Volynets, 19, rallies to reach first Challenger final

Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Fran-
cisco Bay Area showed her mental toughness
today in a three-set victory over Hanna Chang.
2019 photo by Paul Bauman

   Petite Katie Volynets will never overpower anyone. The 19-year-old resident of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area relies on quickness, consistency and mental toughness.

   Volynets, a wild card, needed all of those assets today to reach her first Challenger final. She outlasted Hanna Chang, a 23-year-old qualifier from Fontana in the Los Angeles region, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in a 2-hour, 46-minute seesaw battle of wills in the $100,000 Finemark Women's Pro Tennis Championship on green clay in Bonita Springs, Fla.

   In the first Challenger semifinal for both players, whenever one of them seemed in command, the other took control. Volynets broke serve nine times and Chang eight.

   Chang had three break points to lead by two service breaks at 4-1 in the second set, but Volynets held. Volynets also trailed 0-2 in the third set but reeled off the next four games.

   Chang broke back for 3-4, then both players held serve until the final game. From 15-15, Chang made three consecutive errors.

   Volynets, who routed No. 1 seed Madison Brengle in the quarterfinals, is scheduled to meet No. 5 seed Irina Maria Bara, a 26-year-old Romanian, for the first time on Sunday not before 9:30 a.m. PDT. The match will be streamed live. Bara beat compatriot Irina Fetecau, a qualifier, 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour, 38 minutes. 

   Volynets, who was ranked No. 316 two weeks ago, will skyrocket at least 67 more places to a career-high No. 232 on Monday. Bara will improve a minimum of 12 spots to No. 121, and Chang will jump 43 notches to a career-high No. 268.

   WTA Tour — In a rain-delayed doubles quarterfinal in the Italian Open, alternates Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, beat unseeded Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 1-6, 7-6 (6) [10-6] on red clay in Rome.

   Fichman and Olmos are scheduled to face No. 4 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan on Sunday. The winning team then will play unseeded Kristina Mladenovic of France and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic for the title. Mladenovic won the 2015 title with Timea Babos of Hungary.

   Shibahara was born in Mountain View in the Bay Area and starred at UCLA.

   ATP Tour — No. 5 doubles seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain won twice to reach the Italian Open final. 

   Ram and Salisbury defeated No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, who won the Madrid title last week, 7-6 (3), 3-6 [10-2] in a rain-delayed match and outplayed alternates Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4.

   Ram and Salisbury are set to face No. 2 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia on Sunday. Mektic and Pavic beat unseeded John Peers of Australia and Michael Venus of New Zealand 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).

   Mektic and Pavic seek their sixth title of the year and Ram and Salisbury their first.

   ATP Challenger Tour — In the doubles final of a €88,520 ($107,527) Challenger on red clay in Heilbronn, Germany, No. 3 seeds Nathaniel Lammons of Dallas and Jackson Withrow of Omaha, Neb., edged unseeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2014-17) of Sweden and Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16) of the Netherlands 6-7 (4), 6-4 [10-8].

   Goransson and Lammons won last week's €44,820 ($54,189) Challenger in Biella, Italy, on red clay.

Ex-men's stars to play during San Jose women's tourney

Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick is scheduled to play in a
four-man tournament on Aug. 3 during the Mubadala Silicon
Valley Classic at San Jose State. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   The men are coming to the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic.
   International Tennis Hall of Famers Andy Roddick and Michael Chang and former top-10 players James Blake and Mark Philippoussis will play a one-night tournament as part of the Invesco Series on Saturday, Aug. 3, organizers announced today.
   The second annual Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic is scheduled for July 29-Aug. 4 at San Jose State.
   The men's tournament will feature three one-set matches: two semifinals and one final.
   Roddick, 36, remains the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles championship. He captured the 2003 U.S. Open and climbed to No. 1 two months later.
   Chang, 47, is still the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam singles title. He took the 1989 French Open crown at 17 years, 110 days.
   Blake, 39, reached a career-high No. 4 in 2006 and advanced to three Grand Slam singles quarterfinals (the 2005 and 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open).
   Philippoussis, 42, peaked at No. 8 in 1999 and reached two major finals, losing to fellow Australian Patrick Rafter in the 1998 U.S. Open and to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2003. It was the first of Federer's record eight singles titles at the All England Club.
   Roddick, Chang, Blake and Philippoussis are no strangers to the San Francisco Bay Area, having combined for eight titles in the now-defunct Bay Area stop on the ATP World Tour. Roddick won three crowns in singles, Chang and Philippoussis two each in singles and Blake one in doubles.
   Chang and Pete Sampras played an exhibition during the 2012 Bank of the West Classic, which ended a 21-year run at Stanford in 2017.
   Entered in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic are former world No. 1s Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka and rising star Amanda Anisimova, a 17-year-old American.
   Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania crushed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1, 6-0 in last year's final.

Frenchman beats No. 2 seed Opelka in $100K Stockton

Maxime Janvier celebrates after beating No. 2 seed
Reilly Opelka 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in the first
round of the $100,000 Stockton (Calif.) Pro Open.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. — Reilly Opelka blasted 32 aces on Tuesday.

   And lost.

   In a matchup of 21-year-olds, Maxime Janvier of France toppled the 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Opelka, seeded second, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 today in the first round of the $100,000 Stockton Pro Open at the University of the Pacific's Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.

   "I'm very happy about my performance because I stayed focused all the time," said Janvier, ranked No. 272. "He served very good, so it was tough for me."

   Janvier said Opelka's serve is "unbelievable. It's the best serve I have played."

   The 129th-ranked Opelka, who easily gets down on himself, won 53 of 63 points (84 percent) on his first serve but only 16 of 40 (40 percent) on his second delivery and committed nine double faults.

   The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Janvier topped Opelka in every serve statistic except aces, winning 43 of 48 points (90 percent) on his first serve and 26 of 45 (58 percent) on his second, pounding 11 aces and suffering five double faults.

   Opelka, from Palm Coast, Fla., declined an interview request after the match, violating an ATP rule.

   Top-seeded Jordan Thompson, a 24-year-old Australian, dismissed Patrick Kypson, a Texas A&M sophomore, 6-2, 6-2.

   Thompson reached a career-high No. 63 in February 2017 and stunned top-ranked Andy Murray in the first round of a Wimbledon tune-up tournament in London last year. Thompson has dropped to No. 106 after having his tonsils removed late last year.

   Kypson won last year's USTA Boys 18 National Championships to earn an automatic berth in the men's main draw of the U.S. Open and lost to then-No. 148 Adrian Menendez-Maceiras of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (9), 6-1 in the opening round.

Reilly Opelka, 6-foot-11 (2.11 meters), blasted 32 aces
 in his loss to Maxime Janvier. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Thompson's countryman, seventh-seeded Alex Bolt, beat U.S. wild card Tom Fawcett, who completed his eligibility at Stanford in May, 6-4, 6-1. 

   Bolt, a 25-year-old left-hander, will play Darian King of Barbados. King, last year's runner-up to Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, routed Philip Hjorth, a 19-year-old wild card from Denmark, 6-1, 6-1 in 44 minutes.

   In the first round of the women's $60,000 tournament, the match between fifth-seeded Kristie Ahn and Robin Anderson was suspended by darkness at 4-4 in the third set.

   Ahn, 26, and Anderson, 25, grew up a one-hour drive from each other in New Jersey before starring at Stanford and UCLA, respectively. Both have reached finals recently, the 5-foot-5 (1.68-meter) Ahn in $60,000 Landisville, Pa., in August and the 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) Anderson in $25,000 Lubbock, Texas, two weeks ago. Anderson also won a $25,000 tournament in Redding last year.

   Meanwhile, 16-year-old Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area and second-seeded Maegan Manasse, a 23-year-old former Cal All-American, advanced to the main draw.

   Volynets led 4-6, 7-5, 3-1 when Hanna Chang, 20, of Fontana in the Los Angeles area retired after suffering a head injury in a nasty fall during the second set. Chang later served for the match in the set. Overall, the players battled for 2 hours, 37 minutes as the temperature rose to 80 degrees (26.7 Celsius).

Katie Volynets, a 16-year-old wild card in qualifying
from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area,
reached the main draw. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Volynets, an amateur playing in her biggest professional tournament, is scheduled to face another 16-year-old, phenom Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., today at 10 a.m. 

   Volynets and Osuigwe (pronounced Oh-SIG-way), who last year became the first American to win the French Open girls singles title since Jennifer Capriati in 1989, met most recently in August in the quarterfinals of the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego. Osuigwe won 6-2, 6-4 en route to the title, snagging a wild card into the women's main draw of the U.S. Open. She fell to then-No. 40 Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 6-1 in the first round in Flushing Meadows.

   Volynets, a junior at Clayton Valley Charter High School in Concord, said she has scholarship offers from all the top tennis schools in the nation, including NCAA defending champion Stanford and Cal, but hasn't decided if she will attend college.

   "I'm just testing the pro circuit right now," said Volynets, 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters) and 123 pounds (55.8 kilograms). "This is my third pro tournament. My ultimate goal, though, is to play professionally."

   Manasse, a finalist in a $60,000 tournament in Ashland, Ky., in July as a qualifier, beat eighth-seeded Cornelia Lister of Sweden 7-6 (2), 6-4.

   Daily ticket prices in Stockton are:

   Through Thursday — $15 courtside/VIP, $10 general admission, $5 children 5-12.

   Friday through Sunday — $25 courtside/VIP, $20 general admission, $10 children 5-12.

   Tournament passes cost $70 for courtside/VIP, $50 for general admission and $25 for children 5-12.

   Here are the Stockton men's singles and doubles draws and today's schedule, plus the women's singles qualifying and main draws, doubles main draw and today's schedule. The men's tournament is being streamed live.

Sad but memorable year: Top 10 stories of 2012

Milos Raonic of Canada serves to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the 2012
SAP Open final in San Jose. Raonic won his second straight title in the
tournament, which will be held for the 125th and last time in 2013.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   It was a bittersweet year in Northern California tennis. 
   Officials announced that the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States will leave after 2013, and a legend died at 76. But two former Stanford All-Americans, who happen to be twins, tied an all-time record and won an Olympic gold medal.
   Following are the top 10 stories of 2012, plus five honorable mentions:
   1. Bay Area to lose SAP Open — Northern California fans suffered a crushing blow when it was announced that next February's SAP Open will be the last after 125 years.
   Rio de Janeiro, the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics and a co-host of the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, will replace San Jose on the ATP World Tour calendar beginning in 2014.
   Past champions include legends Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. But the tournament has struggled to attract top players and big crowds in recent years.
   2. Bryans tie Newcombe-Roche — Bob and Mike Bryan won the U.S. Open for their 12th Grand Slam men's doubles title, tying the all-time record of Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche.
   The 34-year-old sons of longtime Sacramento Capitals coach Wayne Bryan have won five Australian Opens, four U.S. Opens, two Wimbledons and one French Open. And they easily could play another five years.
   3. Bryans win Olympic gold — The Bryans earned their first Olympic gold medal, the only significant men's doubles honor to have eluded them, in London. They took the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Games.
   4. MacKay dies — Barry MacKay, a Northern California legend, died in San Francisco after a long illness.
   MacKay left an indelible mark as a player, tournament director, promoter and commentator. Nicknamed "The Bear," he was among the friendliest and best-liked members of the tennis community.

Top-seeded Serena Williams won the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford for the second year in a row. Photo by Paul Bauman

   5. Serena repeats — Top-seeded Serena Williams saved a set point and beat lucky loser CoCo Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-3 to win the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford for the second straight year.
   It was the first all-American final on the WTA tour in the United States since Lindsay Davenport routed Williams 6-1, 6-3 in Los Angeles eight years ago.
   6. Raonic repeats — Dropping only four points on his serve, third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada wore down unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (3), 6-2 in San Jose for his second consecutive SAP Open title.
   The 6-foot-5 Raonic won 28 of 31 points, including 17 straight, on his serve in the first set and 16 of 17 in the second set. He never surrendered more than one point in a service game.
   7. Ex-Capitals among top 100 players ever — Tennis Channel's list of the top 100 players of all time included three ex-Capitals: No. 12 Agassi, No. 43 Lindsay Davenport and No. 100 Michael Chang.
   The top 10 in the rankings, chosen by an international panel of experts, were Roger Federer, Laver, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Margaret Court, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.

Mark Knowles, right, of the Bahamas won the 55th and last ATP World Tour
doubles title of his career with Xavier Malisse, left, of Belgium in the SAP Open.
Knowles was 40 at the time. Photo by Paul Bauman

   8. Knowles retires — The longtime Capital retired from the ATP World Tour just before his 41st birthday with 55 men's doubles titles, fourth among active players and tied for 15th in the Open Era (since 1968).
   The Bahamas native won three Grand Slam crowns in men's doubles and one in mixed doubles. He reached No. 1 in the world in men's doubles in 2002 and 2004.
   9. Gibbs sweeps NCAA titles — Stanford sophomore Nicole Gibbs became the first woman to sweep the NCAA singles and doubles titles in 17 years and the first Cardinal woman to do it in 27 years.

Stanford's Nicole Gibbs, losing to Serena Williams in the second
round of the Bank of the West Classic on Gibbs' home court,
became the first woman in 17 years to sweep the NCAA singles
and doubles crowns. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gibbs, seeded third, outlasted doubles partner Mallory Burdette, seeded fifth, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Athens, Ga., after trailing 4-1 and 5-2 in the second set. Then, in a match moved indoors because of rain, second-seeded Burdette and Gibbs defeated unseeded Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson of host Georgia 6-2, 6-4.
   10. McDonald wins Easter Bowl — After sitting out for eight months last year with a blood disorder, Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont won the boys 18 singles title at the prestigious Easter Bowl in the Palm Springs suburb of Rancho Mirage.

   McDonald, seeded third, beat No. 4 Alexios Halebian of Glendale in the Los Angeles area 6-4, 6-1 for his second singles title in the tournament. He also won the singles title in the 14s three years ago. McDonald will be a freshman at UCLA next fall.
   Honorable mention — The Capitals came within a tiebreaker of extending their record to seven World TeamTennis titles as Venus Williams edged Vandeweghe 5-4, giving the Washington Kastles a 20-19 victory in Charleston, S.C. It was Washington's 32nd consecutive triumph, the fourth-longest streak in the history of U.S. team sports. ...
   Mardy Fish, a former top-10 player, was plagued throughout the year by an accelerated heartbeat but reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and played two matches for the Capitals. ... 
   Raquel Kops-Jones, a San Jose resident and former NCAA doubles champion from Cal, climbed to a career-high No. 13 in women's doubles. ...  
   Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native and part-time Capital this year, defeated Novak Djokovic en route to the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters. ...  
   Maria Sanchez of Modesto won the inaugural Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area.  

Who's better, Roddick or Chang?

Andy Roddick, above, turns 30 on Thursday. He figures
to join fellow American Michael Chang, below right, in the
International Tennis Hall of Fame. Photos by Paul Bauman

   The question is not whether Andy Roddick, who turns 30 on Thursday, eventually will be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
   Considering the low standards of the Hall — like seemingly everywhere else in society — that's a given. If Michael Chang (a 2008 inductee) gets in, so does Roddick. Both are singles specialists with one Grand Slam title.
   So which player is better?
   Stylistically, Roddick and Chang hardly could be more different. Roddick, 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, relies on his punishing serve and forehand. Until last year, he had the world's fastest serve at 155 mph. The 5-9, 160-pound Chang, meanwhile, was renowned for his quickness and heart.
   Otherwise, Roddick and Chang, 40, are remarkably similar.
   Both, of course, are American. Although Roddick grew up in Omaha, Neb., and Florida, and Chang in the Los Angeles area, both have ties to Northern California.

   Roddick has won the San Francisco Bay Area stop on the ATP World Tour three times (2004, 2005 and 2008) and Chang twice (1988 and 1992). Chang, in fact, won his first career title there at 16 years old, and his wife, the former Amber Liu, won the 2003 and 2004 NCAA women's singles titles while attending Stanford. Chang also played part-time for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in 2009 and 2010.
   Most significantly, Roddick and Chang won their Grand Slam titles early in their careers, and it seemed more would follow. Roddick captured the 2003 U.S. Open at 21. Chang took the 1989 French Open at 17 to become the youngest men's Grand Slam singles champion, a distinction he still holds.
   Roddick has played in five Grand Slam singles finals overall and Chang four.
   Roddick climbed to No. 1 in the world in 2003. Chang peaked at No. 2 in 1996, coming within one loss to Pete Sampras of attaining No. 1. Roddick also holds the edge in year-end top-10 singles rankings, nine (2002-10) to seven (1989 and 1992-97).   
   Chang won 34 ATP singles titles. Roddick is at 32 and, by the time he retires, could tie or surpass Chang.
   Roddick, with 610 ATP match victories, also could finish close to Chang's total of 662. The biggest statistical difference between the players is Roddick has exactly 100 fewer losses for a winning percentage of .742 to Chang's .680. 
   Both Chang and Roddick were overshadowed by the Big Three of their eras: Chang by Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, and Roddick by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The difference there is that Chang's chief rivals were fellow Americans and Roddick's are foreigners.
   Both Chang and Roddick played on one Davis Cup championship team, Chang in 1990 and Roddick in 2007. Their winning percentages in Davis Cup singles — .733 for Roddick and .667 for Chang — almost duplicate their figures in ATP matches.
   Roddick has played far more Davis Cup matches because he has been the No. 1 American for most of his career and Chang was often squeezed out by his compatriots. Roddick has won 33 Davis Cup singles matches, second in U.S. history behind John McEnroe's 41, against 12 losses. Chang was 8-4.
   Neither Roddick nor Chang has won an Olympic medal.
   To summarize, Roddick and Chang are even in Grand Slam singles titles and Davis Cup championships. Roddick holds an edge in Grand Slam singles finals, highest singles ranking and year-end top-10 singles rankings, and he has a much better winning percentage in ATP and Davis Cup matches. Chang has won two more ATP singles crowns, but Roddick could equal or surpass him before retiring.
   Advantage: Roddick.

Stars come out at Stanford

Serena Williams, playing her first match since winning
her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beat Stanford's Nicole
Gibbs, the NCAA singles and doubles champion, 6-2,
6-1 in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   STANFORD — One match was a rout, even if the winner didn't think so. The other was an exhibition that ended prematurely.
   But for star power at a non-Grand Slam tournament, it doesn't get any better than Wednesday at the Bank of the West Classic.
   Top seed and defending champion Serena Williams dominated Stanford star Nicole Gibbs 6-2, 6-1 in 62 minutes in the second round during the day session. Then Pete Sampras retired with a calf injury while leading Michael Chang 7-6 (2), 5-5 in an exhibition match at night.
   Williams and Sampras have won 14 Grand Slam singles titles each, but the 30-year-old Williams figures to add to her total. Chang remains the youngest man to win a Grand Slam singles title, capturing the 1989 French Open at 17. He never won another major title, although he reached three more Slam finals.
   All four players were born in the Midwest (Williams and Gibbs) or East (Sampras and Chang) and moved to the Los Angeles area as juniors. Sampras and Chang are 40-year-old International Tennis Hall of Famers.
   Williams' match Wednesday was her first since winning her fifth Wimbledon title on Saturday.

Pete Sampras retired with a calf injury
while leading Michael Chang 7-6 (2),
5-5 in an exhibition. Photo by Paul Bauman

   "I couldn't quite believe I was playing today," said Williams, who will face sixth-seeded Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa in Friday's quarterfinals. "But I'm healthy, I have a heartbeat, so there's no reason not to play. I'll feel better after a day off. I'm still waking up at 2 a.m. I definitely felt sluggish. It's good to get the win over with."

   Williams won last year's Bank of the West Classic in her third tournament back from an 11-month layoff. She had cut her foot on a piece of glass at a restaurant, then had two operations on the foot and was treated for life-threatening blood clots in her lungs.
   Gibbs, a 19-year-old wild card, had won 26 consecutive matches in college and professional competition before Wednesday. She became the third woman in history and first since 1995 to sweep the NCAA singles and doubles titles, then won the $50,000 Colorado International last week as an amateur qualifier.
   "She played really well," Williams said graciously about Wednesday's match. "She moves really well, and she doesn't quit. That's the best quality you can have as an athlete. She easily could have given up. She's a fighter. She actually has a really good first serve. It's good to see Ameicans coming up."
   When pressed about administering a "beat-down," Williams replied: "I don't think it was too much of a beat-down. She held her own."

Chang, whose wife won two NCAA singles titles while attending
Stanford, said the conditions were quick Wednesday night.
Photo by Paul Bauman

  Williams, pounding her first serve and groundstrokes, raced to leads of 4-0 in the first set and 5-0 in the second set. But Gibbs played Williams even for the rest of the first set, and Williams needed four match points to put away her opponent.
   “It was a great experience for me to match up against that level of player and see what’s out there," said Gibbs, who plans to return to Stanford in the fall for her junior year. "I have a lot to look over and work on, but that was a good benchmark for where I am.
   "It was pretty surreal, no matter how much I tried to prepare myself mentally. To be matched up against someone like Serena was obviously a dream and obviously intimidating but just an incredible experience.”    
   The muscular, 5-foot-9 Williams, whose serve is considered the best in women's history, blasted seven aces at up to 117 mph. The petite, 5-6 Gibbs, meanwhile, had none. Her first serve registered in the high 80s and low 90s, her second delivery in the powder-puff 60s.
   "Her second serve has to get deeper and faster," Stanford women's coach Lele Forood said. "She knows that. That's why she's in college."
   Lucky loser CoCo Vandeweghe, who will play the last five matches of the World TeamTennis regular season for the Sacramento Capitals, reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fourth seed and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
   Sampras said he will have an MRI on his left calf on Thursday. He's scheduled to play Hall of Famer Jim Courier that night in another exhibition, with Chang and Courier set to meet Friday night. 
   Sampras said his injury "was my own fault. I haven't been playing a lot. I felt it on a forehand."       
   He apparently over-extended himself Wednesday, having earlier hit with second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France.
   "She was hitting balls hard," said Sampras, one of whose three siblings is named Marion. "I had just gotten off a plane. It took a lot out of me."
   Sampras and Chang showed flashes of their former brilliance amid some bad errors. The legends were lighthearted in the first set, bantering between each other and with the crowd, but serious in the second. Points ended quickly throughout the match.
   "The women's ball is a little lighter," explained Chang, a former part-time Capital whose wife, the former Amber Liu, won the NCAA singles title in 2003 and 2004 while attending Stanford. "The conditions were quick."
   See below for Wednesday's full results and Thursday's schedule.
   Sweeting probable — The Capitals expect Ryan Sweeting to return for Saturday night's match at Orange County, his last scheduled appearance for the team this season.
   Sweeting suffered back spasms in Monday's season opening loss at Boston and missed Tuesday's overtime victory at Philadelphia. Last-minute replacement Alex Kuznetsov, a 25-year-old American, helped Sacramento beat the Freedoms 22-16 in overtime. In an e-mail, Capitals coach Wayne Bryan called the victory "truly one of the best all-around Caps performances in my 11 years with the team."
   Marquee player Mardy Fish is scheduled to join the Capitals for their home opener Thursday night at 7:35 against Kansas City and for Friday night's home match against Orange County. Fish, 30, is coached by 40-year-old Capitals captain Mark Knowles, who's in his 11th season, all with the team.
   NorCal Hall of Fame — The Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame will add four members, including ex-Stanford All-American Nick Saviano, on Thursday at Stanford.
   Joining Saviano will be volunteer Andrea Norman; Steve Cornell, an accomplished junior, collegiate and senior player and tennis advocate; and Martha Downing, a gifted senior player, teaching pro and volunteer. 
   Saviano has coached more than 50 ATP and WTA players. He helped Stanford win NCAA titles in both of his years there (1974 and 1975) before he turned pro. Saviano peaked at No. 48 in the world in 1978 and reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1980.
   Norman directed the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in Berkeley, started a tennis-based non-profit organization and participated on national and regional committees aimed at making tennis accessible to everyone.
   Cornell played on UCLA's national championship teams in 1970 and 1971. His teammates included Jimmy Connors, Jeff Borowiak of Berkeley and Jeff Austin.Cornell, a founding member of the Berkeley Tennis Club Foundation, is a USTA committee member and an avid volunteer.
   Downing, a retired teaching pro and tennis director at Sacramento-area clubs for more than 35 years, holds 27 national senior titles and represents the United States in international competitions. A member of the inaugural class of the Sacramento Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, she has been named the NorCal Senior Player of the Year four times. 

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

At Stanford

Second-round singles

   Chanelle Scheepers (6), South Africa, def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal, 6-3, 6-4.
   Yanina Wickmayer (5), Belgium, def. Heather Watson, Great Britain, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
   Serena Williams (1), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., def. Nicole Gibbs, Santa Monica, 6-2, 6-1.
   CoCo Vandeweghe (Capitals), Rancho Santa Fe, def. Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, 6-4, 6-2.

First-round doubles

   Natalie Grandin, South Africa, and Vladimira Uhlirova (3), Czech Republic, def. Mallory Burdette, Jackson, Ga., and Nicole Gibbs, Santa Monica, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-6 tiebreak.

Doubles quarterfinals

   Yung-Jan Chan and Hao-Ching Chan (4), Taiwan, def. Dominika Cibulkova and Janette Husarova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3.
   Jarmila Gajdosova, Australia, and Vania King (1), Boynton Beach, Fla., def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, and Anne Keothavong, Great Britain, 6-2, 6-2.
   Marina Erakovic, New Zealand, and Heather Watson, Great Britain, def. Raquel Kops-Jones (former Cal All-American), Fresno, and Abigail Spears (2), San Diego, 7-6 (9), 2-6, 10-4 tiebreak.

Thursday's schedule
Stadium (starting at 11 a.m.)

   Sorana Cirstea (9), Romania, vs. Saisai Zheng, China.
   Marina Erakovic (8), New Zealand, vs. Urszula Radwanska, Poland (not before 2 p.m.).
   Marion Bartoli (2), France, vs. Mallory Burdette (Stanford), Jackson, Ga.
   Eleni Daniilidou, Greece, and Urszula Radwanska, Poland, vs. Natalie Grandin, South Africa, and Vladimira Uhlirova (3), Czech Republic.
   Exhibition: Jim Courier vs. Pete Sampras (not before 7 p.m.)
   Dominika Cibulkova (3), Slovakia, vs. Erika Sema, Japan (not before 8 p.m.)

CALENDAR

   Thursday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, second round, 11 a.m. and not before 8 p.m. Exhibition match, Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier, 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
    2012 Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame Brunch and Induction Ceremony (Nick Saviano, Andrea Norman, Steve Cornell and Martha Downing), Stanford, Pac 12 Plaza/Cardinal Plaza, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., tickets $75 each at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=230538. 
   World TeamTennis, Sacramento Capitals' home opener (with Mardy Fish) vs. Kansas City, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   Friday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, quarterfinals, noon and 7 p.m. Exhibition match, Michael Chang vs. Courier, not before 8 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Capitals (with Fish) vs. Orange County, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   Saturday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, semifinals, 1 and 7 p.m. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Capitals at Orange County, 7 p.m.
   Sunday -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, singles final at 1 p.m., doubles final to follow. www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   Monday -- Capitals (with Sam Querrey) vs. New York, Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 18 -- Capitals at Washington, 4:10 p.m.
   July 19 -- Capitals at Springfield, 5:05 p.m.
   July 20 -- Capitals at Kansas City, 5:35 p.m.
   July 22 -- Springfield at Capitals (with Querrey, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 24 -- Orange County (with Lindsay Davenport) at Capitals (with Kevin Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 25 -- Capitals (with Vandeweghe) at Orange County, 7 p.m.
   July 27 -- Philadelphia (with Mark Philippoussis) at Capitals (with Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 28 -- Boston at Capitals (with Anderson, Vandeweghe), Sunrise Marketplace Outdoor Pavilion, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., http://www.saccaps.com/.
   July 28-Aug. 5 -- OLYMPIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT, Wimbledon, www.london2012.com.

All-time top 100 includes two ex-Capitals (so far)

   Tennis Channel's list of the top 100 players of all time so far includes two former Sacramento Capitals of  World TeamTennis, with one more coming.
   As if ranking players of different eras isn't difficult enough, an international panel of experts is combining men and women and active and retired players. Good luck with all of that. In any case, Lindsay Davenport is ranked No. 43 and Michael Chang No. 100. Andre Agassi will be the third ex-Capital when the top 20 are revealed.
   Davenport won six Grand Slam titles (three in singles and three in women's doubles) and an Olympic singles gold medal in singles and played on three Fed Cup championship teams for the United States. She was ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles.
   Chang remains the youngest man to win a Grand Slam singles title after capturing the 1989 French Open at 17. He reached three other Grand Slam singles finals and played on one Davis Cup title team for the U.S.
   Tennis Channel has broadcast three one-hour shows -- on Nos. 100-71, Nos. 70-41 and Nos. 40-21 -- this week. Nos. 20-11 will premiere Thursday at 4 p.m. PDT and Nos. 10-1 Friday at the same time (see the full schedule below).
   Agassi played part-time for the Capitals from 2002, when they won their fifth of a record six WTT titles, to 2004. Chang competed part-time in 2009 and 2010.
   Davenport has a long history with the Capitals. She earned WTT Female Rookie of the Year honors at 17 years old in 1993 and helped Sacramento win WTT crowns in 1997 and 1998. Davenport also played one match during the Capitals' 2007 championship season six weeks after giving birth to her first child. Now 35 with three children, she is scheduled to play for the Orange Country Breakers against the Capitals on July 24 at Sunrise Marketplace Stadium.
   Chang was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008, and Agassi joined him last year. Davenport undoubtedly will join them when she becomes eligible next year.
   Here's Tennis Channel's top-100 schedule for the rest of the week (all times PDT):
   Tonight -- Nos. 40-21 at 10 o'clock (repeat).
   Thursday -- Nos. 100-71 at 1 p.m.; Nos. 70-41 at 2 p.m.; Nos. 40-21 at 3 p.m.; Nos. 20-11 at 4 p.m. (premiere), 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
   Friday -- Nos. 100-71 at noon; Nos. 70-41 at 1 p.m.; Nos. 40-21 at 2 p.m.; Nos. 20-11 at 3 p.m.; Nos. 10-1 at 4 p.m. (premiere), 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.         
   Following are Tennis Channel's No. 100 through 41:

100 - Michael Chang, Male, USA

99 - Ann Haydon Jones, Female, GBR

98 - Henry Bunny Austin, M, GBR

97 - Pat Cash, M, AUS

96 - Manuel Orantes, M, ESP

95 - Thomas Muster, M, AUT

94 - Andy Roddick, M, USA

93 - Nicola Pietrangeli, M, ITA

92 - Svetlana Kuznetsova, F, RUS

91 - Shirley Fry Irvin, F, USA

90 - Bill Johnston, M, USA

89 - Dorothea Lambert Chambers, F, GBR

88 - Amelie Mauresmo, F, FRA

87 - Mary Pierce, F, FRA

86 - Tony Wilding, M, NZL

85 - Yannick Noah, M, FRA

84 - Norman Brookes, M, AUS

83 - Jan Kodes, M, CZE

82 - Yevgeny Kafelnikov, M, RUS

81 - Vic Seixas, M, USA

80 - Marat Safin, M, RUS

79 - Gabriela Sabatini, F, ARG

78 - Ashley Cooper, M, AUS

77 - Molla Mallory, F, USA

76 - William Renshaw, M, GBR

75 - Pauline Betz Addie, F, USA

74 - Tony Roche, M, AUS

73 - Jaroslav Drobny, M, CZE

72 - Gottfried Von Cramm, M, GER

71 - Maria Sharapova, F, RUS

70 - Patrick Rafter , M, AUS

69 - Louise Brough , F, USA

68 - Helen Hull Jacobs , F, USA

67 - Fred Stolle , M, AUS

66 - Bobby Riggs , M, USA

65 - Pancho Segura  , M, ECU

64 - Ellsworth Vines , M, USA

63 - Lleyton Hewitt  , M, AUS

62 - Hana Mandlikova , F, CZE

61 - Neale Fraser , M, USA

60 - Virginia Wade , F, GBR

59 - Margaret Osborne Dupont, F, USA

58 - Alice Marble , F,  USA

57 - Jennifer Capriati , F, USA

56 - Stan Smith, M, USA

55 -  Gustavo Kuerten, M, BRA

54 - Manuel Santana, M, ESP

53 - Tracy Austin, F, USA

52 - Jack Crawford, M, AUS

51 - Doris Hart, F, USA

50 - Tony Trabert, M, USA

49 - Ilie Nastase , M, ROM

48 - Frank Sedgman, M, AUS

47 -  Jean Borotra, M, FRA

46 -  Henri Cochet, M, FRA

45 -  Kim Clijsters, F, BEL

44 -  Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, F, ESP

43 -  Lindsay Davenport, F, USA

42 -  Jim Courier, M, USA

41 -  Guillermo Vilas, M, ARG