 20 major singles titles.

   Medvedev is 5-1 against Tsitsipas.

   Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, advanced to the semifinals in men's doubles and mixed doubles.

   Defending champions Ram and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat unseeded Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Philipp Oswald of Austria 7-6 (6), 6-2. Daniell, 31, announced last month that he will donate 10 percent of his prize money for the rest of his career to charity.

   Ram and Salisbury are set to face sixth-seeded Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother from Great Britain, and Bruno Soares of Brazil. Murray and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016.

   Both Ram and Murray won a doubles title in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., Ram in 2011 with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and Murray in 2007 with Eric Butorac.

   In mixed doubles, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Ram downed third-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Mate Pavic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 6-3.

   Krejcikova seeks her third consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles crown after triumphing with Ram in 2019 and Nikola Mektic of Croatia last year.

   Kenin undergoes appendectomy — Kenin, last year's Australian Open champion, underwent an emergency appendectomy this week in Melbourne. 

   Kenin, who also won NorCal Challengers in 2017 and 2018, lost to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia last week in the second round of the Australian Open. 

   Gibbs retires — Former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs announced her retirement on Monday at 27. 

   Gibbs, a petite 5-foot-6 (1.54 meters), is ranked No. 172 after climbing to a career-high No. 68 in 2016. She reached the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open and 2017 Australian Open and the final of the 2018 Berkeley Challenger, losing to Kenin in the latter match.

   Gibbs went public with her battle against depression in early 2018 and overcame oral cancer in 2019.

   The personification of feistiness, Gibbs once stomped on her racket face during a match because she didn't like the string tension, and she likely had the most menacing stare in pro tennis.

   Win or lose, Gibbs answered reporters' questions thoughtfully. Whether she was asked about her depression or engagement to her now-husband, no subject was off-limits.

   Gibbs won three NCAA titles, two in singles and one in doubles, in her three years at Stanford.

   A strong social critic on Twitter, Gibbs plans to enroll in law school this fall and eventually work in public service.

Bay Area native suffers first doubles loss of year

   The doubles winning streak of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara ended with a thud tonight.

   Second-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus routed seventh-seeded Aoyama and Shibahara of Japan 6-2, 6-0 in 53 minutes in the Australian Open quarterfinals in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-1 (1.54-meter) Aoyama, 33, and Shibahara, a 22-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, fell to 12-1 this year. They won titles in Abu Dhabi last month and Melbourne two weeks ago. 

   Aoyama and Shibahara were playing in their second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Aoyama also reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2013 with Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa.

   Also tonight, third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic beat unseeded Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

   Fichman, 30, and Olmos, 27, had never advanced past the second round in a major, separately or together, before this year's Australian Open.

   In the women's singles quarterfinals, third-seeded Naomi Osaka dismissed unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes.

   Osaka, the 2019 champion, will face 10th seed and seven-time champion Serena Williams, who dominated second-seeded Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3. Osaka is 2-1 against Williams, including a victory in the turbulent 2018 U.S. Open final. 

   Williams, 39, is making her 11th attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at age 16 at Stanford in 2014, when Williams won the last of her three titles there.

   In the men's singles quarterfinals, qualifier Aslan Karatsev of Russia beat 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist, began suffering back spasms late in the second set and played half-heartedly the rest of the way.

   Karatsev, 27, became the first man in the Open Era to reach the semifinals in his Grand Slam main-draw debut. At No. 114, he is the lowest-ranked man to reach a major semifinal since Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001.

   Karatsev will face top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who outlasted sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (6), for the first time.

   Djokovic, seeking his third consecutive Australian Open title and ninth overall, suffered an abdominal muscle injury in his five-set victory over Taylor Fritz in the third round.

Medvedev masters McDonald to reach AO quarterfinals

Mackenzie McDonald had been the only re-
maining U.S. man in the Australian Open.
2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia dispatched Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 29 minutes today in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   Medvedev, the runner-up in the 2019 U.S. Open, advanced to his first Australian Open quarterfinal. He has won all nine sets in his four career matches against McDonald, who had been the only remaining U.S. man in Australian Open singles.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., equaled his best result in a Grand Slam tournament. He also advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018 before undergoing right hamstring surgery in June 2019 and missing seven months.

   The women's quarterfinals will feature an all-American matchup between 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady and unseeded Jessica Pegula. 

   Brady, who swept the singles and doubles titles in the 2014 Redding, Calif., Challenger, beat 28th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-1, 7-5. Vekic reached the semifinals of the 2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif.

   Pegula, the 26-year-old daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, surprised fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to reach her first major quarterfinal.

   Pegula advanced to the final of the 2012 Sacramento, Calif., Challenger at 18 and the semifinals of the 2018 Stockton, Calif., Challenger.

   Advancing to the doubles quarterfinals were fifth seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain as well as unseeded Sharon Fichman and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico. 

   Ram and Salisbury topped 10th-seeded John Peers of Australia and Michael Venus of New Zealand 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).

   Ram and Salisbury will meet unseeded Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Philipp Oswald of Austria. Daniell, 31, announced last month that he will donate 10 percent of his prize money for the rest of his career to charity.

   Fichman and Olmos — who had never advanced past the second round in a major, separately or together — dominated unseeded Leylah Fernandez, 18, of Canada and Heather Watson of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2.

   Fichman and Olmos will face third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

   Krejcikova and Siniakova won the French Open and Wimbledon in 2018. Krejcikova also captured the Australian Open mixed doubles title in 2019 with Ram and last year with Nikola Mektic of Croatia.

   In the second round of mixed doubles, sixth-seeded Krejcikova and Ram are tied with Ena Shibahara and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan 6-4, 3-6. Shibahara and McLachlan, whose mother is Japanese, are natives of the Bay Area and New Zealand, respectively.

Bay Area native reaches doubles quarters, stays perfect

     Seventh-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan outclassed 12th-seeded Hayley Carter, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Luisa Stefani of Brazil 6-2, 6-4 today to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-1 (1.54-meter) Aoyama, 33, Shibahara, a 22-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, improved to 12-0 this year and advanced to their second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Aoyama also reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2013 with Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa.

   Aoyama and Shibahara will face either second-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus or 16th-seeded Laura Siegemund of Germany and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

   In the first round of mixed doubles, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, beat Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Henri Kontinen of Finland 7-6 (6), 7-5.

   Krejcikova and Ram will meet Shibahara and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14), a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native Japan. 

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, playing with an injured abdominal muscle, beat 14th-seeded Milos Raonic 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to improve to 12-0 against the hard-serving Canadian. Djokovic seeks his third consecutive Australian Open singles title and ninth overall.

McDonald advances to round of 16 in Australian Open

Mackenzie McDonald equaled his best result in a Grand Slam
tournament. File photo by Paul Bauman

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated Lloyd Harris of South Africa 7-6 (7), 6-1, 6-4 today to reach the round of 16 in the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) McDonald out-aced the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Harris, who won the 2018 Stockton, Calif., Challenger, 12 to nine.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., equaled his best result in a Grand Slam tournament. He also advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018 before undergoing right hamstring surgery in June 2019 and missing seven months.

   McDonald, the only remaining American man in singles, is set to face fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Sunday (PST). Medvedev, the runner-up in the 2019 U.S. Open, topped 28th-seeded Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0.

   Medvedev, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), has not lost a set in three career matches against McDonald.

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said he tore a muscle in his side early in the third set of his five-set victory over 27th-seeded Taylor Fritz of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area early today.

   Djokovic, seeking his ninth Australian Open singles title, is scheduled to play 14th-seeded Milos Raonic on Saturday.

   In the second round of men's doubles, fifth seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat Tomislav Brkic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 40-year-old Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

   In the third round of women's singles, 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova ousted sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 7-5 in an all-Czech encounter. Pliskova advanced to the final of the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and climbed to No. 1 in 2017.

   Four U.S. women have reached the round of 16 in singles: No. 10 seed Serena Williams, No. 22 Jennifer Brady and unseeded Shelby Rogers and Jessica Pegula.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Unseeded Lukas Klein and Alex Molcan of the Slovak Republic eliminated top-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2011-14) of Sweden and David Pel of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) in the semifinals of the €88,520 ($107,357) Cherbourg, France, Challenger.

Bay Area native survives scare to stay perfect in doubles

   Seventh-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan beat Australian wild cards Lizette Cabrera and Maddison Inglis 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-0 today in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. 

   The 5-foot-1 (1.54-meter) Aoyama, 33, and Shibahara, a 22-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, improved to 11-0 this year. They won titles in Abu Dhabi last month and Melbourne last week.

   Aoyama and Shibahara are scheduled to meet 12th-seeded Hayley Carter, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Luisa Stefani of Brazil on Saturday (PST) in a rematch of the Abu Dhabi final. Aoyama and Shibahara won that encounter 7-6 (5), 6-4. 

   Last year, Carter and Stefani defeated Aoyama and Shibahara 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 in the second round of the U.S. Open, and the Japanese pair gained revenge, 6-4, 7-5, in the third round of the French Open.

   Fans will be barred from the Australian Open for the next five days because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the Melbourne suburbs.

   Also today, Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a native of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, beat Lucie Hradecka and Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round of doubles, together or separately, in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

   Pliskova's twin sister, Karolina Pliskova, is ranked sixth in singles after ascending to No. 1 in 2017.

   Fichman and Olmos will meet Leylah Fernandez, an 18-year-old left-hander from Canada, and Heather Watson of Great Britain. Fernandez and Watson defeated Australian wild cards Olivia Gadecki and Belinda Woolcock 7-5, 6-2.

   In the second round of men's doubles, second-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia dispatched Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old native of Piedmont in the Bay Area, and Tommy Paul of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-1, 6-4.

   Shibahara also advanced in mixed doubles, teaming with Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14), a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native Japan, in a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Germany's Laura Siegemund and Kevin Krawietz in the opening round.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Top-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2011-14) of Sweden and David Pel of the Netherlands edged Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic to reach the semifinals of the €88,520 ($107,357) Cherbourg (France) Challenger. 

Defending champ Kenin exits; McDonald upsets Coric

Defending champion Sofia Kenin lost to Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-2 in the
second round of the Australian Open. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Sofia Kenin not only lost today in the Australian Open, the defending champion went down meekly.

   Kaia Kanepi of Estonia dismissed the fourth-seeded Kenin, from Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes in the second round in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Kanepi, 35, clubbed 10 aces, committed only two double faults and won 80 percent of the points on her first serve (28 of 35). The 5-foot-7 (1.70-meter) Kenin, 22, had 10 winners and 22 unforced errors.

   Kanepi has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open twice each but has never advanced past the third round of the Australian Open. Kenin won Northern California Challengers in 2016 at age 17, 2017 and 2018.

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, surprised 22nd-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Coric, 24, reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in the U.S. Open last September.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., is scheduled to play Lloyd Harris, 23, of South Africa on Friday (PST). Harris, who won the 2018 Stockton, Calif., Challenger, topped wild card Alexei Popyrin, a 21-year-old Australian, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

   McDonald defeated Harris 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Seoul Challenger en route to the title in their only previous meeting.

   On the women's side, Kaja Juvan, a 20-year-old Slovenian, defeated fellow qualifier Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Sherif became the first woman from her country to win a main-draw match in a Grand Slam tournament when she beat qualifier Chloe Paquet of France 7-5, 7-5 in the opening round.

   In the first round of men's doubles, fifth seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat Jonny O'Mara of Great Britain and Artem Sitak, a Russia native who plays for New Zealand, 6-4, 6-4.

   In a women's doubles opener, Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, ousted fifth-seeded Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan of Chinese Taipei 1-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Top-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2011-14) of Sweden and David Pel of the Netherlands eliminated Sadio Doumbia and Hugo Gaston of France 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the first round of the €88,520 ($107,357) Cherbourg, France, Challenger.

   ITF Women's Circuit — Zoe Kruger of South Africa outlasted Carol Zhao (Stanford, 2014-16) of Canada 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in the opening round of the $25,000 Ilana Kloss International in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Bay Area native improves to 10-0 in doubles this year

   Seventh-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan topped Asia Muhammad of Las Vegas and Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 today in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-1 (1.55-meter) Aoyama, 33, and Shibahara, a 22-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, improved to 10-0 this year. They won titles in Abu Dhabi last month and Melbourne last week. 

   In the opening round of men's doubles, wild cards Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song of South Korea defeated Ben McLachlan, a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native Japan, and 40-year-old Rohan Bopanna of India 6-4, 7-6 (0). 

   Second-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Tommy Paul of Boca Raton, Fla., outlasted wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Paul won the singles title in the 2019 Tiburon, Calif., Challenger.

   Meanwhile, three Grand Slam champions lost in singles.

   Hsieh Su-Wei, ranked No. 1 in doubles, of Chinese Taipei dismissed eighth-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Canada 6-3, 6-2. Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, had not played in a tournament since the fall of 2019 after suffering a knee injury.

   Sorana Cirstea of Romania eliminated ninth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and the Australian Open runner-up in 2019, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

   Sara Errani, a 33-year-old qualifier from Italy, routed 40-year-old Venus Williams 6-1, 6-0. Williams, a seven-time major singles champion and two-time Australian Open runner-up, hurt her right ankle and left knee late in the first set.

   Marton Fucsovics of Hungary saved three match points in his 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (9) victory over Stan Wawrinka in 3 hours, 59 minutes. Wawrinka won the first of his three Grand Slam singles crowns in the 2014 Australian Open. 

McDonald tops Italian, Querrey falls in Australian Open

Mackenzie McDonald practices his serve during the
2017 Fairfield, Calif., Challenger. The product of nearby
Piedmont won the title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated Italian Marco Cecchinato, a semifinalist in the 2018 French Open, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 today in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   McDonald, only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms), pounded 14 aces and committed just three double faults. Cecchinato, who stunned Novak Djokovic to reach the semis at Roland Garros in 2018, had three aces and eight double faults.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., has tumbled from a career-high No. 57 in 2019, shortly before undergoing right hamstring surgery, to No. 192. He is scheduled to face Croatia's Borna Coric, seeded 22nd and ranked 25th, for the first time on Wednesday (PST). 

   Coric, who reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in the U.S. Open last September, eliminated Guido Pella of Argentina 6-3, 7-6 (5), 7-5. 

   Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, seeded 31st, beat Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Querrey has never advanced past the third round of the Australian Open in 15 appearances. 

   Last fall, Sonego reached the fourth round of the French Open and, as a qualifier, routed Djokovic 6-2, 6-1 en route to the Vienna final, which he lost to Andrey Rublev of Russia.

   On the women's side, Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., ousted 12th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion (2012 and 2013) and the U.S. Open runner-up last fall, 7-5, 6-4. 

   Pegula, the 26-year-old daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, reached the final of the 2012 Sacramento, Calif., Challenger at 18, the semifinals of the 2018 Stockton, Calif., Challenger and the third round of last year's U.S. Open.

   Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) became the first Egyptian woman to win a main-draw match in a Grand Slam tournament, defeating fellow qualifier Chloe Paquet of France 7-5, 7-5.

   Sherif is slated to play another qualifier, Kaja Juvan of Slovenia, on Wednesday. Juvan beat 13th-seeded Johanna Konta, a Briton who won the Stanford title in 2016, 4-6, 2-0, retired (pulled abdominal muscle). 

   Sherif also qualified for the French Open last fall in her tournament debut and extended second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up at Stanford in 2015, to 6-4 in the third set in the opening round.

   Struggling Sloane Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product, lost to 26th-seeded Yulia Putintseva, a 26-year-old Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. There were seven deuces in the last game of the first set.

Pera ousts 2016 champion Kerber in Australian Open

Angelique Kerber, shown at Stanford in 2015 en route to the title, lost
to Bernarda Pera 6-0, 6-4 today in the first round of the Australian
Open. Photo by Mal Taam 

   Bernarda Pera of the United States dismissed No. 23 seed and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-0, 6-4 in a first-round matchup of left-handers today in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   Kerber, who won the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, had no aces, committed seven double faults and won only 25 percent of the points on her second serve (six of 24).

   Third seed and 2019 champion Naomi Osaka, 10th seed and seven-time champion Serena Williams and two-time finalist Venus Williams, unseeded at 40, won in straight sets. 

   Osaka, who has won three Grand Slam singles titles, made her WTA main-draw debut at Stanford in 2014. As a 16-year-old qualifier, she saved a match point and ousted 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in the first round before losing to eighth-seeded Andrea Petkovic.

   Serena Williams is making her 11th attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Williams won the Bank of the West Classic in 2011, 2012 and 2014, defeating Kerber in the latter final.

   Venus Williams made her professional debut indoors in Oakland at 14 years old in 1994. She reached the Stanford final eight times, winning in 2000 and 2002, before the tournament moved down the road to San Jose, Calif., in 2018.

   Third-seeded Dominic Thiem, who won his first major title in the U.S. Open last September and reached last year's Australian Open final, beat Mikhail Kukushkin, a Russia native who plays for Kazakhstan, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3. 

   Kukushkin advanced to the final of the 2014 Aptos, Calif., Challenger, losing to 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis. 

Worker tests positive; Melbourne matches postponed

   COVID-19 continues to play havoc with Australian Open tuneup tournaments.

   First, 72 players were confined to their Melbourne hotel rooms for 14 days after passengers on their flights tested positive for COVID.

   Today, all matches in the ATP Cup, two ATP 250 tournaments and three WTA 500 tournaments were postponed until Thursday PST after a worker at the Grand Hyatt, where many players are staying, tested positive.

   "Authorities have advised that everyone who stayed at the Grand Hyatt between 16-29 January will need to be tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result," according to a statement by Tennis Australia.

   Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens' struggles continued early today. Leylah Fernandez, an 18-year-old Canadian left-hander, improved to 3-0 against the 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product with a 6-3, 6-1 victory early today in the first round of the Grampians Trophy in Melbourne. 

   Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up, has plunged from a career-high No. 3 in 2018 to No. 40.

   Also early today, 33-year-old wild cards Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Sam Querrey, who's originally from San Francisco, defeated 19-year-old Australian alternates Tristan Schoolkate and Dane Sweeny 6-4, 2-1, retired in the opening round of the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne.

   Querrey received a suspended fine of $20,000 for violating the COVID protocol at the St. Petersburg Open last October.

   The Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam tournament, is scheduled for Sunday through Feb. 21 in Melbourne. The men's and women's singles draws are set for tonight at 11.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Treat Huey, a Washington, D.C., native who plays for the Philippines, and Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16) of the Netherlands beat Joao Domingues and Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the first round of the €44,820 ($53,820) MTA Open in Antalya, Turkey.

More players confined to hotels; Cal commit falls in final

   The number of players confined to their Melbourne hotel rooms has increased from 47 to 72, The Associated Press reported today.

   The players may not leave their rooms, even to practice, for 14 days. The Australian Open remains scheduled for Feb. 8-21.

   A COVID-19 case was reported from a third flight, which had carried 58 passengers from Doha, Qatar, where Australian Open men's qualifying was held. Twenty-five players were on board, but the passenger, who tested negative before the flight, is not a player, according to the AP. 

   Other than the 72 players, competitors must quarantine for 14 days but may leave their hotels for five hours a day to train. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said Tennis Australia might alter the lead-up tournaments to help players unable to train. 

   UTR Pro Tennis Series — Second-seeded Hanna Chang, a 22-year-old professional from Fontana in the Los Angeles region, outlasted Jessica Luisa Alsola, a high school senior from Fresno, Calif., 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the final of the first-place playoff in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Alsola, a University of California, Berkeley signee, led 3-0 in the third set in the $25,000 singles-only tournament. She defeated top-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area in the semifinals.

   Chang collected $4,000.

   In other finals:

   —Second-seeded Kimberly Hance, a high school senior, beat Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, a high school junior, 7-6 (tiebreaker score not available), 2-6, 6-3 in a matchup of Southern Californians in the second-place playoff. Hance has verbally committed to UCLA; Lutkemeyer is uncommitted.

   —Jwany Sherif of Huntington Beach in the L.A. region defeated Tomi Main, a high school junior from Seaside, Calif., in the Monterey area, 6-3, 6-4 in the third-place playoff. Main has verbally committed to Texas Tech for 2022.

   Another $25,000 tournament in Newport Beach will begin Monday. Entries include Cal All-American Haley Giavara, a sophomore from San Diego, and Madison Weekley, a high school junior from Alamo in the Bay Area. Weekley has verbally committed to Saint Mary's in the Bay Area. 

   Weekley is scheduled to face Lutkemeyer in a round-robin match on Monday, followed by Giavara against Skyler Grishuk of Newport Beach. 

Many players placed in strict Melbourne quarantine

Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria
Azarenka reportedly is among 47 players con-
fined to their Melbourne hotel room for 14 days.
File photo by Paul Bauman

   The Australian Open is three weeks away, but the coronavirus already is causing problems.

   Three coronavirus cases have been detected on charter flights carrying players from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi to Melbourne, The Associated Press reported today. None of the cases were players.

   Forty-seven players on the flights may not leave their hotel rooms, even to practice, for 14 days. Reportedly among them are 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori.

   The Australian Open is scheduled for Feb. 8-21.

   Meanwhile, 16th-ranked Madison Keys has tested positive for COVID-19 and is doubtful for the Australian Open. Keys won the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2017.

   UTR Pro Tennis Series — In a semifinal between Northern California teenagers, Jessica Luisa Alsola stunned top-seeded Katie Volynets 6-2, 7-6 (8) in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Volynets, a 19-year-old professional ranked No. 316 in the world, served for the second set at 6-5 in the $25,000 singles-only tournament. She double-faulted for 30-30, lost the next point and was broken after mis-hitting a forehand off a deep return of a second serve. 

   Alsola, a high school senior headed to the University of California, Berkeley, had three match points at 6-3 in the tiebreaker, but Volynets leveled at 6-6 when Alsola netted a forehand putaway. Alsola recovered to claim the set and match.

   Alsola is set to meet Hanna Chang, a 22-year-old pro from Fontana, Calif., on Sunday at 9 a.m. PST. The final will be streamed live.

   Chang, ranked No. 300, beat Megan McCray, a former Oklahoma State star from Oceanside, Calif., 6-3, 7-6 (4). 

   In the semifinals of the third-place playoff, Tomi Main, a high school junior from Seaside, Calif., in the Monterey area defeated Maya Pitts, a high school senior from Los Angeles, 7-5, 6-4. 

   Main, who has verbally committed to Texas Tech for 2022, is slated to play Jwany Sherif of Huntington Beach, Calif., on live stream Sunday at about 11 a.m. 

   Sherif crushed Filippa Bruu-Syversen, a high school senior from Chatham, N.J., 6-2, 6-0. Bruu-Syversen has verbally committed to UC Santa Barbara.

Australian Open will be 'historic'; Stanford signs Ma

   Australian Open officials confirmed on Thursday that the tournament will be postponed three weeks until Feb. 8-21 in Melbourne.

   Tournament director Craig Tiley put a positive spin on the move, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

   "This will be a historic Australian Open on so many levels," Tiley said on ausopen.com. "For the first time in more than 100 years, the Australian Open will start in February, and we look forward to offering the players what we believe will be one of their best playing experiences in 2021."

   The tournament will feature singles, doubles and wheelchair competitions. Qualifying will be held Jan. 10-13 in Dubai (women) and Doha (men). The junior championships will be postponed until later in the year.

   Players will compete for more than $80 million in prize money, according to ausopen.com. First-round losers will take home $100,000, up 15 percent from 2020. Prize money for qualifying and the other early rounds also have been increased, with the full breakdown to be released in the coming weeks.

   Stanford women — Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova — ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by tennisrecruiting.net among high school seniors — have signed National Letters of Intent to join the two-time defending champion Cardinal in 2021-22, the school announced.

   Ma, from Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area, led the United States Junior Fed Cup team to two championships, going 9-0 in singles and doubles in 2019. 

   Yepifanova, from Lake Worth, Fla., advanced to the girls singles final in last year's U.S. Open. She became the first qualifier to reach that stage of a junior Grand Slam.

Australian Open postponed three weeks by pandemic

   The Australian Open in Melbourne has been postponed three weeks to Feb. 8-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the men's tour announced today.

   Men's qualifying for the year's first Grand Slam tournament will be moved to Doha, Qatar, and played Jan. 10-13, the ATP said. That will allow time for travel and, as required by Australian public health and immigration authorities, a 14-day quarantine in Melbourne.

   Two ATP 250 tournaments are scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 6 in Melbourne, and the 12-team ATP Cup is set for Feb. 1-5 in Melbourne.

   The season will begin Jan. 5-13 with ATP tournaments in Delray Beach, Fla., and Antalya, Turkey. 

   The men's schedule for the six weeks after the Australian Open will be announced later. Subsequent tournaments are planned to take place as originally scheduled.