Roundup: Brown, Bellis, Fed Cup, Brits, Cal women

Richard Gasquet of France practices his sensational one-handed
backhand at Indian Wells in 2014. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Saturday's semifinal in Montpellier, France, was a microcosm of Dustin Brown's career.
   Up one minute, down the next.
   Richard Gasquet, the top seed and defending champion, pulled off perhaps the comeback of the year to defeat Brown 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the Open Sud de France.
   Brown, a 31-year-old German qualifier playing in his first ATP World Tour semifinal, bolted to a 6-1, 3-0 lead in 35 minutes.
   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Brown had 27 winners at that stage and finished with 17 aces.
   Last year, Brown defeated former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the second round at Wimbledon on Centre Court and lost to then-No. 419 Sekou Bangoura in straight sets in the first round of the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger.
   Two weeks after the Tiburon loss, Brown advanced to the final of the $50,000 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger. He lost to U.S. sensation Taylor Fritz, who was 17 years old at the time.
   Gasquet, 29, became the eighth active player to reach 25 tour-level finals. He will play 34-year-old countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who held off 18-year-old Alexander Zverev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German, 7-6 (11), 7-5.
   Women's Challenger in Midland, Mich. -- CiCi Bellis, a 16-year-old amateur from Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, reached her biggest doubles final.
   Wild cards Bellis and Ingrid Neel, 17, of Rochester, Minn., edged third-seeded Nicole Gibbs of Marina del Rey and Taylor Townsend of Atlanta 3-6, 6-3 [10-6] in the $100,000 Dow Corning Tennis Classic.
   Gibbs won the 2012 NCAA doubles crown with Stanford teammate Mallory Burdette.
   Bellis and Neel, who routed top-seeded Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez in the quarterfinals, will face second-seeded Naomi Broady of Great Britain and Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C.
   Broady, 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters), and Rogers crushed Americans Lauren Davis and Grace Min 6-0, 6-0 in 38 minutes.
   Fed Cup in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii -- The United States coasted to a 2-0 lead over Poland in World Group II.
   Sloane Stephens defeated Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4, and Venus Williams beat Paula Kania 7-5, 6-2.
   Williams, 35, has won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford twice (2000 and 2002) and reached the final seven times.
   Kania and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic advanced to the doubles final at Stanford in 2014, losing to Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
   Williams will try to clinch the best-of-five-match series for the United States in today's first match against Linette.
   Top-ranked Serena Williams of the United States and No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland skipped this weekend's competition.
   The winner will advance to the World Group playoffs in April for a chance to compete for the Fed Cup title in 2017.
   Men's Challenger in Dallas -- In an all-British matchup, second-seeded Kyle Edmund, 21, outclassed unseeded Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2 to win the $100,000 RBC Tennis Championships.
   Both players helped Great Britain win its first Davis Cup championship in 79  years in 2015.
   Edmund reached the semifinals of the $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger last August before losing to eventual champion John Millman.
   Evans, only 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), held a championship point before losing to former Stanford All-American Bradley Klahn in the 2013 Aptos final.
   Klahn, a 25-year-old left-hander, hopes to return to competition soon after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc for the second time.
   ITA Women's Team Indoors in Madison, Wis. -- No. 6 Cal defeated No. 7 Virginia 4-1 to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship.
   The Bears (4-0) will meet No. 16 Ohio State, which stunned No. 1 and reigning NCAA champion Vanderbilt 4-3.

Roundup: Brown, Bellis, Date-Krumm, Cal women

Dustin Brown, volleying in the $50,000 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger
last October, reached an ATP World Tour semifinal for the first time.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Dustin Brown is undefeated against Rafael Nadal.
   But until Friday, the 31-year-old German had never reached the semifinals on the ATP World Tour.
   Brown finally broke through -- as a qualifier, no less -- with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium in the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
   Brown, 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters) and only 172 pounds (78 kilograms), had been 0-8 in tour-level quarterfinals.
   "I'm just very happy to finally make it to a semifinal after so many tries," Brown, who stunned Nadal in the second round on Centre Court at Wimbledon last year to improve to 2-0 against the 14-time Grand Slam singles champion (tied for second all-time). "I've played lots of times against Ruben and lost a tight one last time. Basically, I tried to play aggressively like the past couple of days, and I'm happy it worked out."
   Brown finished as the runner-up to Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area in the $50,000 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger last October. Fritz was 17 at the time.
   Bemelmans, a 28-year-old left-hander, won the doubles title in the 2014 Aptos Challenger with Laurynas Grigelis of Lithuania.
   The 133rd-ranked Brown, who has a Jamaican father and wears dreadlocks down to his waist, will meet top-seeded and 10th-ranked Richard Gasquet of France for the first time.
   Gasquet, the defending champion who also won the title in 2013, beat Marcos Baghdatis, the 2014 Aptos singles champion, 6-4, 6-4.
   In the other semifnal, 18-year-old Alexander Zverev of Germany will face 34-year-old Paul-Henri Mathieu of France.
   Zverev, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), stunned second-seeded Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, in the second round.
   Mathieu defeated John Millman, a 26-year-old Australian playing in his first ATP quarterfinal, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3.
   Last August, Millman became the first No. 1 seed in the 28-year history of the Aptos Challenger to win the title.
   Women's Challenger in Midland, Mich. -- Wild cards CiCi Bellis, 16, of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Ingrid Neel, 17, of Rochester, Minn., whipped top-seeded Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez, a 26-year-old Modesto product, 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Dow Corning Tennis Classic.

   Muhammad and Sanchez won last week's $50,000 Maui Challenger.

Kimiko Date-Krumm, playing in the Stockton
Challenger last summer, announced she will
have knee surgery. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Bellis ousted No. 2 singles seed and defending champion Tatjana Maria of Germany in the first round before losing to U.S. wild card Robin Anderson.

   Bellis and Neel will play third-seeded Nicole Gibbs of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles region and Taylor Townsend of Atlanta.
   Gibbs won the 2012 NCAA doubles title with Stanford teammate Mallory Burdette.

   Date-Krumm surgery -- Kimiko Date-Krumm announced she will undergo left knee surgery, jeopardizing her career.
   After losing in the first round of qualifying in last month's Australian Open, the 45-year-old Japanese marvel had an MRI that revealed a torn meniscus.
   Date-Krumm climbed to a career-high No. 4 in 1995. Last summer, she reached the semifinals of the $50,000 Stockton Challenger, quarterfinals of the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger and, as a qualifier, second round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   Date-Krumm overcame a huge deficit to stun then-No. 24 Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the first round at Stanford. One year earlier there, Lisicki set a record that still stands with a 131.0-mph (201.8-kph) serve.
   ITA Women's Team Indoors in Madison, Wis. -- Cal, seeded fourth and ranked sixth, blitzed host Wisconsin 4-0 in the opening round of 16 in the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship.
   The Bears (3-0) will play Virginia (4-1), unseeded and ranked seventh, in today's quarterfinals.

Brown stuns Simon, Millman advances in Montpellier

Dustin Brown, serving in the final of the
$50,000 Fairfield Challenger last October,
upset 15th-ranked Gilles Simon on the
ATP World Tour. Photo by Paul Bauman

  Two players who starred in Northern California Challengers last year recorded big victories on Thursday in the second round of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on the elite ATP World Tour.
   Dustin Brown, a 31-year-old German qualifier, surprised third-seeded and 15th-ranked Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-4.
   Meanwhile, John Millman of Australia reached his first ATP quarterfinal with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.
   Brown was the runner-up to U.S. sensation Taylor Fritz in the $50,000 Fairfield Challenger last October. Fritz was 17 at the time.

   Last August, Millman became the first No. 1 seed in the 28-year history of the Aptos Challenger to win the title.

   The mercurial Brown, who has a Jamaican father and wears dreadlocks down to his waist, achieved his biggest victory since defeating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon for the second time last June.

   Simon extended top-ranked and eventual champion Novak Djokovic to five sets in the fourth round of last month's Australian Open.

   Roger-Vasselin had ousted fifth-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the first round. Monfils won the inaugural title in 2010 and in 2014.

   Brown, ranked No. 133, will face No. 107 Ruben Bemelmans, a Belgian left-hander who advanced to his first ATP quarterfinal since losing to Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic at Vienna in October 2013.
   Wild cards Bemelmans and Laurynas Grigelis of Lithuania won the Aptos doubles title in 2014.
   Millman, 26, will play 34-year-old Paul-Henri Mathieu, who upset fourth-seeded Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-3 in an all-French matchup. Mathieu is ranked No. 93 but climbed as high as No. 12 in 2008.

   Win or lose, the 78th-ranked Millman will crack the top 70 in the world for the first time on Monday.

   All seeds have been eliminated in the bottom half of the draw, where Millman is situated.

Fritz, 17, coasts to second straight Challenger title

Taylor Fritz earned $7,200 for winning the singles title in the
$50,000 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

    FAIRFIELD, Calif. — There was no drama this time, just a clinic by Taylor Fritz.
   Playing sensationally, the 17-year-old American whiz disposed of flashy veteran Dustin Brown 6-3, 6-4 in 57 minutes on Sunday to win the $50,000 Fairfield Men's Pro Challenger at In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano.
   Fritz, who turned pro in August before the U.S. Open, captured his second Challenger title in two weeks and extended his winning streak to 16 matches. He won the U.S. Open junior title last month and the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger the week before Fairfield.
   Fritz saved three match points in a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) victory over Brown in the second round in Sacramento. The match, the first between the players, lasted 2 hours, 25 minutes.
   This time, Fritz served, returned and pounded groundstrokes brilliantly. He broke serve once in each set and saved all three break points he faced.

Runner-up Dustin Brown addresses the crowd
as tournament director Scott McCulloch watch-
es. Brown also lost in the doubles final. He earn-
ed $4,240 in singles and $900 in doubles.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   "I made a lot more returns, made him play a lot more volleys, passed a lot better and served a lot better," said Fritz, who has skyrocketed from No. 694 in the world to No. 232 in the past two weeks. "This is the best match I've played in the whole two weeks. It's what I had to do to win today."
   Fritz, the world's top junior, repeatedly returned the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Brown's booming serve to his feet at the net for winners.
   "The court might be a bit slower here than in Sacramento," explained Fritz, who at 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) also has a big serve. "Sacramento has pretty fast courts. Also, because I saw his serve a lot last week, I was a little more adjusted to it. More than anything, I think just played really well. That's the main reason I did so much better."
   The final was the unseeded Fritz's closest match in the tournament. He knocked off seeds in his last four matches: No. 1 Tim Smyczek of Tampa, Fla., No. 8 Blaz Kavcic and No. 4 Blaz Rola of Slovenia, and No. 3 Brown of Germany. Fritz was broken only once, against Rola, who won the 2013 NCAA singles champion as an Ohio State junior. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) left-hander then turned pro.
   Fritz joined Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Bernard Tomic and Richard Gasquet as players who have won multiple Challengers before age 18. Fritz, from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, will turn 18 on Oct. 28.  

Fritz celebrates after winning champion-
ship point. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Brown shocked Nadal on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the second round this year to improve to 2-0 lifetime against the 14-time Grand Slam champion. Both wins have come on grass.     
   "I want to thank Taylor for kicking my ass twice in two weeks," the 30-year-old Brown, who improved four spots to No. 106, told the crowd during the awards presentation. "He's a great player. We actually practiced (together) at the Open."
   Not only is Brown one of the few serve-and-volleyers in tennis, he even comes in on his second serve. Fritz said he's not surprised that Brown volleys so much.
   "That's how he plays. That's what he does best, and that's why he's beaten Nadal twice," Fritz said. 
   Both players have unusual family backgrounds.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.
   Brown has a German mother and Jamaican father.

   Nicknamed "Dreddy," Brown has dreadlocks that cascade down his back almost to his waist. He wears sleeveless shirts and sports a tattoo of his father on the side of his stomach.

Brown makes one of his frequent forays to the net.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fritz and Brown could meet again in the second round of this week's $50,000 Las Vegas Challenger.
   Brown also lost in the Fairfield doubles final. He and Australia's Carsten Ball, the No. 1 seeds, fell to No. 2 Johan Brunstrom of Sweden and Frederik Nielsen of Denmark 3-6, 7-5 [10-5].
   Brunstrom and Nielsen avenged a 6-2, 7-6 (9) loss to Brown and countryman Daniel Brands in the Sacramento semifinals. Brands and Brown then lost to Kavcic and countryman Grega Zemlja.
   Brunstrom and Nielsen also won the $100,000 Tiburon Challenger the week before Sacramento.
   In 2012, Nielsen and Jonathan Marray of Great Britain became the only wild cards to capture the Wimbledon men's doubles title.

Fritz, Brown to meet in rematch of Sacramento thriller

No. 3 seed Dustin Brown of Germany volleys during his three-set
win over 17-year-old U.S. phenom Frances Tiafoe on Saturday
in the semifinals of the Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger.
Photo by Paul Bauman

    FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- If today's match between Dustin Brown and Taylor Fritz is anywhere near as dramatic as their last one, local fans are in for a treat.
   One week after meeting in the second round of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger, Brown and Fritz today reached the final of the Fairfield $50,000 Men's Pro Challenger at In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano. It will be Brown's second straight match against a 17-year-old American phenom.
   The third-seeded Brown, a 30-year-old German, overpowered Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in a highly entertaining match.
   Fritz, from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, dispatched fourth-seeded Blaz Rola of Slovenia 6-3, 6-3. It was the most games the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Fritz, who extended his Challenger winning streak to nine matches, has lost in the tournament.
   Fritz, the reigning U.S. Open boys champion and No. 1 junior in the world, overcame a sore shoulder and three match points to stun Brown 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) in 2 hours, 25 minutes in Sacramento en route to his first Challenger title. He had lost in the first round at Aptos, Calif., in August in his only previous Challenger.     

Taylor Fritz, another 17-year-old U.S. sensation, will play Brown in today's
Fairfield final. Fritz is shown in Friday's quarterfinals. Photo by Paul Bauman

   That was Fritz's last tournament as an amateur. He turned pro before the U.S. Open.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.
   Brown has a German mother and Jamaican father. Dustin was born in Germany and lived there until 1996, when he moved to Jamaica to begin his pro career. His parents bought him a camper van that he used to travel to tournaments in Europe from 2004 to 2007.
   Nicknamed "Dreddy," Brown has dreadlocks that cascade down his back almost to his waist. He wears sleeveless shirts and sports a tattoo of his father on the side of his stomach.
   Brown shocked Rafael Nadal on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the second round this year to improve to 2-0 lifetime against the 14-time Grand Slam champion.

Tiafoe rips a backhand against Brown on Saturday.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   The match between the 110th-ranked Brown and No. 255 Tiafoe had it all -- except long rallies. Brown, pencil thin at 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters) and 172 pounds (78 kilograms), has a massive serve and takes advantage of it by, in a rarity these days, serve-and-volleying frequently (even on his second serve). Tiafoe, a sculpted 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters), is no slouch in the serving department himself. 
   Brown hammered 16 aces at up to 129 mph (207.6 kph) on a speed gun that appeared to be slow. He won one game in the first set at love on four aces, the last two on second serves registering 126 and 124 mph (202.8 and 199.6 kph).
   Taifoe had 10 aces and one double fault.
   The athletic Brown slugged leaping, swinging volleys (some that even went in), sliced fiendish drop shots, skidded to stops on the hardcourt as if on clay back home and occasionally did the splits.
   After Brown held for 1-1 in the second set on a backhand stop volley with severe backspin, he smiled widely at Tiafoe, who yelled in frustration, "I hate him!" Responded Brown sweetly, "You know you love me."
   After saving two break points at 2-2 in the third set, Brown retrieved a lob by hitting a "tweener" and followed with a spectacular running forehand cross-court passing shot. He reacted by simultaneously leaping in the air, pumping his fist and roaring in triumph.
   Tiafoe never won another game but had his own highlight-reel shots in the match. In the first set,  he swatted a running forehand cross-court passing shot that left Brown shaking his head in amazement.
   Tiafoe also displayed an impressive return, often lacing winners at Brown's feet at the net.
   Brown complained repeatedly about line calls, as usual, and about a fan at one corner of the court  applauding his mistakes and allegedly saying "Good shot, Frances" after Brown errors. Even Tiafoe eventually got annoyed at the man and told him to be quiet.

FAIRFIELD $50,000 MEN'S PRO CHALLENGER
At In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano

Singles semifinals

   Dustin Brown (3), Germany, def. Frances Tiafoe, United States, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

   Taylor Fritz, United States, def. Blaz Rola (4), Slovenia, 6-3, 6-3.

   Doubles semifinal

   Carsten Ball, Australia, and Dustin Brown, Germany, def. Mitchell Krueger and Tennys Sandgren (4), United States, 3-6, 6-3 [10-8].

Today's schedule

Stadium Court

(Starting at noon)

   Dustin Brown (3), Germany, vs. Taylor Fritz, United States.
   Carsten Ball, Australia, and Dustin Brown (1), Germany, vs. Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (2), Denmark.

U.S. phenoms, 17, reach Fairfield Challenger semis

Frances Tiafoe outlasted Darian King in a grueling match.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- Of the United States' many top men's prospects, 17-year-olds Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz might be the best.
   Both reached the semifinals of the Fairfield $50,000 Men's Pro Challenger but in contrasting fashion today at In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano.
   Tiafoe, a Washington, D.C.-area product, outlasted longtime friend Darian King of Barbados 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in a grueling, 2-hour, 36-minute battle in 81-degree (27.2 Celsius) heat.
   Fritz, from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, dismissed eighth-seeded Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour, 10 minutes to extend his Challenger winning streak to eight matches.
   Fritz, who won last week's $100,000 Sacramento Challenger, has lost only five games in each of his three matches in Fairfield.
   Tiafoe will face third-seeded Dustin Brown, who defeated friend and fellow German Daniel Brands, seeded seventh, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1. Brown is 2-0 lifetime against Rafael Nadal, winning both times, on grass, and Brands is 1-1 against Roger Federer.
   Fritz will meet fourth-seeded Blaz Rola, a Slovenian who routed fifth-seeded Jared Donaldson, 19, of Irvine, Calif., 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes. Donaldson lost to Fritz in the Sacramento final.
  The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Fritz saved all three break points he faced against Kavcic, who double-faulted eight times.

Taylor Fritz extended his Challenger winning streak
to eight matches. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Rola, a 6-foot-4 (1.88-meter) left-hander, turned pro after winning the 2013 NCAA singles title as a junior at Ohio State. He won 23 of 25 points (92 percent) on his first serve and faced no break points against Donaldson.
   Both semifinals will be first-time matchups.
   Tiafoe improved to 4-0 against King. All of the matches have come this year, and all have gone to three sets.
   King beat the No. 2 seed in the first round in Sacramento (Kyle Edmund of Great Britain) and Fairfield (Ryan Harrison). At 23, he is six years older than Tiafoe and ranked two spots higher at No. 253.
   Today, Tiafoe pounded shots into the corners with his whipping forehand and laser backhand, yet  the dogged King retrieved most of them.
   "Damian is a great player," said Tiafoe, who won the Orange Bowl at 15 in 2013 to become the youngest champion in the prestigious junior tournament's 67-year history. "He's been playing really well the last couple of weeks, going for his shots, and obviously he's one of the steadiest players you can possibly play.
   "I'm definitely happy to get to the semis. I haven't been doing too well in Challengers lately. I've been losing in the first and second round, but I've still been working hard. I'm happy the work finally is paying off and I'm going deep. I'm playing well, and hopefully I can keep doing it."
   After King held serve in the first game of the third set on Tiafoe's loose backhand into the bottom of the net, Tiafoe muttered, "I'm done. I'm done."
   "That was just me being an idiot," Tiafoe explained. "I wasn't going anywhere. I was going to keep competing no matter what. That was just me being immature."

King said he became "too defensive" in the third set. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gaining a second wind, Tiafoe broke King twice to lead 5-2 in the third set. He then was broken at love, and King held for 4-5.
   Tiafoe, serving for the match again, double-faulted on the first point but won the next four points to end the tense affair. On the last two points, the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Tiafoe blasted an ace and a service winner.
   "He attacked me (in the third set)," said King, who has known Tiafoe for 11 years. "I got a little too defensive. On the big points, I doubted myself. That's something for me to go back and work on. But he played well. He has great weapons."
   Tiafoe's first service break in the third set gave him a 2-1 lead. From deuce, King double-faulted, then missed his first serve and slugged a forehand long.
   King conceded that his serve let him down in the game.
   "As I always tell my coach (King's brother, Chris), something goes bad for me every time I go deep in a tournament," King lamented. "But every match is a learning experience. There's nothing to be down about. Just back to practice and work on it."
  The 30-year-old Brown spent exactly one hour less on the court than Tiafoe but got off it four hours later.
  Brown and Brands, both 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters), combined for 32 aces and 16 double faults. Brown had 21 and 10, respectively.
   Brown must improve his ranking about 10 places from No. 110 to ensure a berth in the main draw of the Australian Open in January.
   "I've never even hit with Dustin," Tiafoe said. "I'm good friends with him. He's a crazy player. You never know what shot he's going to hit, but he's a big server. The next round is going to be tough."

FAIRFIELD $50,000 MEN'S PRO CHALLENGER
At In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano

Singles quarterfinals

   Blaz Rola (4), Slovenia, def. Jared Donaldson (5), United States, 6-1, 6-2.  

   Frances Tiafoe, United States, def. Darian King, Barbados, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4.

   Taylor Fritz, United States, def. Blaz Kavcic (8), Slovenia, 6-4, 6-1. 

   Dustin Brown (3), Germany, def. Daniel Brands (7), Germany, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1.  

Doubles semifinal

    Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (2), Denmark, def. Dean O'Brien and Ruan Roelofse (3), South Africa, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5) [10-4].

Saturday's schedule

Stadium Court

(Starting at noon)

   Dustin Brown (3), Germany, vs. Frances Tiafoe, United States.
   Blaz Rola (4), Slovenia, vs. Taylor Fritz, United States.
   Carsten Ball, Australia, and Dustin Brown (1), Germany, vs. Mitchell Krueger and Tennys Sandgren (4), United States.

Young and restless: Americans upset three seeds

Taylor Fritz, a 17-year-old wild card from the San Diego area,
saved three match points in a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) win over
No. 3 seed Dustin Brown of Germany. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The future of U.S. men's tennis looks brighter every day.
   Young Americans won all four singles matches, including three upsets, on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger.
   The youngest of the Americans, 17-year-old wild card Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, provided the biggest and most dramatic surprise at the Natomas Racquet Club.
   Fritz, who won the U.S. Open boys title last month, overcame a sore shoulder and three match points to stun third-seeded Dustin Brown, 30, of Germany 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) in 2 hours, 25 minutes.
   Brown shocked Rafael Nadal on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the second round this year to improve to 2-0 against the 14-time Grand Slam champion.
   "It's such a huge win," Fritz gushed. "To be a wild card in a Challenger and beat such a strong player, it means a lot. It's great I get to keep moving forward."
   So do Mackenzie McDonald, 20, of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area and Marcos Giron, a 22-year-old qualifier based in Carson in the Los Angeles area.
   McDonald topped fourth-seeded Tim Smyczek of Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 7-5, and Giron beat eighth-seeded Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).

Brown shocked Rafael Nadal on Centre
Court at Wimbledon this year to improve
to 2-0 against the 14-time Grand Slam
champion. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Seventh-seeded Jared Donaldson, who trains in Irvine in the L.A. region and is celebrating his 19th birthday today, advanced to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. He defeated American Tennys Sandgren 6-1, 6-4.
   Sandgren won the 2012 Sacramento doubles title with former University of Tennessee teammate Rhyne Williams and played for the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis in July.
   Fritz and Donaldson have good size, but McDonald and Giron are small, which probably limits their potential.
   Six of the Sacramento quarterfinalists are American. Top-seeded Denis Kudla, 23, and qualifier Nicolas Meister, 26, advanced Wednesday. Either a wild card or qualifier will play in the final.
   McDonald is a junior All-American at UCLA, although he said he might turn pro after this week, and Giron and Meister are former Bruins. Giron, who's listed at 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) but looks smaller, won the NCAA singles title last year.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.
   Brown, No. 108, is not the highest-ranked player Taylor has beaten. He defeated then-No. 66 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on grass in the first round at Nottingham, England, in June on the elite ATP World Tour before losing to then-No. 16 Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
   The Fritz-Brown match was a battle of big servers. Fritz, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters), fired 13 aces and committed two double faults. Brown, 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters), had 21 aces and 10 double faults.
   Fritz saved 13 of 14 break points and Brown five of six.               

Mackenzie McDonald, 20, of Piedmont in the San Fran-
cisco Bay Area eliminated fourth-seeded Tim Smyczek
of Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 7-5. Photo by Paul Bauman

   "I just told myself to keep holding serve because I knew if I dropped my serve the match was essentially over," Fritz said. "That's what he does best -- serve it out and hold serve. I just told myself, I need to get to the tiebreaker, and once I get to the tiebreaker just compete my ass off and hopefully I can take it."
   Fritz led 3-0 and 4-1 in the third-set tiebreaker, but Brown fought back to 5-5. Brown then survived two match points against him, but laced a forehand long on the third one. Brown, who had swatted a ball into the next area code after double-faulting to trail 3-0 in the tiebreaker, smashed his racket on the court after dropping the match.
   He was not available for comment.
   Smyczek was mentally drained after saving four match points against his close friend and training partner, Kudla, to win the $100,000 Tiburon Challenger on Sunday and two more in his first-round victory over 17-year-old U.S. sensation Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday.
   Smyczek, 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), survived three more match points against McDonald, 5-foot-10 (1.78), before netting a backhand on the fourth.
   "I wasn't very good mentally today, and Mackie played real well, so credit to him," said Smyczek, ranked 98th. "He hit the ball great."
   McDonald, who's coached by former top-10 player Wayne Ferreira, will face the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Donaldson in the quarters.
   McDonald became the only unranked teenager to qualify for an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, the highest men's level besides the Grand Slams, at Cincinnati in 2013. In the first round of qualifying, he knocked out then-No. 79 Nicolas Mahut of France.

Qualifier Marcos Giron, the 2014 NCAA singles champion from
UCLA, beat No. 8 seed Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).
Photo by Paul Bauman

   In addition, McDonald has reached two Challenger semifinals, last week in Tiburon as a wild card (although sixth-seeded Bjorn Fratangelo retired from their quarterfinal match at 0-4 with a lower-back injury) and last year in Winnetka (Ill.) as a qualifier.
   In the $50,000 Winnetka Challenger, he ousted Sam Groth in the first round. Groth, now ranked 53rd, is credited with the fastest serve in history, 163.7 mph (263.4 kph) in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   McDonald displayed a tremendous all-around game against Smyczek. McDonald had good pop and excellent placement on his serve, slugged strong returns, ripped groundstrokes, hit crisp volleys, showed good touch with half-volleys and stayed poised.
   "I'm really happy with my composure out there," McDonald said. "It's easy to play a top-100 player and get nervous or do things different. I thought I played really well. I played the (aggressive) style I like to play, and it went well."
   McDonald pounded eight aces, including four in one game (three in a row).
   "I hadn't (hit a lot of aces) all week," he said. "I actually changed my serve a little bit yesterday, so it worked. (I stopped) moving my left foot. I (had been) moving it and sliding, and my ball toss was out of place. I just made (the serve) more clean and more simple." 
   Smyczek raved about McDonald's game after their first career meeting.
   "Judging from today, he's really good," said Smyczek, the runner-up to Donald Young in the 2013 Sacramento Challenger. "He's very, very fast. He serves very well."
   Does Smyczek see any weaknesses?     
   "Sure didn't today," he asserted.
   Immediately after the match, Smyczek practiced for 90 minutes with his coach, Billy Heiser.
   "I wasn't happy with how I played today, so I wanted to see if I could correct it as soon as possible," Smyczek explained.
   What aspect of Smyczek's game displeased him?
   "You name it," he said. "Nothing really went well for me today."
   Did the workout help?
   "It helped me work off a little steam," he said. 

$100,000 SACRAMENTO CHALLENGER

At Natomas Racquet Club

Second-round singles

  Mackenzie McDonald, Piedmont, def. Tim Smyczek (4), United States, 6-1, 7-5.
  Taylor Fritz, United States, def. Dustin Brown (3), Germany, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7).

  Jared Donaldson (7), United States, def. Tennys Sandgren, United States, 6-1, 6-4.

  Marcos Giron, United States, def. Blaz Kavcic (8), Slovenia, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).

Doubles quarterfinals

  Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, def. Ariel Behar, Uruguay, and Ruben Gonzales, Philippines, 6-2, 6-4.

  Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany, def. Carsten Ball and Matt Reid (4), Australia, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

  Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, United States, def. Marcos Giron and Tommy Paul, United States, 6-7 (6), 6-4 [10-7].   

Today's schedule

Court 1

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Taylor Fritz, United States, vs. Marcos Giron, United States.

(Not before 11:30 a.m.)

   Denis Kudla (1), United States, vs. Daniel Brands, Germany.

   Jared Donaldson (7), United States, vs. Mackenzie McDonald, Piedmont.  

Court 7

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Matt Reid, Australia, vs. Nicolas Meister, United States.

(Not before 1 p.m.)

   Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, United States, vs. Blaz Kavic and Grega Zemlja, Slovenia.

Nadal nemesis stunned in Tiburon Challenger

Qualifier Sekou Bangoura prepares to slug a forehand in his
6-2, 7-5 victory over fourth-seeded Dustin Brown in the first
round of the $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   TIBURON, Calif. -- Of all people, Dustin Brown should know to beware of qualifiers.
   As a qualifier at Wimbledon this past summer, Brown stunned two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the second round on Centre Court before losing to 22nd-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the third round.
   Today, the tennis shoe was on the other foot as the fourth-seeded Brown of Germany lost to qualifier Sekou Bangoura of Tampa, Fla., 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
   "It's a good feeling," the 419th-ranked Bangoura said of beating Nadal's conqueror, ranked No. 105. "It's a good win definitely, but I have to play (Thursday), so that's what I'm worried about right now."
   That's typical of the businesslike Bangoura, who will meet 20-year-old wild card Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time on Thursday.
   McDonald, a junior All-American at UCLA, defeated Frederik Nielsen, the 2012 Wimbledon doubles champion with Jonathan Marray, 6-4, 6-4.
   Bangoura, 23, is as low-key and polite as Brown, 30, is flashy and combustible.
   Bangoura showed no emotion during the Center Court match on a chilly evening, while Brown:
   --Complained about line calls.
   --Deliberately swatted a return of serve in the net after an overrule went against him.
   --Was warned for an audible obscenity in German that even the American chair umpire understood.
   --Mildly argued that one of his shots hit Bangoura in the chest at the net. That would have given Brown the point, but it went to Bangoura on a reflex volley.
   --Chided Bangoura for not apologizing after hitting a net-cord winner in the final game.
   After Brown netted a forehand return of a second serve on Bangoura's first match point, the winner celebrated with only a small fist-pump. When the players shook hands at the net, Brown had a few choice words for Bangoura.
   "He said that ball hit my chest and that I had a great attitude," Bangoura said. "He was being a little sarcastic, but it's no big deal."
   When pressed, Bangoura said the ball in question "hit my racket first, then my racket hit my chest."
   Immediately after the match, Bangoura adjourned to a side court for 15 minutes of practice. Meanwhile, Brown rushed off the site and was unavailable for comment.
   When Bangoura was asked for an interview in the locker room, he replied, "Of course." Bangoura repeatedly called a reporter "sir" and asked the writer to repeat his name afterward.
   Both Bangoura and Brown have unusual backgrounds.
   Bangoura was born in Bradenton, Fla., to a father from Guinea, West Africa, and an American mother. Sekou Sr. teaches tennis at Sarasota (Fla.) Country Club, and Cheryl works at an insurance company in Sarasota.
   Sekou Jr. was called a child prodigy because of his accomplishments not only in tennis but golf, chess and piano. He was featured in Sports Illustrated at 15, attained No. 1 nationally in tennis in the 18s and attended the University of Florida for 1 1/2 years, earning All-America status in doubles in 2011.  
   Brown has a Jamaican father (Leroy) and German mother (Inge), and a tattoo of his father on his stomach.
   Brown's appearance is also distinctive. He's rail thin at 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters) and 172 pounds (78 kilograms), and he has dreadlocks that cascade down his back almost to his waist. Today, his shorts, sleeveless shirt and socks were royal blue. He wore a necklace and earrings and neon orange laces on one shoe and neon chartreuse laces on the other.

Brown, nonchalantly standing flat-footed,
hits a drop shot against Bangoura.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Then there's Brown's game, a wacky mixture of power and touch. He'll blast his serve and forehand, then throw in a drop shot out of nowhere while nonchalantly standing flat-footed. Most of his drop shots against Bangoura were ineffective, and some were laughably short. He even hit a drop-shot overhead for a winner early in the match.
   Despite Brown's erratic play and dubious shot selection, Bangoura called his opponent's game "impressive. He does some nasty stuff with the ball. He puts balls where he wants. He plays smart. It's cool to watch, and it's cool to play against, but it's also tough to play against because you don't really get a rhythm. I definitely have a lot of respect for him."
   In truth, there were multiple danger signs for Brown entering the match.
   First, Brown beat Nadal on grass (for the second time to improve to 2-0 against the former world No. 1), and the Tiburon Challenger is on hardcourts.
   And while Bangoura was winning three qualifying matches outdoors in Tiburon, Brown had to adjust from playing indoors last week in Metz, France, on the elite ATP World Tour. He lost to fourth-ranked Stan Wawrinka 7-6 in the third set in the second round in Metz.
   "I've been here a little bit longer than he has," Bangoura said, "and I've played on the courts a little bit more, so I tried to use that to my advantage. It worked."
   Also, when you've starred on Centre Court at Wimbledon, it's psychologically difficult to drop to a Challenger.
   "I'm sure it is," Bangoura said. "I go through that a little bit playing Challengers and then going back to Futures. It's a little different dynamic. I'm sure it's a lot bigger change for him coming from Grand Slams." 
   As for Bangoura, he beat then-No. 65 Lucas Pouille of France last month in the second round of qualifying in Winston-Salem, N.C., on the ATP World Tour.
   Bangoura said his game plan against Brown was: "Try not to give him too much pace and keep balls to his backhand corner. His forehand is big; he serves big. Just try to survive his flair, survive his big slaps and put balls back in the court."
   That's exactly what Bangoura did.
   Bangoura bolted to a 5-1 lead in the first set and served it out. He broke for 4-3 in the second set, but Brown broke right back. After both players held serve for 5-5, Brown lost his serve at 15 on a shanked forehand. Bangoura, serving for the match, shook off a double fault that landed way long for 15-15 to win the next three points for the match.
   "I just put more balls in the court," Bangoura said of the match. "At the end of the day, that's what you've got to do, no matter how you do it."
   Notes -- Dennis Novikov's hot streak ended with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Marek Michalicka, a former University of Wisconsin star from the Czech Republic. Novikov, 21, of Milpitas in the Bay Area led 4-1 in the first set. He had won $50,000 tournaments in Cary, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio, in the past two weeks for his first Challenger singles titles. ...
   Seventh-seeded Blaz Rola of Slovenia eked out a 6-7 (0), 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory over 17-year-old Frances Tiafoe, one of the United States' top prospects. Rola, a 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) left-hander, twice came within two points of losing in the second-set tiebreaker. He starred at Ohio State, winning the 2013 NCAA singles title and 2012 NCAA doubles crown with Chase Buchanan. ...
   Wild card Andre Goransson, a Cal junior from Sweden, fell to qualifier Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4. Laaksonen earned a matchup with top-seeded Denis Kudla of Arlington, Va., and Tampa today.

$100,000 WELLS FARGO TIBURON CHALLENGER

At Tiburon Peninsula Club

First-round singles

   Bjorn Fratangelo (6), United States, def. Chase Buchanan, United States, 6-1, 6-3.

   Tim Smyczek (3), United States, def. James McGee, Ireland, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

   Ryan Harrison (5), United States, def. Deiton Baughman, United States, 6-3, 6-3.

   Sekou Bangoura, United States, def. Dustin Brown (4), Germany, 6-2, 7-5.
   Mitchell Krueger, United States, def. Philip Bester, Canada, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

   Blaz Rola (7), Slovenia, def. Frances Taifoe, United States, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (6), 6-3.

   Marek Michalicka, Czech Republic, def. Dennis Novikov, United States, 6-4, 6-3. 

   Dennis Nevolo, United States, def. Adrien Bossel, Switzerland, 7-5, 7-6 (5).

   Alex Kuznetsov, United States, def. Nicolas Meister, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

   Mackenzie McDonald, United States, def. Frederik Nielsen, Denmark, 6-4, 6-4.

   Henri Laaksonen, Switzerland, def. Andre Goransson, Sweden, 6-2, 6-4.

First-round doubles

   Carsten Ball and Matt Reid (4), Australia, def. Tennys Sandgren and Tim Smyczek, United States, 7-6 (6), 3-6 [17-15].

Wednesday's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Blaz Rola (7), Slovenia, vs. Dimitar Kutrovsky, Bulgaria.

   Denis Kudla (1), United States, vs. Henri Laaksonen, Switzerland.

(Not before 3 p.m.)

   Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, vs. Ariel Behar, Uruguay, and Ruben Gonzales, Philippines.

(Not before 4:30 p.m.)

   Dean O'Brien and Ruan Roelofse (2), South Africa, vs. Deiton Baughman and Mackenzie McDonald, United States. 

Court 1

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Brydan Klein, Great Britain, vs. Quentin Halys, France.

   Jared Donaldson (8), United States, vs. Mitchell Krueger, United States.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Brydan Klein, Great Britain, and Jose Statham, New Zealand, vs. Adrien Bossel, Switzerland, and Quentin Halys, France.  

   Philip Bester and Peter Polansky, Canada, vs. Mitchell Krueger and Connor Smith, United States.

Court 4

(Starting at 2 p.m.)

   Dennis Novikov, United States, and Julio Peralta (3), Chile, vs. Chase Buchanan, United States, and Blaz Rola, Slovenia.

   Dustin Brown, Germany, and Denis Kudla, United States, vs. Andre Goransson, Sweden, and Florian Lakat, France.

Wimbledon standouts to play in Tiburon Challenger

Denis Kudla, playing in last year's Sacramento
Challenger, was the only American man to reach
the second week at Wimbledon this summer. He
tops the entry list for next week's Tiburon Chal-
lenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two players who made a splash at Wimbledon this summer are entered in next week's $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
   Wild card Denis Kudla was the only American man to reach the second week at Wimbledon, and qualifier Dustin Brown of Germany stunned two-time champion Rafael Nadal en route to the third round at the All-England Club.
   Kudla, after losing to 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, qualified for Atlanta and defeated then-No. 35 Jack Sock en route to the semifinals.
   Kudla tops the Tiburon entry list with a world ranking of No. 76. Following the 23-year-old resident of Arlington, Va., and Tampa, Fla., are 20-year-old Kyle Edmund (101) of Great Britain, Tim Smyczek (106) of Tampa Fla., the 30-year-old Brown (107), Ryan Harrison (116) of Austin, Texas, Bjorn Fratangelo (118) of Boca Raton, Fla., Blaz Rola (139) of Slovenia and 18-year-old Jared Donaldson (143) of Irvine, Calif.
   All also plan to play in the $100,000 Sacramento Pro Circuit Challenger at the Natomas Racquet Club the week after Tiburon, and all except Kudla are entered in the $50,000 Fairfield Men's Pro Challenger at In Shape: Fairfield Rancho Solano the week after Sacramento.
   Tiburon qualifying starts today, and the main draw begins on Monday.

$100,000 WELLS FARGO TIBURON CHALLENGER

At Tiburon Peninsula Club

Today's schedule

First-round qualifying

Center Court

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Ben McLachlan, New Zealand, vs. Dennis Nevolo, United States.
   Conor Berg, United States, vs. Paul Barreto, United States.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Sekou Bangoura, United States, vs. Sameer Kumar, United States.

Court 1

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Filip Bergevi, Sweden, vs. Maxime Tchoutakian, France.
   Joseph Cadogan, Trinidad and Tobago, vs. Noah Newman, United States.

Court 4

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Sebastian Fanselow, Germany, vs. Eric Johnson, United States.
   Takanyi Garanganga, Zimbabwe, vs. Bernardo Saraiva, Portugal.

Day 4 recap: Nadal's Wimbledon skid continues

Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion,
lost to qualifier Dustin Brown of Germany in the
second round. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- For the fourth straight year, "San" Rafael Nadal was upset early at Wimbledon by a player ranked No. 100 or lower. This time, 102nd-ranked qualifier Dustin "Hoffman" Brown of Germany dismissed the 10th seed and two-time Wimbledon champion 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. Since reaching the final in his five appearances from 2006 through 2011, Nadal has lost to No. 100 Lukas "Oil Stadium" Rosol in the second round, No. 135 Steve "Martin" Darcis in the first round, No. 144 Nick "I'm Just" Kyrgios in the fourth round and Brown. 
   Match of the day -- Ivo "Longoria" Karlovic, a 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Croatian, pounced 53 aces in his 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 13-11 victory over Alexandr "The Great" Dolgopolov of Ukraine. Aside from John "Wayne" Isner's 113 and Nicolas "I Don't Give A" Mahut's 103 in their 2010 epic at Wimbledon, which Isner won 70-68 in the fifth set, Karlovic's total ranks third in history. He blasted  78 aces in the 2009 Davis Cup semifinals and 55 during the 2009 French Open. See my 2011 story on Karlovic.
   Notable -- Magdalena Rybarikova "Obama" of Slovakia eliminated eighth-seeded Ekaterina "Do The" Makarova of Russia 6-2, 7-5.
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 2 Roger Federer "Express," No. 3 Andy "Bill" Murray, No. 6 Tomas "Free As A" Berdych, No. 12 Gilles "Paul" Simon, No. 13 Jo-Wilfried "Sing A" Tsonga, No. 18 Gael "Sayers" Monfils, No. 20 Roberto "Clemente" Bautista Agut, No. 22 Viktor "Leon" Troicki, No. 23 Karlovic, No. 25 Andreas Seppi "Blatter."
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 10 Nadal, No. 15 "Jose" Feliciano Lopez, No. 30 Fabio "Cell" Fognini. 

   Women's seeded winners -- No. 2 Petra "Fied Forest" Kvitova, No. 5 "Sweet" Caroline Wozniacki, No. 10 Angelique "Jolie" Kerber, No. 13 Agnieszka "Moorehead" Radwanska, No. 15 Timea "Ted" Bacsinszky, No. 18 Sabine Lisicki "Day," No. 20 Garbine Muguruza "Bader Ginsburg," No. 21 Madison "Where The Hell Are My" Keys, No. 28 Jelena "Weird Al" Jankovic, No. 31 Camila Giorgi "Girl."
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 8 Makarova, No. 17 Elina "Horne" Svitolina, No. 25 Alize "Doolittle" Cornet, No. 26 Svetlana "Turner" Kuznetsova.
   Stars and stripes -- "Yosemite" Sam Querrey lost to Federer, who shares the post-1900 record of seven Wimbledon singles titles with "Pistol" Pete Sampras, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Christina McHale "Navy" fell to Lisicki, the Wimbledon runner-up to Marion "Barry" Bartoli two years ago, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1. After two rounds of singles, the United States has six women and two men remaining. 
   Fast fact -- Kvitova, the defending and two-time champion, has lost only three games in two matches.
   Northern California connection -- Querrey was born in San Francisco and played part-time for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis.
   Winning in men's doubles were top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Sacramento-based California Dream of WTT), and losing was Scott Lipsky (Stanford). Fifth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones (San Jose resident, Cal) and Abigail Spears advanced in women's doubles, but Maria Sanchez (Modesto product) lost.  
   Quote -- Nadal, on his past success at Wimbledon: "I don't know if I will be back to (that) level."
   Today's top matches (beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on ESPN) -- Centre Court: Grigor "Mortis" Dimitrov (11) vs. Richard "Don't Blow A." Gasquet (21), Novak "It's No" Djokovic (1) vs. Bernard "A." Tomic (27), Serena "Vanessa" Williams (1) vs. Heather "Elementary My Dear" Watson.
   Court 1: Stan "The Man" Wawrinka (4) vs. Fernando Verdasco "Sauce," Maria "Shriver" Sharapova (4) vs. Irina-Camelia "Ain't Too Proud To" Begu (29), "Cheech" Marin Cilic (9) vs. Isner (17).

Ex-Wimbledon doubles champ Brown dies at 89

   Two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Tom Brown died of Alzheimer's disease on Oct. 27 in Castro Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. He was 89.
   At Wimbledon in 1946, Brown won the men's doubles title with Jack Kramer and the mixed doubles title with Louise Brough. Brown lost to Kramer in the singles final at the U.S. Nationals in 1946 and Wimbledon in 1947.
   Brown retired from his San Francisco law practice in 1987 and won the USTA National Men's 65 singles championships on four surfaces: grass, clay, hardcourt and indoors. He played competitively into his 80s and wrote a book, "As Tom Goes By: A Tennis Memoir,"  in 2007.
   Bryans falter -- Top seeds and former Stanford All-Americans Bob and Mike Bryan lost to French wild cards Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (6), 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak Thursday in the second round of the $3.78 million BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
   The 33-year-old Bryan twins will be seeded first in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Nov. 20-27 in London. They will seek their fourth title in the tournament after winning in 2003 and 2004 in Houston and 2009 in London.
   Schnack, Sanchez advance in doubles -- Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area and Maria Sanchez of Modesto edged Elizabeth Lumpkin of Naperville, Ill., and Iona-Raluca Olaru of Romania 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 Friday in the doubles quarterfinals of the $75,000 Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic in Phoenix.
   Schnack and Lumpkin played on UCLA's 2008 NCAA championship team.
   Niland ousted -- Unseeded Conor Niland, a former Cal All-American from Ireland, fell to second-seeded Tobias Kamke of Germany 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 Thursday in the second round of the $58,794 Challenger in Loughborough, England. Kamke won last year's Tiburon Challenger.
   Sacramento Clay Court semis set -- Jordan Boyls and Mark Tappan will meet Bryan Paveglio and Mike Smith in today's first semifinal of the Sacramento Clay Court League in Fair Oaks. Chris Evers and Dave Hagiwara will face Dan Becker and John Spoerl in the second semifinal. The final is scheduled for Sunday in Orangevale.