Nakashima, 18, reaches first Challenger semifinal

   Brandon Nakashima, an 18-year-old wild card from San Diego, beat fourth-seeded Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) on Friday in the quarterfinals of the $108,320 NorthBay Healthcare Men's Pro Championship at Solano Community College in Fairfield, Calif.
   Nakashima became the youngest American man to reach a Challenger semifinal since Taylor Fritz won the 2015 Fairfield Challenger at 17. Fritz is now ranked No. 29 at age 21.
   Nakashima, a University of Virginia sophomore, is playing in only his fifth professional tournament of the year. He advanced to the quarterfinals in the $108,320 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger two weeks ago, losing to Thai-Son Kwiatkowski in a third-set tiebreaker. Kwiatkowski won the 2017 NCAA singles title as a University of Virginia senior.
   Daniel reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo on the ATP World Tour last week, upsetting then-No. 14 Borna Coric in the first round, to rise 16 spots to No. 111. He is 1-0 against Novak Djokovic and has been ranked as high as No. 64 in August last year.
   Nakashima will skyrocket at least 222 places to No. 487 in Monday's updated rankings. He is scheduled to face top-seeded Steve Johnson for the first time today not before noon in a matchup of Southern Californians.
   Johnson, a Los Angeles-area resident who has slumped from a career-high No. 21 in 2016 to No. 99, trounced ninth-seeded Darian King of Barbados 6-1, 6-1 in 62 minutes.
   In today's first semifinal at 11 a.m., unseeded Kevin King, an Atlanta native and resident ranked No. 399, will meet 12th-seeded Christopher O'Connell, an Australian ranked a career-high No. 192, for the first time.
   Kevin King, a 28-year-old former Georgia Tech All-American, eliminated eighth-seeded Peter Polansky of Canada, 6-3, 7-6 (10) after knocking off former top-70 players Ernesto Escobedo, seeded 15th, in the second round and Denis Kudla, seeded second, in the third round.
   Kevin King, a 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) left-hander, slugged 12 aces, had six double faults and put in 69 percent of his first serves. He won 75 percent of the points (43 of 57) on his first serve and 58 percent (15 of 26) on his second delivery.
   Kevin King has been ranked as high as No. 162 in May last year. He reached the second round in Atlanta on the ATP World Tour in July as a qualifier, shocking former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in the first round. Later in the summer, Dimitrov ousted Roger Federer in the U.S. Open to reach his third Grand Slam semifinal.
   O'Connell dispatched Jack Draper 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Fairfield semifinals for the second time in three years and end the 17-year-old Briton's winning streak at eight matches.
   The 25-year-old O'Connell, only 6 feet (1.83 meters), served even better than King. O'Connell blasted 17 aces, committed only one double fault and put in 70 percent of his first serves. He won 89 percent of the points (33 of 37) on his first serve and 50 percent (eight of 16) on his second.
   O'Connell has played in a whopping 12 singles finals this year (two in $50,000-plus tournaments, three in $25Ks and seven in $15Ks), winning four.
   None of the Fairfield semifinalists has lost a set in the tournament. O'Connell, in fact, hasn't lost more than four games in a set.
   Here are the updated Fairfield singles and doubles draws and today's schedule. Live streaming is available.

Top-seeded Johnson downs prospect Mmoh in Fairfield

Steve Johnson serves during the Aptos (Calif.) final, in which
he beat Dominik Koepfer, in August. Photo by Paul Bauman

   In tonight's featured match, top-seeded Steve Johnson beat fellow American Michael Mmoh 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the second round of the $108,320 NorthBay Healthcare Men's Pro Championship at Solano Community College in Fairfield, Calif.
   Johnson pounded 10 aces and won 82 percent of the points on his first serve (31 of 38) in his first match against Mmoh, who was named after Michael Jordan. Johnson committed six double faults.
   Johnson, 29, and Mmoh, 21, have won three Northern California Challenger singles titles combined. Johnson captured his second Aptos crown in August, and Mmoh took last year's Tiburon title.
   Both players, however, have dropped in the rankings. Johnson, mourning the death of his father/mentor at 58 in 2017, has fallen from a career-high No. 21 in 2016 to No. 99. Mmoh, who sat out for four months early this year because of injuries, has plunged from a career-high No. 96 last October to No. 290.
   Johnson is scheduled to play unseeded Evan King, a 27-year-old left-hander from Chicago, on Thursday. King edged 13th-seeded Mitchell Krueger of Dallas 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in 2 hours, 54 minutes after outlasting alternate Strong Kirchheimer of Cary, N.C., 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in 2:18 on Monday.
   On Wednesday not before 7 p.m., 14th-seeded Jack Sock will meet Jack Draper of Great Britain in the second round. Sock, a former top-10 singles player and a three-time Grand Slam men's doubles champion, will make his first Challenger appearance in more than five years. All 16 singles seeds received first-round byes.
   Also advancing today were fourth-seeded Taro Daniel of Japan and unseeded Sebastian Korda of Bradenton, Fla.
   Daniel, 26, beat wild card Brandon Holt, the 21-year-old son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round.
   Korda, the 19-year-old son of former world No. 2 Petr Korda, topped Sebastian Fanselow, a 27-year-old former Pepperdine All-American from Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the first round.
   Daniel reached the quarterfinals last week in Tokyo on the ATP Tour to rise 16 places to No. 111. He was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14.
   Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., a two-hour drive south of Fairfield, on the Pacific Ocean, and Taro spent summers there until he was 15 or 16.
   Here are the updated Fairfield singles and doubles draws and Wednesday's schedule.

Austin's son routs Altamirano in Fairfield Challenger

Brandon Holt, the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer
Tracy Austin, dismissed Collin Altamirano of Sacramento 6-2,
6-2 today in the first round of the Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger.
2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Collin Altamirano's stay in the Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger didn't last long.
   Playing 56 miles (90 kilometers) from his home in Sacramento, the 23-year-old Altamirano lost to Brandon Holt, a 21-year-old wild card from Rolling Hills in the Los Angeles area, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the $108,320 NorthBay Healthcare Men's Pro Championship.
   The match at Solano Community College lasted only 58 minutes. Altamirano is not entered in doubles.
   Holt, a USC senior and the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, has never lost a set in three career matches against Altamirano. Aside from one tiebreaker, Holt hasn't dropped more than two games in a set against Altamirano.
   Holt is scheduled to play fourth-seeded Taro Daniel, who trains in Bradenton, Fla., but plays for Japan, for the first time on Tuesday at about 2 p.m. All 16 seeds received first-round byes.
   Daniel, 26, reached the quarterfinals last week in Tokyo on the ATP Tour to rise 16 notches to No. 111. He was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14.
   Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., a two-hour drive south of Fairfield, and Taro spent summers there until he was 15 or 16.
   "It basically feels like home, my first home," Daniel told the Santa Cruz Sentinel during the $81,240 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger in August.
   In Tuesday's featured night match, top-seeded Steve Johnson, 29, of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region will play Michael Mmoh, 21, of Bradenton not before 7 p.m.
   Mmoh, the son of former journeyman pro Tony Mmoh of Nigeria, beat countryman Evan Zhu, an ex-UCLA star who won the 2018 NCAA doubles title with Martin Redlicki, 6-4, 6-3.
   Second-seeded Denis Kudla, 27, of Arlington, Va., will meet Zachary Svajda, a 16-year-old wild card from San Diego, on Wednesday at a time to be determined.
   Svajda, who won the USTA boys 18 singles title in August to earn an automatic wild card in the U.S. Open, defeated 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Michael Redlicki, Martin's older brother, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
   Both Kudla and Svajda, made news in the U.S. Open. Kudla reached the third round, losing to defending champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets, and Svajda extended Paolo Lorenzi, a 37-year-old Italian, to five sets in the first round.
   In the first round at 10 a.m., Sebastian Fanselow of Germany will play Bradenton resident Sebastian Korda, the 19-year-old son of former world No. 2 Petr Korda. Fanselow, a 27-year-old former Pepperdine All-American, has reached the Fairfield quarterfinals as a qualifier in each of the past two years.
   In the final round of Fairfield qualifying, Sem Verbeek, a former University of the Pacific standout from the Netherlands, beat Dennis Novikov, a 25-year-old San Jose product, 6-2, 7-6 (0).
   Here are the Fairfield singles and doubles draws and Tuesday's schedule.

Escobedo ousts top seed Dzumhur in Aptos quarters

Ernesto Escobedo, serving in Aptos last year, extended his winning
streak to 10 matches. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Resurgent Ernesto Escobedo of West Covina in the Los Angeles area outlasted top-seeded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 today in the quarterfinals of the $81,240 Nordic Naturals Challenger at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.
   The unseeded Escobedo, ranked No. 214 after climbing to a career-high No. 67 in 2017, broke serve in the last game when Dzumhur sprayed a forehand.
   Escobedo, a hard hitter who began working with former top-20 player Jan-Michael Gambill in March, extended his winning streak to 10 matches. He won an $81,240 tournament in Granby, Quebec, two weeks ago for his first Challenger title in three years.
   Both Escobedo, 23, and Dzumhur, 27, saved match points and won third-set tiebreakers on Thursday. Escobedo, with his dramatic victory over fifth-seeded Bjorn Fratangelo, earned a main-draw berth in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year by winning the U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge.
   Dzumhur also has plunged in the rankings, from a career-high No. 23 in July 2018 to No. 109. But he has reached two quarterfinals on the ATP World Tour this year, stunning then-No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas indoors in Rotterdam in February and three-time Grand Slam singles champion Stan Wawrinka on clay in Geneva.
   Escobedo will face his fourth seed in the tournament when he meets No. 4 Dominik Koepfer, a 25-year-old left-hander from Germany, on Saturday after an 11 a.m. doubles semifinal.
   Koepfer, ranked No. 122, beat seventh-seeded Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles area 6-1, 6-4.
   Koepfer, who graduated from Tulane in New Orleans, had an outstanding grass-court season in England. He reached the quarterfinals and won $165,571 Challengers in Nottingham and Ilkey, respectively, and advanced to the second round at Wimbledon.
   Escobedo and Koepfer have split two career matches. Escobedo prevailed 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 on an indoor hardcourt in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, and Koepfer won 6-1, 7-5 on an outdoor hardcourt in Houston last year.
   After the Koepfer-Escobedo match, second-seeded Steve Johnson, 29, of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region will face sixth-seeded Egor Gerasimov, 26, of Belarus for the first time.
   Johnson, the 2012 Aptos champion, is playing in his first Challenger since March 2018 and second since 2014. He downed 10th-seeded Go Soeda, 34, of Japan 6-3, 7-6 (4).
   Johnson has tumbled from a career-high No. 21 in 2016 to No. 93, but he reached the third round at Wimbledon last month. Soeda won the Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger 10 years ago and advanced to the Aptos semifinals in 2014.
   The 146th-ranked Gerasimov, who ousted defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round, dispatched third-seeded Taro Daniel, the local favorite from Japan, 6-3, 6-4.
   Daniel was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14. Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, near Aptos.
   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Gerasimov won his sixth career Challenger singles title in Recanati, Italy, on hardcourts in early July and last year reached two quarterfinals on the ATP Tour, in Los Cabos and Moscow. He defeated three top-60 players, including then-No. 28 Sam Querrey in Los Cabos, en route to the quarters in those tournaments.

Daniel, Dzumhur, Escobedo survive Aptos thrillers

Ernesto Escobedo, shown in 2018, saved two match
points in a 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (12) win over fellow
American Bjorn Fratangelo to reach the quarterfinals
in Aptos, Calif., for the second consecutive year.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Three consecutive matches on Center Court.
   Three straight matches decided by third-set tiebreakers.
   Three matches in a row in which the winner saved match points.
   Each match longer and more dramatic than the last.
   It might have been the wildest day in the 32-year history of the Nordic Naturals Challenger, the longest-running men's tournament at that level in the United States, in Aptos, Calif.
   Or, for that matter, in any tournament.
   Surviving the marathons on Thursday at the Seascape Sports Club were, in order, third seed and local favorite Taro Daniel of Japan, top-seeded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and unseeded Ernesto Escobedo of West Covina in the Los Angeles area.
   Daniel escaped two match points and edged Michael Redlicki, a 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) left-hander originally from Chicago, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in 2 hours, 18 minutes to reach the Aptos quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
   Daniel, 26, has an unusual background, to say the least. He was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved from New York to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14. Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, near Aptos.
   Then Dzumhur saved three match points and nipped Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (9) in a 2-hour, 20-minute battle of former top-50 players. Dzumhur converted his second match point.
   Finally, Escobedo survived two match points in a 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (12) triumph over countryman Bjorn Fratangelo in 2 hours, 47 minutes to reach the Aptos quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Fratangelo saved six match points before succumbing. There were no service breaks in the match.
   Order was restored in the featured night match as second seed and 2012 Aptos champion Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region defeated British left-hander Liam Broady, the 2017 runner-up as a qualifier, 7-5, 6-1.
   Today's quarterfinal matchups (with rankings in parentheses) are Dzumhur (109) against Escobedo (214), fourth-seeded Dominik Koepfer (122) of Germany versus seventh-seeded Marcos Giron (157) of Thousand Oaks in the L.A. region, Daniel (119) against sixth-seeded Egor Gerasimov (146) of Belarus, and Johnson (93) versus 10th-seeded Go Soeda (173) of Japan.
   Five quarterfinalists – Dzumhur, Johnson, Daniel, Soeda and Escobedo – have cracked the top 100 in the world. Johnson and Dzumhur have reached the top 25, and Soeda has broken into the top 50.
   Here are the Aptos singles and doubles draws and Friday's schedule. Live streaming is available.

McDonald wins Seoul Challenger, nears top 100

Mackenzie McDonald improved to No. 114
in the world by winning the $100,000 Seoul
Challenger. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Less than two years after turning pro, diminutive Mackenzie McDonald is on the verge of cracking the top 100 in the world.
   The fifth-seeded McDonald, a 23-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, topped third-seeded Jordan Thompson of Australia 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 today to win the $100,000 Seoul Challenger.
   McDonald, only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms), jumped 32 places in the rankings to No. 114.
   He almost lost to 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Lloyd Harris, a 21-year-old South African, in the Seoul quarterfinals, surviving 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-3.
   McDonald, now based in Miami, earned his second career Challenger singles title. He defeated former Stanford star Bradley Klahn to win the $100,000 Northbay Healthcare Men's Pro Championships in Fairfield, 38 miles (61 kilometers) north of Piedmont, last October.
   McDonald turned pro in June 2016 after sweeping the NCAA singles and doubles titles as a UCLA junior. He became the first man to accomplish the feat since Matias Boeker of Georgia in 2001.
   ATP Tour -- Unseeded Dominic Inglot of Great Britain and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden edged top-seeded Ben McLachlan of Japan and Nicholas Monroe of Austin, Texas, 3-6, 6-3 [10-8] to win the Istanbul Open on clay.
   Lindstedt, 41, played at Fresno State before transferring to Pepperdine and reaching the 1998 NCAA doubles final with Kelly Gullett. They lost to Bob and Mike Bryan of Stanford.
   McLachlan, a 25-year-old former Cal All-American, was born and raised in New Zealand but plays for his mother's native country. He and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open in January in their first tournament together.
   In the Istanbul singles final, 25-year-old Taro Daniel of Japan beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 7-6 (4), 6-4 for his first career ATP title. Both players were unseeded.
   Daniel was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved from New York to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14.
   Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, 73 miles (117.5 kilometers) south of San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean.

Americans have extra incentive in Aptos semifinal

Seventh-seeded Austin Krajicek, shown Thursday, beat No. 2
Malek Jaziri on Friday in the only upset involving a seed this
week in the Comerica Bank Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

  Bjorn Fratangelo and Austin Krajicek will meet today for more than a berth in the final of the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger.
   A coveted wild card into the upcoming U.S. Open also will be on the line when the Americans, who are good friends, square off at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.
  Krajicek, seeded seventh, beat No. 2 Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-3, 6-4 on Friday in the only upset involving a seed this week.
   Fratangelo, seeded fourth, topped No. 6 Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-4, 6-2. Ebden was coming off a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over former world No. 2 Tommy Haas, 37, on Thursday night.
   The other semifinal features the winners of the last two Challengers, top-seeded John Millman of Australia and third-seeded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain. Millman won Lexington, Ky., two weeks ago, and Edmund captured Binghamton, N.Y., the previous week. Both were $50,000 tournaments.
   Millman routed fifth-seeded Taro Daniel, a local favorite even though he plays for Japan, 6-1, 6-3. Daniel's American father and Japanese mother recently moved from Spain, where Taro still lives, to Soquel in the Aptos area. 
   Edmund subdued eighth-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka, 19, of Japan 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
   Millman, ranked 85th, has surrendered no more than three games in a set in his three Comerica matches. He is trying to become the first top seed in the 28-year history of the tournament to win the title.
   Millman is 2-0 against Edmund, winning in straight sets both times last year on hardcourts similar to those in Aptos. Edmund, 20, is ranked No. 109.

Bjorn Fratangelo, shown in the Napa (Calif.) Challenger last
September, would clinch a wild card in the U.S. Open with a
victory over Krajicek today in Aptos. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Binghamton, Lexington and Aptos comprise the U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge. The American who fares the best in two of the three tournaments will receive a wild card into the singles main draw of the U.S. Open, Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Fratangelo would clinch the wild card with a victory over Krajicek, who must win the title to earn the bid.
   Losers in the first round of singles in the U.S. Open pocket $39,500. Reaching the second round is worth $68,600 and the third round $120,200. The champion will collect $3.3 million.
   Neither the 22-year-old Fratangelo, who's named after Swedish legend Bjorn Borg, nor Krajicek, a 25-year-old left-hander, has played in the singles main draw of the U.S. Open. Krajicek has competed in the doubles main draw at Flushing Meadows three times, reaching the second round in 2013 with countryman Denis Kudla.
   Fratangelo is 1-0 against Krajicek, winning 7-6 (7), 6-3 on clay in a 2011 Futures tournament in Fratangelo's hometown of Pittsburgh. Fratangelo is ranked No. 116, and Krajicek is No. 132.
   A few weeks before the Pittsburgh tournament, Fratangelo won the French Open boys singles title, and Krajicek captured the NCAA doubles championship at Stanford with Texas A&M teammate Jeff Dadamo. Stanford is an hour up the road from Aptos. 

$100,000 COMERICA BANK CHALLENGER

At Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

Singles quarterfinals

   Austin Krajicek (7), United States, def. Malek Jaziri (2), Tunisia, 6-3, 6-4.

   Bjorn Fratangelo (4), United States, def. Matthew Ebden (6), Australia, 6-4, 6-2.

   Kyle Edmund (3), Great Britain, def. Yoshihito Nishioka (8), Japan, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

   John Millman (1), Australia, def. Taro Daniel (5), Japan, 6-1, 6-3. 

Doubles quarterfinal

   Yuki Bhambri, India, and Matthew Ebden, Australia, def. Malek Jaziri, Tunisia, and Ze Zhang, China, 7-5, 6-2.

Today's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Chris Guccione, Australia, and Artem Sitak (1), New Zealand, vs. Karen Khachanov, Russia, and Elias Ymer, Sweden.
   Bjorn Fratangelo (4), United States, vs. Austin Krajicek (7), United States.
   John Millman (1), Australia, vs. Kyle Edmund (3), Great Britain.
   Austin Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe (2), United States, vs. Yuki Bhambri, India, and Matthew Ebden, Australia.

Odd backgrounds serve Daniel, Seeberger well

Taro Daniel, shown today, was born in New York, grew up in
Japan and plays for that country but lives in Spain and considers
the Comerica Bank Challenger his hometown tournament. His
parents live near Aptos in Soquel. Photo by Paul Bauman

   APTOS, Calif. -- In vastly different ways, they probably have the most unusual backgrounds in professional tennis.
   Local favorites Matt Seeberger, seeded fourth in doubles with Julio Peralta of Chile, and Taro Daniel, seeded fifth in singles, followed each other on an outside court today in the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger at the Seascape Sports Club.
   Seeberger starred at nearby UC Santa Cruz in NCAA Division III and began playing on the pro tour, strictly in doubles, last year at 30. That used to be retirement age in tennis.
   Seeberger and Peralta lost to Yuki Bhambri of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in the first round.
   There was no shame in that. Bhambri, a former world No. 1 junior, reached the third round of men's doubles in last year's Australian Open with Michael Venus of New Zealand. Ebden won the Australian Open mixed doubles title two years ago with Jarmila Gajdosova, a Slovakian-born Australian who played for the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis last month.
   Then there's Daniel, who was born in New York, grew up in Japan and plays for that country but lives in Spain and considers the Comerica Bank Challenger his hometown tournament. Got all that? He defeated Farrukh Dustof of Uzbekistan 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals.
   Daniel, 22, led by two service breaks in the first set and served for the set twice. Dustof, who reached the Aptos semifinals two years ago as a qualifier, injured a groin muscle chasing a drop shot late in the second set and stopped running in the third set.
   Daniel has an American father, Paul, and a Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved from New York to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14.
  Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz. A financial manager for TRW Automotive, he and Yasue moved from Spain to Soquel in the Santa Cruz area a few months ago. Taro, however, remains based in Valencia in the tennis hotbed of Spain.
   "It's a lot easier for him to work from here," Daniel said of his father. "His company is American. For me, basing myself in Spain is better for my tennis, so I plan on staying for the moment. I don't know what will happen in the future."
   Daniel, tall and slender at 6-foot-3 (1.91 meters) and 168 pounds (76 kilograms), had a large rooting section at his match.
   "All these people from this side (of the net) are related to me," he said. "My dad's from here, and I train at this club whenever I'm over here. I definitely consider this my second home."
   Daniel was less adamant about his national loyalties. He hesitated when asked if he feels mostly American, Japanese or Spanish.
   "Um, I think Japanese might be the most correct thing for me to say because I lived there until I was 14," he said. The first 10 years are where you kind of define your life.
   "I don't really feel 100 percent of any one of them. I definitely don't feel Spanish. Either Japanese or American."
   Daniel, ranked No. 112, will face top-seeded John Millman of Australia for the first time in a marquee matchup on Friday. Millman, 26, beat then-No. 19 Tommy Robredo of Spain in the first round at Wimbledon in late June as a qualifier and won the Lexington (Ky.) Challenger two weeks ago to attain a career-high ranking of No. 84. He is now No. 85.
   "He's been playing really well this year, especially the last few weeks, and played a really good match against (Roger) Federer at the beginning of the year," Daniel noted. "I saw that match and respect him a lot, but if I can play a little better than I did today, I think I can give myself a chance."
   Millman, playing in his hometown of Brisbane, lost to Federer 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round in January. Daniel, who fell to American Denis Kudla in the second round of qualifying in Brisbane, said Millman "was about to win, which really surprised me because Federer was playing well as well. But I don't think I'm too far from (Millman's) level."       
   Millman, Daniel added, "is very solid from the back (of the court). He has a similar game to myself. Maybe he hits the ball a little flatter."

Matt Seeberger, shown today, starred at UC Santa Cruz near Aptos
and began playing on the pro tour, strictly in doubles, last year at 30.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Seeberger, a 31-year-old San Francisco native, collected NCAA titles like beer bottles at UC Santa Cruz. He won a record eight of them (three singles, three doubles and two team). Seeberger transferred to Hawaii in the fall of his senior year but returned to UC Santa Cruz in the spring.
   "We didn't get a certain recruit we were looking for," he explained. "The team wouldn't be as strong as I was hoping for."
   After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with highest honors in economics, the analytical Seeberger began coaching privately in the San Francisco Bay Area.
   "I didn't want to play professional tennis," he asserted. "I felt I had done everything I wanted to do with tennis in college. I wanted to start coaching and pursuing other avenues."
   Finally, though, Seeberger couldn't resist the lure of the pro tour. He joined the Futures circuit, equivalent to the low minor leagues in baseball, last year in June.
   "I was encouraged by some good friends to go out and play and just focus on doubles," said the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Seeberger, who displayed a well-paced serve, excellent return of serve and lightning-quick reflexes in today's match. "I thought it would be fun to try. I (had) paid off all my deft from school, and I didn't have any attachments -- no wife or kids -- at that moment."
   That didn't last long. Seeberger married Kelly, from Vancouver, British Columbia, in January and immediately moved there.
   In just over one year, Seeberger has soared from No. 1,334 in the world doubles rankings to No. 159.
   "It's gone way better than my expectations," he admitted.
   To reach his goal of playing regularly on the ATP World Tour, the major leagues of men's tennis, Seeberger must crack the top 100.
   Now Seeberger can see playing another "10 or 15 years if I feel it's the right thing to do with my life and my family. I'll keep playing until something else comes along."       
   Notes -- Two teenagers met in the featured night match as eighth-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan beat U.S. wild card Jared Donaldson 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
   Nishioka, 19, might have pulled off the shot of the year on the Challenger tour late in the third set. After Donaldson had wrong-footed him, Nishioka struck a clean behind-the-back passing shot down the line. He immediately flipped his racket to the court in disbelief, raised his arms triumphantly, turned to his camp and smiled widely. Even Donaldson, 18, applauded with one hand and his racket.
   Other than their ages, Nishioka and Donaldson are opposites. Nishioka is a 5-foot-7 (1.70-meter), 141-pound (64-kilogram) left-hander. Donaldson is a 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter), 160-pound (73-kilogram) righty. ...     
   All seeds still have advanced as the quarterfinalists in the top half of the draw have been determined. Millman has had the easiest time, dropping only seven games in two matches. No. 3 Kyle Edmund of Great Britain also has not lost a set. Daniel and Nishioka, meanwhile, each have survived a pair of three-set matches. ...
   Age hasn't mellowed John Paul Fruttero, a 34-year-old doubles specialist. The former Cal All-American, playing in his first pro tournament since reaching the Aptos quarterfinals with Brian Baker three years ago, showed up as usual with his mohawk dyed Cal Bears blue.
   Wild cards Fruttero and Andre Dome, both Californians, lost to qualifiers Marius Copil of Romania and Andrew Rublev, a 17-year-old Russian, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Fruttero reached the Aptos final four years ago with Raven Klaasen of South Africa, and Rublev finished last year as the world's No. 1 junior in singles. ...
   Another pair of California wild cards, Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the Bay Area and Daniel Nguyen, fell to top-seeded Chris Guccione of Australia and Artem Sitak of New Zealand 2-6, 7-5 [10-6]. Guccione won three straight Aptos doubles titles (2009-11) with countryman Carsten Ball.

$100,000 COMERICA BANK CHALLENGER

At Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

Second-round singles

   Kyle Edmund (3), Great Britain, def. Daniel Nguyen, United States, 7-5, 6-3.
   John Millman (1), Australia, def. Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, 6-3, 6-2.
   Taro Daniel (5), Japan, def. Farrukh Dustov, Uzbekistan, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-0.
   Yoshihito Nishioka (8), Japan, def. Jared Donaldson, United States, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. 

First-round doubles

   Austin Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe (2), United States, def. Deiton Baughman and Eric Johnson, United States, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

   Marius Copil, Romania, and Andre Rublev, Russia, def. Andre Dome and John Paul Fruttero, United States, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
   Chris Guccione, Australia, and Artem Sitak (1), New Zealand, def. Daniel Nguyen and Dennis Novikov, United States, 2-6, 7-5 [10-6].
   Dean O'Brien and Ruan Roelofse (3), South Africa, def. Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, and Nicolas Jarry, Chile, 5-7, 6-3 [10-8].
   Karen Khachanov, Russia, and Elias Ymer, Sweden, def. Carsten Ball, Australia, and Somdev Devvarman, India, 6-7 (3), 6-1 [10-8]. 
   Yuki Bhambri, India, and Matthew Ebden, Australia, def. Julio Peralta, Chile, and Matt Seeberger (4), United States, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3).
   Ruben Gonzales, Philippines, and Darren Walsh, Great Britain, def. Guilherme Clezar, Brazil, and Brydan Klein, Great Britain, 5-7, 6-3 [10-8]. 

   Malek Jaziri, Tunisia, and Ze Zhang, China, def. Farrukh Dustov, Uzbekistan, and Jurgen Zopp, Estonia, 7-5, 7-5. 

Thursday's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Austin Krajicek (7), United States, vs. Mischa Zverev, Germany.
   Bjorn Fratangelo (4), United States, vs. Elias Ymer, Sweden.
   Malek Jaziri (2), Tunisia, vs. Guilherme Clezar, Brazil.  

(Not before 6 p.m.)

    Tommy Haas, Germany, vs. Matthew Ebden (6), Australia.

Court 5

(Starting at 2 p.m.)

   Chris Guccione, Australia, and Artem Sitak (1), New Zealand, vs. Ruben Gonzales, Philippines, and Darren Walsh, Great Britain.

(Not before 4 p.m.)

   Austin Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe (2), United States, vs. Marius Copil, Romania, and Andrey Rublev, Russia.

   Dean O'Brien and Ruan Roelofse (3), South Africa, vs. Karen Khachanov, Russia, and Elias Ymer, Sweden.

Blake shows class while winning Sacramento title

   Notes from the recent $100,000 Challengers in Sacramento and Tiburon:
   Class act -- James Blake won more than the singles trophy in Sacramento. The former world No. 4 also won many friends with his sportsmanship and politeness.
   Most notably, the seeded-second Blake conceded a point in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over qualifier Taro Daniel of Japan in the first round. With Daniel serving at 15-30 in the first game of the second set, Blake appeared to win the point when Daniel hit a lob long. But Blake notified the chair umpire that he had nicked the ball with his racket. Otherwise, no one would have known.
   Throughout the week, Blake said "Too good" when opponents hit passing shots and thanked ballboys and ballgirls for giving him balls.
   On the rare occasions when Blake made a bad error, he didn't yell, belt a ball into the next county or smash his racket to smithereens. He simply admonished himself by muttering "James" in a disappointed tone like a father to his son for neglecting to take out the trash.
   The oldest player in the singles draw, Blake will turn 33 on Dec. 28. He hopes to play for another year or more. Whenever he retires, it will be a sad day. 
   International intrigue -- Daniel, the youngest player in the singles draw at 19, has an unusual background. He was born in New York, grew up in Japan, lives in Spain and visits Santa Cruz in Northern California every year.
   Daniel's father, a financial manager for TRW Automotive in Spain, is from Santa Cruz, and his mother is Japanese.
   Consummate pro -- Rik de Voest, who won the singles title of the inaugural (2005) Sacramento Challenger and the doubles crown in Tiburon last week (with Chris Guccione), is a throwback. He wins with guile rather than power, volleys deftly and, like Blake, conducts himself professionally.
   Only 5-foot-11 (180 centimeters) and 150 pounds (68 kilograms), de Voest compensates for his lack of power with mental toughness, craftiness and consistency. The 32-year-old South African keeps the ball in play until 1) his opponent makes an error or 2) he can pound the ball into a corner and come to the net for a putaway volley. He is ranked No. 185 in singles (career-high No. 110 in 2006) and No. 131 in doubles (career-high No. 36 in 2009).
   De Voest had no business beating Rhyne Williams in the first round in Sacramento yet prevailed 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 3 hours, 13 minutes. Williams served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and led 4-1 (one service break) in the third set.
   Williams, 21, is a prototypical young American. He has size -- 6-foot-1 (185 centimeters) and 177 pounds (80 kilograms) -- a big serve and forehand, and a volatile temper. While de Voest kept his cool in the match, Williams went ballistic.
   After de Voest hit a topspin lob to break for 5-4 in the third set, Williams smashed his racket on the court three times and was assessed a point penalty. Earlier, Williams had received a warning for pounding a ball over the fence.
   Fan-demonium -- Players often argue with the chair umpire. But with a spectator? It happened at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento during Tennys Sandgren's 6-4, 6-3 second-round victory over Matt Reid of Australia.
   Sandgren, a 21-year-old American who won the doubles title with ex-University of Tennessee teammate Williams, complained to the chair umpire about not informing him that new balls were being used.
   "Yes, he did," spectator Bob Martinez, the junior tennis coordinator at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area, told Sandgren. "Everybody heard him. You're complaining about everything. Just play ball."
   "Who are you?" Sandgren shot back.
   "Just a spectator," Martinez said.
   "That's all you need to say," Sandgren replied.
   After the match, Sandgren approached Martinez, and they cordially discussed the incident.
   "It wasn't just the balls," Martinez said later. "It was everything. He was yelling at the ballkids to move over faster. They were freaking out. It really bothered me because I work with kids. I would have regretted it if I hadn't said anything."
   Yankee Doodle Dandies -- Sacramento and Tiburon fans likely have witnessed the next generation of U.S. Davis Cup players.
   The front-runners to succeed John Isner, 27, and Sam Querrey, 25, in singles appear to be 62nd-ranked Ryan Harrison and No. 165 Jack Sock, both 20. Harrison reached the final of the Tiburon Challenger in 2010, and Sock won it last week. Sock already has won two U.S. Open titles, boys singles in 2010 and mixed doubles (with Melanie Oudin) last year.
   The top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan, 34-year-old identical twins, could play for another five years. Ironically, another pair of brothers, Ryan and Christian Harrison (18), might succeed them. In only their second pro tournament together, they stunned fourth seeds and reigning finalists Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland en route to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last month.
   Christian lost in the first round of singles in last year's Sacramento Futures. He did not play doubles in the tournament at the Park Terrace Swim & Tennis Club.
  Also in the doubles mix are Sandgren and Williams, and the Sacramento runners-up, Devin Britton (21) and Austin Krajicek (22). After the All-American doubles final, the Tiburon title match was an all-foreign affair. De Voest and Australia's Guccione, seeded fourth, beat second-seeded Jordan Kerr of Australia and Andreas Siljestrom of Sweden 6-1, 6-4.