Big day: King visit, WTT thriller, Date-Krumm win

Billie Jean King held a press conference at Sunrise Mall
in Citrus Heights before Tuesday night's World Team-
Tennis match. Photo by Paul Bauman

   CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — Tuesday had it all for tennis fans in the San Joaquin Valley.
   A legend attended a World TeamTennis thriller between her Philadelphia Freedoms and the California Dream on a pleasant Sacramento-area night.
   Sixty-five miles (105 kilometers) south, during the day in blistering heat, an ageless wonder and a promising American pulled off upsets in the inaugural $50,000 Stockton Challenger.
   Billie Jean King — an International Tennis Hall of Fame player, leader in the fight for gender equality, co-founder of WTT and owner of the Freedoms — sat on the Philadelphia bench during California's 22-20 victory at Dream Stadium at Sunrise Mall.
   WTT is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It's billed as one of only five leagues in the United States, along with the big four (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL), to last that long. But that's not why King came to Sacramento. 
   "I like to go to every city and support the ownership and community," said King, 71. "I hope we can make a difference in someone's life, especially children. I hope they'll take up tennis. It's really the sport of a lifetime. Maybe they'll dream about playing for their hometown team."   
   Tuesday's match was tied 17-17 entering the final set, men's singles. Tennys Sandgren, a 23-year-old WTT rookie, then beat Robby Ginepri 5-3 in a highly entertaining baseline battle to improve the Dream's record to 2-1 and drop Philadelphia to 1-2.
   Sandgren, who will be 24 next Wednesday, turned pro in 2011 after reaching the NCAA singles semifinals at Stanford as a sophomore at the University of Tennessee.
   Ginepri, who turned 33 on Friday, is the only active American man to have reached a Grand Slam singles semifinal. Ten years ago, he lost to Andre Agassi in five sets in the U.S. Open.            

Kimiko Date-Krumm, 44, upset sixth-seeded
Julia Boserup in the first round of the Stockton
Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kimiko Date-Krumm had similar success 20 years ago, advancing to the French Open semifinals.
   Still playing at the preposterous age of 44, Date-Krumm of Japan outslugged sixth-seeded Julia Boserup of Newport Beach 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Stockton Challenger at the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts at the University of the Pacific. Boserup, who's young enough at 23 to be Date-Krumm's daughter, double-faulted on break point at 4-5 in the second set.
   Boserup is the prototypical modern player: big (5-foot-11/1.80 meters and 145 pounds/66 kilograms) and powerful. She was the runner-up to Olivia Rogowska of Australia in last summer's Sacramento Challenger. This year's edition is scheduled for next week at the Gold River Racquet Club. Boserup and Date-Krumm are entered, but not Rogowska.
   Date-Krumm is tiny at 5-foot-4 (1.63 meters) and 117 pounds (53 kilograms), but she's in phenomenal shape and has tremendous heart. Ranked as high as No. 4 in 1995, she has plunged to No. 198 because of injuries.
   "Women's tennis now is more powerful compared to the '90s," said Date-Krumm, who will face the winner of today's match between Americans Lauren Embree and  Kristie Ahn, a qualifier and former Stanford All-American. "Physical also is going up. For me, it's very difficult to adjust. But tennis is not only about power."         
   When Date-Krumm reached the French Open semifinals in 1995, Jennifer Brady was 2 months old. The Boca Raton, Fla., resident continued her strong play by dismantling second-seeded Eri Hozumi of Japan 6-3, 6-3.
   Brady won the $25,000 Redding Challenger last September as an amateur and turned pro last month. In her two years at UCLA, the Bruins won 2014 NCAA team title and reached this year's final. Brady already has cracked the top 200 at No. 180.
   Several players with Northern California connections also played Tuesday.
   Former Stanford star Kristie Ahn, the top seed in qualifying, easily advanced to the main draw. But Cal All-American Maegan Manasse lost to eighth-seeded Storm Sanders of Australia 6-4, 6-4.
   Maria Sanchez, who grew up 30 miles (48 kilometers) down Highway 99 in Modesto, and Jessica Pegula lost to fourth-seeded Jamie Loeb and Sanaz Marand in an all-American, first-round doubles match 6-3, 2-6 [10-3].
   Sanchez defeated Pegula in the inaugural Sacramento Challenger singles final in 2012. Loeb won the NCAA singles title as a sophomore at the University of North Carolina in May.

CALIFORNIA DREAM 22, PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS 20

In Citrus Heights, Calif.

   Men's doubles -- Robby Ginepri and Marcelo Melo (Freedoms) def. Tennys Sandgren and Neal Skupski 5-4.
   Women's doubles -- Jarmila Gajdosova and Anabel Medina Garrigues (Dream) def. Taylor Townsend and CoCo Vandeweghe 5-4.
   Mixed doubles -- Skupski and Garrigues (Dream) def. Melo and Vandeweghe 5-3.
   Women's singles -- Vandeweghe (Freedoms) def. Gajdosova 5-3.
   Men's singles -- Sandgren def. Ginepri 5-3.

$50,000 USTA PRO CIRCUIT CHALLENGER

At University of the Pacific in Stockton

Final-round qualifying 

   Kristie Ahn (1), United States, def. Anne-Liz Jeukeng, United States, 6-0, 6-2.
   Chanel Simmonds (2), South Africa, def. Jacqueline Cako, United States, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
   Heidi El Tabakh (3), Canada, def. Jan Abaza (5), United States, 6-4, 6-4.
   Storm Sanders (8), Australia, def. Maegan Manasse, United States, 6-4, 6-4.

First-round singles

   Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japan, def. Julia Boserup (6), United States, 6-4, 6-4.
   Mayo Hibi (7), Japan, def. Samantha Crawford, United States, 7-6 (5), 6-0.
   Danielle Lao, United States, def. Jessica Pegula, United States, 6-3, 6-1.
   Jamie Loeb, United States, def. Caitlin Whoriskey, United States, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).
   Anhelina Kalinina, Ukraine, def. Clothilde de Bernardi, France, 6-4, 6-4.

First-round doubles

   Jamie Loeb and Sanaz Marand (4), United States, def. Jessica Pegula and Maria Sanchez, United States, 6-3, 2-6 [10-3].

   Kaitlyn Christian and Danielle Lao, United States, def. Sophie Chang and Julia Elbaba, United States, 6-4, 6-1.

   Jan Abaza and Melanie Oudin (3), United States, def. Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey, United States, 6-3, 6-4.

   Naomi Broady, Great Britain, and Amandine Hesse (2), France, def. Julia Boserup and Samantha Crawford, United States, 6-3, 6-3. 

Today's schedule

(Starting at 10 a.m.) 

Stadium

   Storm Sanders, Australia, vs. Allie Kiick, United States.

   Melanie Oudin, United States, vs. Manon Arcangioli, France.

   An-Sophie Mestach (1), Belgium, vs. Alexandra Stevenson, United States.

   Naomi Broady (8), Great Britain, vs. Heidi El Tabakh, Canada.

Court 1

   Catherine Bellis (4), United States, vs. Jovana Jaksic, Serbia.

   Jessica Moore, Australia, vs. Maria Sanchez (3), United States.

   Brooke Austin, United States, vs. Sanaz Marand, United States.

Court 2

   Nao Hibino (5), Japan, vs. Chanel Simmonds, South Africa.

   Amandine Hesse, France, vs. Emily Webley-Smith, Great Britain.

   Lauren Embree, United States, vs. Kristie Ahn, United States.

Court and time TBA

   Eri Hozumi, Japan, and An-Sophie Mestach (1), Belgium, vs. Jacqueline Cako, United States, and Jovana Jaksic, Serbia.

   Anhelina Kalinina, Ukraine, and Jessica Moore, Australia, vs. Storm Sanders, Australia, and Chanel Simmonds, South Africa.

   Manon Arcangioli, France, and Renata Zarazua, Mexico, vs. Josie Kuhlman and Maegan Manasse, United States.

   Nao Hibino, Japan, and Emily Webley-Smith, Great Britain, vs. Jennifer Elie and Rianna Valdes, United States.

Date-Krumm makes great return

   STANFORD — When Kimiko Date-Krumm retired from professional tennis in 1996, Bill Clinton had just defeated Bob Dole to earn his second term as president of the United States. Twitter was something birds did, and Steffi Graf was the No. 1 player in the world and single with no children.
   When Date-Krumm returned 12 years later, Hillary Clinton was running for president, Twitter was gaining popularity as a social neworking and microblogging service, and Graf was an International Tennis Hall of Famer and married with 6- and 4-year-old kids.
   Date-Krumm is to comebacks what John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are to marathon matches. Now 40, virtually unheard of for a pro tennis player, the Japanese veteran is ranked 52nd in the world. The next oldest player in the top 100 is another Asian, 34-year-old Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand at No. 79.
   In her first life on the pro tour, Date-Krumm climbed to No. 4, reached the semifinals once each at Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open, and twice advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. But by 26, she was burned out.
  "It was difficult on the tour," Date-Krumm said in halting English after losing to eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (7) Monday night in the first round of the Bank of The West Classic. "I felt stress from the Japanese media. It was the first time there was a top-10 player (from Japan), and there were not so many other (top) athletes. Now, there's baseball (Japanese players in the United States) and soccer. There was much media (attention on) me.
   "There were no (laptops) or mobile phones. I was always traveling far from Japan. I couldn't enjoy the tour."
   Date-Krumm enjoyed her retirement, working on projects, swimming, jogging, playing tennis with friends for fun, doing TV commentary at Grand Slam tournaments, working for a fashion magazine and getting engaged in 2000. She ran the 2004 London Marathon in 3 hours, 30 minutes. But her husband, German race car driver Michael Krumm, pleaded with her to return to the tour.
   "He likes sports, and we play(ed) tennis together," Date-Krumm said. "He always push me: 'Why don't you play (on the tour again)? I said, 'I don't want to. I was already successful. Enough.' He said, 'Please, I don't see your serious game.' I said, 'No, no, no' for many years."
   After playing an exhibition with Martina Navratilova and Graf in Tokyo, though, Date-Krumm decided to start training.
   "Then I start to enjoy tennis," she said. "At that time, I think about staying in Japan, but now I'm back on the WTA Tour."    
   Since returning, Date Krumm has become the:
    —Oldest player at 39 years, 7 months to beat a top-10 star with her first-round victory over Dinara Safina in the first round of last year's French Open. Date-Krumm surpassed that by beating Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals at Osaka, Japan, at 40 years, 17 days in 2010.
    —Second-oldest player at 38 years, 11 months to win a WTA title when she triumphed at Seoul in 2009. Billie Jean King won at Birmingham, England, in 1983 at 39 years, 7 months.
    —Oldest player to rank in the top 50 since King was No.22 at age 40 in 1984. Date-Krumm rose from No. 54 to No. 50 last August.
   Date-Krumm, only 5-foot-4 and 117 pounds, plays as if she comes from another era, which she does. She uses touch and sharp angles and often charges the net. Naturally left-handed, she learned to play right-handed to follow Japanese custom. Her forehand, in fact, is unorthodox and appears stiff. Rather than using a customary looping backswing, she takes her racket straight back.
   In possibly the match of the year, Date-Krumm extended Venus Williams to 6-7 (6), 6-3, 8-6 last month in the second round at Wimbledon.
   "I've never played anyone who hits the ball like that," Williams, 31, told reporters afterward. "Nobody today comes to the net like she does. They don't play quirky. I thought she played unbelievable today, nowhere near her age."
   After Wimbledon, Date-Krumm returned to Japan and hit with juniors at a tournament in the area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March. The disaster killed more than 15,000 people.
   "Day by day, things are getting better," said Date-Krumm, who has raised or donated $64,000 for recovery efforts. "It's difficult for them to laugh. They were so happy to play with me. People don't have a house or clothes. It takes a long time (to recover)."
   Date-Krumm hopes her exploits on the pro tour at 40 inspire her country, much as the Japanese women's soccer team did with its recent Women's World Cup championship.
   "I believe sports has big power," she said. "During the clay-court season (in the spring), I lose many times, but I don't give up. Then I almost beat Venus. If you don't give up, maybe the light is coming."

In defense of World TeamTennis

   It's fashionable to belittle World TeamTennis.
   The refrain goes something like this: WTT is a circus. It's not real tennis. The players don't care who wins because their world rankings (which determine tournament entries and seedings) are unaffected.
   WTT's critics probably have rarely, if ever, attended a match. The league actually works on many levels and complements tournament tennis well. There are reasons WTT has lasted 36 years. It has much to offer, such as:
   --Variety. In one night, fans see everything tennis offers: men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.
   --Societal benefits. WTT promotes gender equality because men and women work together for a common goal, with their results counting equally. This sets a good example for children -- and adults, for that matter -- in the stands.
   "We're teaching them without them realizing it, which makes it even more fun," WTT co-founder Billie Jean King said in an interview last year. "They're learning through experience."   
   --A fast pace. To ensure that matches finish in 2 1/2 or three hours, the first team to reach five games instead of six wins each set. There are no deuces, and players don't have to win by two games in a set or two points in a tiebreaker.
   If a set is tied 4-4, the first team to win five points in a tiebreaker prevails. If a match is tied after regulation play, the first team to win seven points in a Supertiebreaker earns the overall victory.
   No lead is insurmountable. The team that's ahead must win the last set, or play continues until 1) the leading team wins one game, or 2) the trailing team ties the match score, in which case a Supertiebreaker is played.
   --High drama. Every point is critical. Games, sets and even matches can be decided by one point. The latter occurred Friday night as the host Sacramento Capitals edged the Newport Beach Breakers 19-18.
   With the overall score tied 18-18, the last set (mixed doubles) tied 4-4 and the tiebreaker tied 4-4, Sacramento won the final point and the match. Had Newport Beach won the last point, the Breakers would have prevailed.
   Fans love the tension, and the heightened pressure helps players when they return to their respective international circuits. What's not to like?
   --A rooting interest. Fans have an emotional stake because players represent their city.
   --Promotional and health benefits. WTT brings superstars and legends to cities such as Sacramento, Kansas City, Mo., Springfield, Mo., Boston and Philadelphia that wouldn't otherwise wouldn't attract them. For example, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis and Bob and Mike Bryan have played in Sacramento this season. The pros, including the lesser-known players, inspire children and adults to take up a sport they can play for the rest of their lives.
    --Young and old players. Fans can see everyone from teenage prospects to players in their 50s, such as the temperamental but supremely gifted John McEnroe.
   In an effort to prevent burnout and injuries, the WTA Tour limits the number of tournaments that girls aged 14 to 17 can play. Team tennis gives them a chance to gain experience, play in front of crowds and learn from their coach and veteran teammates.
   Legends, meanwhile, can remain in the game because they play less than one set per event, perhaps only doubles, rather than two out of three sets.
    --Hometown players. Competitors such as Yasmin Schnack of Sacramento can play for their hometown team, and youngsters can dream of doing the same.
   As for players not caring, granted, WTT isn't Wimbledon. But they're professionals. They're being paid well, they receive performance bonuses, they're playing in front of paying fans, WTT helps them compete under pressure, and the will to win is ingrained in them.
   Furthermore, players sign up for WTT because it's a refreshing break in their predominately individual sport. They do not want to let their cities or their teammates down.
   If the players don't care, why do the better ones usually win? The Washington Kastles, who are loaded with talent, are 10-0. True, Venus Williams stunk up Allstate (now Capitals) Stadium in the Sacramento area in 2005 shortly after winning Wimbledon, but that's an exception.
   Are there problems with WTT? Sure.
   The biggest one was solved, at least for this season. The playoffs will be held at a neutral site, Charleston, S.C., named the "Best Tennis Town" in America by the United States Tennis Association last year.
   In past years, the playoffs have been held in a league city to try to capitalize at the gate on that team's following. WTT has chosen a city with a strong team, which has usually made the playoffs and then gained a huge advantage. In three of the past four years, a team has won the league title on its home court.
   Also, teams sometimes sacrifice winning for money by using retired, ineffective marquee players (hello Anna Kournikova), and playing "let" serves is awkward and unnecessary.
   But let's look at the big picture. The WTT season lasts only three weeks. Fans have the rest of the year to follow tournament tennis.   

Capitals nip Breakers in thriller

   Mark Knowles wasn't even sure he would be able to play Friday night.
   The three-time World TeamTennis MVP not only played, he practically willed the Sacramento Capitals to a critical victory.
   In a match that came down to the last point, Sacramento rallied for a 19-18 victory over the rival Newport Beach Breakers at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
   At 4-4 in the decisive tiebreaker, Knowles put away a volley in mixed doubles to end the thriller before a delirious announced crowd of 2,112 at 2,500-seat Capitals Stadium.
   Facing Travis Rettenmaier and Marie-Eve Pelletier, Knowles and Vania King overcame deficits of 0-2 in the set and 1-3 in the tiebreaker.
    Sacramento, which started the season 1-3, moved back into first place in the Western Conference at 5-4. St. Louis (5-5) and Kansas City (4-4) trail by one-half match.
   With the Capitals' next three matches on the road, including Monday night at 9-0 Washington, they needed a victory over Newport Beach  (3-6). Realistically, Sacramento must finish at least 8-6 in the regular season to reach the playoffs.
   Knowles, who will turn 40 in September, was questionable for Friday's match after hurting his right (playing) shoulder Thursday night at Kansas City.
   Mardy Fish, the top American among men or women at No. 9 in the world in singles, had been scheduled to join the Capitals for the match and could have substituted for Knowles. But Fish withdrew Thursday morning because of an abdominal muscle injury.
   As a precautionary measure, Sam Warburg came out of retirement for one night. The 28-year-old Sacramento native played for the Capitals from 2005 through 2009, helping them win their record sixth WTT title in 2007.
   Warburg, however, remained on the bench. Knowles lost 5-3 in his other set, men's doubles with Dusan Vemic.
   Sacramento led 10-4 behind Vemic (men's singles) and King and Yasmin Schnack (women's doubles), but Newport Beach came back to tie the score 14-14 entering the last set before nearly pulling out the match.
    The Breakers won't have to wait long for a chance at revenge. They host the Capitals tonight at 7:15.  

   Capitals 19, Newport Beach 18

   Men's singles -- Dusan Vemic, Capitals, def. Lester Cook, NB, 5-3.  
   Women's doubles -- Vania King and Yasmin Schnack, Capitals, def. Marie-Eve Pelletier and Anne Keothavong, NB, 5-1.
   Men's doubles -- Cook and Travis Rettenmaier, NB, def. Vemic and Mark Knowles, Capitals, 5-3.
   Women's singles -- Keothavong, NB, def. King, Capitals, 5-1.
   Mixed doubles -- Knowles and King, Capitals, def. Rettenmaier and Pelletier, NB, 5-4.

Capitals midseason analysis

   Against all odds, the Sacramento Capitals sit atop the Western Conference midway through their World TeamTennis season.
   The Capitals (4-3) should not get too giddy, though. They came within a Supertiebreaker on Wednesday of being 3-4 and trailing by 1 1/2 matches in the conference.
   After losing three of its first four matches, Sacramento has won three in a row.
   The Capitals opened the season with two road matches, then faced future International Tennis Hall of Famers Martina Hingis and Serena Williams in consecutive matches. Also, half of Sacramento's full-time roster joined the team late.
   Vania King, a two-time Grand Slam women's doubles champion and the 2009 WTT Female MVP for the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, sat out the Capitals' first five matches to rest after Wimbledon. Dusan Vemic, who plays men's singles and doubles for Sacramento, missed the first two matches because of visa problems in Serbia.
   With a full roster for the first time, the Capitals routed the WTT defending champion Kansas City Explorers 23-12 in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights on Tueday night. Kansas City's roster featured three reigning Wimbledon doubles champions (Bob and Mike Bryan and Kveta Peschke).
   Less than 24 hours later, Sacramento met the Aces in St. Louis with first place on the line. The Capitals prevailed in a thriller, 20-19 (7-2 Supertiebreaker).
   Fortunately for Sacramento, St. Louis' Lindsay Davenport, the reigning WTT Female MVP and a former Capitals star, announced on the day of the Aces' opener that she's pregnant with her third child and under doctor's orders to skip the season.
   Meanwhile, WTT rookie Yasmin Schnack and substitutes Christina Fusano and Nick Monroe filled in capably for King and Vemic. Schnack, in her first full year as a professional after an All-America career at UCLA, and Fusano, a 30-year-old doubles specialist, are from the Sacramento area and part-time doubles partners on the women's circuit.
   Schnack, who now plays women's doubles only for the Capitals, ranks fourth among 10 WTT players in women's singles and ninth among 17 in mixed doubles.
   Overall, the Capitals rank second in the nine-team league in women's singles, third in women's doubles, third in mixed doubles, sixth in men's singles and a surprisingly low eighth in men's doubles.
   The latter figured to be one of Sacramento's strongest events with Mark Knowles and Vemic. Although Knowles will turn 40 in September, he is a three Grand Slam men's doubles champion (most recently in 2007) and former world No. 1 in men's doubles. Vemic, 35, has reached two Grand Slam semifinals in the event (most recently in January 2010).
   Knowles and Vemic ended a four-set losing streak with a 5-1 victory against St. Louis on Wednesday.
   It doesn't get any easier for Sacramento. Four of the Capitals' next five matches are on the road, beginning tonight against the Bryan brothers in Kansas City and including Monday's contest at 7-0 Washington. Sacramento ends the regular season with two home matches.
   The top two teams in each conference advance to the WTT playoffs, July 22-24 in Charleston, S.C.
   Sacramento figures to lose to Kansas City and Washington, so the Capitals probably must win four of their other five remaining matches to have a chance of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The winners of a record six WTT titles will face Newport Beach (3-5) twice, Springfield (2-5) twice and Boston (4-4) once.
   The Capitals conceivably could reach the WTT Finals, but they would be heavy underdogs to Washington or New York (6-2).