Ex-NorCal star Norrie advances to BNP final; Fritz falls

No. 21 seed Cameron Norrie is scheduled to meet No. 29 seed
Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in
Indian Wells on Sunday. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz, each of whom won back-to-back Northern California Challengers early in their professional careers, played today in the semifinals of the prestigious BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

   The 21st-seeded Norrie, a 26-year-old left-hander from Great Britain, dispatched 23rd-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-4. Then 29th-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia beat the 31st-seeded Fritz, a 23-year-old resident of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Basilashvili saved three set points in the first set and all seven break points he faced, including two in the final game.

   It's the first time all semifinalists in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, the highest level besides the Grand Slams, have been ranked outside the top 25. Of course, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem — who have combined to win 14 of the last 16 Indian Wells singles titles — did not play.

   Dimitrov, ranked 28th after reaching a career-high No. 3 in 2017, was coming off three-set victories over top-seeded Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday and eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday. Norrie, meanwhile, breezed past 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-2 in 73 minutes in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

   Norrie — who was born in South Africa, grew up in New Zealand, starred at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and lives in London — called the Dimitrov clash "the biggest match of my career, following on from (Thursday), which was the biggest match. There was even more pressure today. I came out and played really physical. Grigor was maybe a little tired from the other matches, but he fought hard and made it physical at the start of the second set, which wasn't easy."

   Norrie won the Tiburon and Stockton Challengers in 2017. Fritz took the Sacramento and Fairfield crowns at 17 in 2015.

   Norrie and Basilashvili, 29, are scheduled to meet Sunday after the 1 p.m. women's final between No. 21 seed Paula Badosa of Spain and No. 27 seed Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2016 champion. Tennis Channel will televise both matches.

   As a qualifier in Rotterdam in March, Norrie routed Basilashvili 6-0, 6-3 on an indoor hardcourt in the first round in their only previous encounter. Azarenka, a 32-year-old mother, and Badosa, a 23-year-old New York native, are set to meet for the first time.    

Dimitrov makes big comeback, shocks Medvedev in BNP

Grigor Dimitrov leaves the court after practicing with Alexander
Zverev last week in Indian Wells, Calif. Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov rallied from a set and two breaks down to stun Daniil Medvedev, seeded first and ranked second, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 today in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.

   Dimitrov, a 30-year-old Bulgarian, overcame a 1-4 deficit in the second set and reached the quarterfinals in Indian Wells for the first time.

   "He is such a tough player and competitor," Dimitrov said in an on-court interview after improving to 2-3 against Medvedev, who won his first Grand Slam title in the U.S. Open last month. "Over the past year, I have played him a few times and haven't been able to find a way. But today, I just felt something at 1-4, and I calmed myself down and started to take better decisions and started to control the pace of the game, which I really believe helped me. In the end, it was just very solid and smart play."

   Dimitrov, ranked No. 28 after climbing as high as No. 3 in 2017, next will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, seeded eighth and ranked 12th. Hurkacz, who advanced to his first major semifinal at Wimbledon in July and won his third ATP title of the year in Metz, France, last month, dismissed No. 19 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-1, 6-3 in 63 minutes.

   Also reaching the quarterfinals were No. 21 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and No. 31 seed Taylor Fritz of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area. Both won back-to-back Northern California Challengers, Norrie in Tiburon and Stockton in 2017 and Fritz in Sacramento and Fairfield at 17 in 2015.

   In the BNP women's quarterfinals, No. 27 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated No. 19 seed Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 6-2.

   Azarenka, a 32-year-old mother and former world No. 1, won Indian Wells in 2012 and 2016 and the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2010. Pegula reached a NorCal Challenger final in 2012 at 18 and semifinal in 2018. 

   Azarenka is scheduled to meet Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, the No. 24 seed who eliminated unseeded Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Rogers played on her 29th birthday.

   Ostapenko ousted No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland on Tuesday in a matchup of former French Open champions. Rogers reached the round of 16 in the recent U.S. Open, knocking off top-ranked Ashleigh Barty before losing to eventual champion Emma Raducanu.

   The other two women's quarterfinals are set for Thursday.

Dimitrov, Coric test positive after exhibitions

   This is not encouraging.
   Within a week of the announcements that the professional tours will resume in August and the U.S. Open will be played Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 as scheduled but without fans, top-35 players Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Borna Coric of Croatia said they tested positive for the coronavirus.
   Dimitrov, ranked 19th, and Coric, ranked 33rd, played in last week's Adria Tour, an exhibition series organized by top-ranked Novak Djokovic, in Serbia and Croatia.
   "I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during the last few days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions," Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist, revealed Sunday on Instagram. "I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering."
  Coric – who has beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray twice each – expressed similar sentiments today in a tweet and added that he has no symptoms.
   Djokovic's fitness coach, Marco Panichi, also tested positive, Serbian daily Sportski Zurnal reported.
   "We are really sorry," event director Djordje Djokovic, Novak's younger brother, told reporters regarding the positive tests. "We tried our best to respect all measures, and we did respect all measures imposed by the governments of Serbia and Croatia."
   Both countries, however, have eased have lockdown measures in recent weeks. Fans packed the stands for the Adria Tour, and players hugged at the net, posed for pictures together and danced at clubs, ESPN reported.
   Sunday's final between Novak Djokovic and 14th-ranked Andrey Rublev of Russia was canceled. Djokovic, who said in April that he opposes vaccinations, has no symptoms but will be tested for the coronavirus, according to his media team.
   Rublev and top-10 players Dominic Thiem of Austria and Alexander Zverev of Germany, both of whom also played in the Adria Tour, said they would self-isolate despite negative tests.
   Nick Kyrgios of Australia blasted the series.
   "Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the 'exhibition' speedy recovery fellas, but that's what happens when you disregard all protocols," Kyrgios tweeted today. "This IS NOT A JOKE."

World TeamTennis to play full season at W.V. resort

Sofia Kenin, ranked fourth, headlines the World Team-
Tennis rosters this season. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman 

   World TeamTennis will play its entire season at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., the league announced today.
   The regular season is scheduled for July 12-30, and the four-team playoffs are set for Aug. 1-2. Play on the men's and women's pro tours has been suspended until at least Aug. 3.
   CBS will broadcast a WTT regular-season match on July 19 and the WTT Final on Aug. 2. CBS Sports Network will carry 13 regular-season matches and the Aug. 1 semifinals.
   WTT will play at least three matches per day at The Greenbrier's 2,500-seat outdoor stadium, and an indoor court will be installed as a backup. In accordance with state health guidelines, WTT will allow up to 500 fans to attend the outdoor matches.
   The nine-team league consists of the two-time defending champion Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, Las Vegas Rollers, Orange County Breakers, San Diego Aviators, New York Empire, Orlando Storm, Philadelphia Freedoms, Washington Kastles and expansion Chicago Smash.
   This season's players include:
   –Sofia Kenin (Philadelphia), the world No. 4 and reigning Australian Open champion.
   –Sloane Stephens (Chicago), the 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up.
   –Grigor Dimitrov (Orange County), a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist.
   –Bob and Mike Bryan (Las Vegas), who have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles.
   –Sam Querrey (Las Vegas), a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017.
   –Tennys Sandgren (Orlando), a two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist.
   –Neal Skupski (New York), last year's WTT Male MVP.
   Kenin won Northern California Challengers in three consecutive years – Sacramento at 17 in 2016, Stockton and Berkeley.
   Stephens grew up in Fresno, the Bryan twins starred at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, and Querrey was born in San Francisco.
   The Bryans, Sandgren and Skupski played for the Sacramento area-based California Dream in 2015, the team's only year of existence.

Nadal to meet Medvedev in U.S. Open final

Rafael Nadal, shown in 2017, can pull within one of Roger Federer's record 20
Grand Slam singles titles. Photo by Mal Taam

   Daniil Medvedev is known as a fast learner, among other things.
   He had better be.
   The rising Russian star must figure out how to beat Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open final on Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT on ESPN. Good luck with that.
   Four weeks ago, Nadal drubbed Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 for the Montreal title in their only previous career meeting.
   Nadal, seeded second, and Medvedev, seeded fifth, reached the final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., with victories by remarkably similar scores on Friday.
   Nadal, 33, eliminated 24th-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-1. The 6-foot-6 (1.97-meter) Medvedev, 23, downed unseeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam final.
   Nadal seeks his second U.S. Open title in three years and fourth overall. He can pull within one of Roger Federer's record 20 major singles crowns.
   Medvedev improved to 20-2 since Wimbledon with his 12th consecutive victory, including his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.
   Earlier Friday, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia won their second consecutive Grand Slam title. The top seeds beat eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-4, 7-5.

Dimitrov shocks Federer in U.S. Open quarterfinals

Grigor Dimitrov beat Roger Federer for the first
time in eight matches. File photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second consecutive year, Roger Federer wilted before the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

   Last year, it was against 55th-ranked John Millman in extreme humidity in the fourth round.

   On Tuesday night, it was against 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov, who had been 0-7 against the Swiss star, in the quarterfinals.

   Dimitrov, ranked a career-high No. 3 as recently as November 2017, beat the third-seeded Federer 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   "Grigor was able to put me away," Federer, who was seeking a record-breaking sixth U.S. Open singles title, told reporters. "I fought with what I had."

   Federer, 38, took a rare medical timeout after the fourth set for pain in his upper back and neck. He put up little resistance in the fifth set and finished with 60 unforced errors to Dimitrov's 41.

   "He started slowing down a little bit," the 28-year-old Dimitrov, who's known as "Baby Fed" because of his one-handed backhand and artistry on the court, said in an on-court interview. "For sure, in the end, he was not 100 percent of himself."

   Dimitrov, who had lost six of his last seven matches entering the U.S. Open, will jump to at least No. 25 on Monday. In his third Grand Slam singles semifinal, he is scheduled to meet fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Friday. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 23, beat 23rd-seeded Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

   In Medvedev's last three tournaments before the U.S. Open, he reached the finals in Washington, D.C., and Montreal and won his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. 

   Wawrinka won his third and last Grand Slam singles in the 2016 U.S. Open but underwent two knee operations in 2017. 

   Medvedev and Dimitrov have split two career meetings, both in 2017.

   In the women's quarterfinals, eighth seed and six-time champion Serena Williams demolished 18th-seeded Wang Qiang of China 6-1, 6-0 in 44 minutes. That tied Simona Halep's third-round victory over Viktoria Kuzmova in Madrid for the shortest WTA match of the year, wtatennis.com reported.

   Williams, a 37-year-old part-time resident of Silicon Valley, is set to play fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Thursday. 

   Svitolina, who reached the San Jose quarterfinals as the top seed this summer, eliminated 16th-seeded Johanna Konta, the champion of the 2016 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, 6-4, 6-4.
   Williams is 4-1 against the 24-year-old Svitolina, but they have not met since 2016.

   In junior singles:

   –Aidan Mayo, a 16-year-old product of Roseville in the Sacramento area, defeated Juan Bautista Torres of Argentina 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the second round.

   –Fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China dominated Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa region 6-0, 6-2 in the second round.

   –Katie Volynets, 17, of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, outplayed Carole Monnet of France 6-1, 6-3 in the first round.

   In the first round of junior doubles:

   –Sixth-seeded Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain and Gauthier Onclin of Belgium beat Cash Hanzlik of Portland, Ore., and Mayo 6-2, 6-2.

   –Nicolas Alvarez Varona of Spain and Bautista Torres defeated Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose and Benjamin Kittay of Potomac, Md., 7-5, 7-5.

   –Top-seeded Alexa Noel of Summit, N.J., and Diane Parry of France beat India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay Area and Carol Young Suh Lee of Northern Mariana Islands 6-1, 6-4.

   –Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei and Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand topped identical twins Allura and Maribella Zamarripa 7-5, 5-7 [10-2].

Collins crushes Kerber; Federer, Stephens fall

Danielle Collins, playing at Indian Wells last March, demolished second-seeded
Angelique Kerber 6-0, 6-2 today in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Photo by Mal Taam

   Danielle Collins didn't just beat Angelique Kerber.
   She crushed her.
   Collins, a 25-year-old American, dismissed the second-seeded Kerber 6-0, 6-2 in 56 minutes today in the Australian Open in Melbourne to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
   Collins overwhelmed Kerber, who won the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and 2016 Australian Open for the first of her three major singles titles, with blistering groundstrokes.
   Collins slugged 29 winners to Kerber's six. Both players committed 17 unforced errors.
   "I had a solid warmup, and I was feeling great," Collins, from Tampa, Fla., said in an on-court interview. "My coaches gave me a great game plan, and I executed it well.
   "They said, 'You're physically stronger than her, and you can rally with her. It's up to you.' I was feeling my shots today, so I decided to put the pedal to the metal and put pressure on her."
   Collins, a two-time NCAA singles champion from the University of Virginia, had never won a main-draw match in a Grand Slam tournament until this week. She reached the semifinals in last year's inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose and the quarterfinals in the 2017 Sacramento Challenger.
   Collins will take on resurgent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. The unseeded Pavlyuchenkova, who played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in 2006 at 15, beat fifth-seeded Sloane Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3.
   Another former Australian Open champion, Maria Sharapova, also lost. Ashleigh Barty, seeded 15th, eliminated Sharapova, the 30th seed and 2008 titlist, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to become the first Australian to reach the quarters in Melbourne since Jelena Dokic in 2009.
   Sharapova was coming off a three-set victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki.
   Barty will play Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion who breezed past 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes. Anisimova won her first professional title in the 2017 Sacramento Challenger at 15.
   On the men's side, 14th-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, ousted third seed and two-time defending champion Roger Federer 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5) to become the first Greek to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. Tsitsipas saved four set points in the second set.
   Federer, who has won a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles, failed to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Slam and the semifinals for the fourth major in a row.
   Unseeded American Frances Tiafoe, playing on his 21st birthday, beat 20th seed and friend Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-5, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 7-5 to gain his first major quarterfinal.
   Tiafoe, the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, celebrated by taking off his shirt, slapping his right biceps again, getting down on his knees, lowering his head and slapping the court. He had to compose himself before speaking in an on-court interview.
   "I told my parents 10 years ago that I was going to be a pro to change their lives and my life," said Tiafoe, who will earn at least $330,000 (U.S.). "Now I'm in the quarters of a Slam. It's unbelievable."
   Tiafoe, who won the $100,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger in 2016 and ousted fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson in the second round of the Australian Open, will take on Rafael Nadal, the second seed and 2009 Australian Open champion who outclassed unseeded Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
   In doubles, fourth-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan and ninth-seeded Raquel Atawo and Katarina Srebotnik advanced to the men's and women's quarterfinals, respectively.
   The 40-year-old Bryans (Stanford, 1997-98) defeated Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (4).
   Atawo (Cal, 2001-04), a 36-year-old Sacramento resident, and Srebotnik, a 37-year-old Slovenian, topped Romanians Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

McDonald falls to Dimitrov in Aussie Open thriller

   Three months ago, Mackenzie McDonald won his first Challenger singles title in front of a few hundred fans at Solano Community College in the Northern California town of Fairfield.
   The 22-year-old product of Piedmont, a 45-minute drive south of Solano, played on a slightly bigger stage early today (PST).
   McDonald, a qualifier, fell to third seed and 2017 semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 8-6 in the featured night match at 14,820-seat Rod Laver Arena in the Australian Open. The second-round battle in Melbourne lasted 3 hours, 25 minutes.
   "I have to give him credit," Dimitrov, who won the ATP Finals last November, told reporters. "He came out there and started swinging. Played an unbelievable first set. There was honestly not much I could have done. He was serving well, close to the lines, swinging freely, coming to the net, trying to play a different game. In a way, he knew that was the only way he could actually give me trouble."
   The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter), 145-pound (66-kilogram) McDonald, ranked No. 186, was playing in only his second Grand Slam tournament. He lost to Jan Satral of the Czech Republic in five sets in the first round of the 2016 U.S. Open after receiving an automatic wild card for winning the NCAA singles title (he also won the doubles crown) as a UCLA junior and turning pro.
   In a late women's second-round match, former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs of Santa Monica lost to 30th-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6 (3), 6-0.
   Meanwhile, Los Angeles-area residents Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, doubles semifinalists in the 2015 U.S. Open, ousted 14th-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. Querrey, 30, was born in San Francisco.
   In other doubles matches:
   --Sixth seeds and ex-Stanford stars Bob and Mike Bryan topped Marton Fucsovics of Hungary and Yoshihito Nishioka 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. The 39-year-old Bryan twins won the last of their record 16 majors in men's doubles, including six in the Australian Open, in the 2014 U.S. Open.
   --Former Cal standout Ben McLachlan, a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native Japan, and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany defeated Australian wild cards Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-3.
   --No. 12 seeds Raquel Atawo of San Jose and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany eliminated Aussie wild cards Astra Sharma and Belinda Woolcock 7-6 (2), 6-3.
   --Second-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia beat Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, 6-4, 6-4.
   --Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia and Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia dismissed 18-year-olds CiCi Bellis, a San Francisco Bay Area product, and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal tops Dimitrov in thriller, will face Federer

Rafael Nadal reached his first Grand Slam final since winning the 2014
French Open for his 14th major singles title. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Welcome to the Retro Open.
   Venus vs. Serena in their first Grand Slam final in eight years. 
  Roger vs. Rafa in their first major title match in six years.
   Who will the chair umpires be, Doc Brown and Marty McFly?
   Rafael Nadal, seeded No. 9, completed the matchups with a stirring 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over No. 15 Grigor Dimitrov in 4 hours, 56 minutes today in the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Dimitrov had opened the year with 10 consecutive victories. The 25-year-old Bulgarian won Brisbane for his fifth ATP World Tour title.
   Of the four singles finalists, Nadal is the only one under 35, and he's no youngster at 30.
   "It's special to play with Roger again in a final of a Grand Slam," Nadal told reporters. "I cannot lie. It's great. It's exciting for me and for both of us that we are still there and we are still fighting for important events. So that's important for us, I think. That's very special."
   Nadal, who had been plagued by injuries and a subsequent loss of confidence, reached his first Grand Slam final since winning the 2014 French Open for his 14th major singles title. He added fellow Mallorcan and former world No. 1 Carlos Moya to his coaching team at the end of last year. Moya had been working with world No. 3 Milos Raonic.
   The women's final is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 a.m. California time, and the men's final is set for Sunday at the same time. ESPN will televise the matches. Unfairly, Federer, who beat Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the semifinals, has two days to rest and Nadal one.

Federer won the last of his record 17 Grand Slam singles titles
at Wimbledon in 2012. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Federer, 35, is playing in his first official tournament since losing to Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals last July. Federer was out with a knee injury.
   Nadal has a 23-11 record against Federer with five victories in their last six matches. Nadal leads 6-2 in Grand Slam finals (4-0 on clay in the French Open) and 3-0 in Australian Open matches, including a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 victory in the 2009 final.
   This will be the first meeting between the superstars since Federer won 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on an indoor hardcourt in the final of Federer's hometown tournament in Basel in October 2015. It will be their first matchup in a Grand Slam final since Nadal triumphed in four sets in the 2011 French Open.
   Federer won the last of his record 17 Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon in 2012. Nadal is tied with Pete Sampras for second place with 14.
   Serena Williams, meanwhile, is even with Steffi Graf for the Open Era mark of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The Open Era began in 1968, when professionals were admitted to Grand Slam tournaments. Margaret Court holds the all-time record of 24.
   Venus, who was diagnosed with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease in 2011, will be playing in her first Grand Slam final since losing to Serena at Wimbledon in 2009. Venus has won seven major singles titles, most recently Wimbledon in 2008.
   The sisters have combined to win five singles titles in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Venus triumphed in 2000 and 2002, and Serena prevailed in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
   Serena, 35, is 16-11 against Venus, 36. Their meetings are halfhearted affairs because neither wants to beat the other. Look for Serena to put on a dramatic show about how hard she's fighting but, consciously or subconsciously, let Venus win one last Grand Slam title. Serena will have more chances to surpass Graf and Court.
   Venus will win in three sets, giving the match the illusion of being competitive. Memo to Venus and Serena: For what's left of your careers, do everyone a favor and don't play in the same tournaments. You can alternate Slams. Thank you.

Federer, Sharapova achieve career milestones

Roger Federer
2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova reached milestones on Thursday in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Federer, seeded No. 3, defeated No. 27 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 3-6 6-1, 6-4 to become the first man with 300 Grand Slam victories.
   "It's very exciting, I must tell you," Federer, who will turn 35 in August, said on ausopen.com. "Like when I reached 1,000 (overall match victories) last year, it was a big deal for me. Not something I ever aimed for or looked for, but when it happens, it's very special.
   "You look deeper into it, where it's all happened and how. Yeah, so it's very nice. I'm very happy."
   A distant second on the list in the Open Era is Jimmy Connors at 233 Grand Slam wins. Federer needs seven more to surpass Martina Navratilova for the overall record, which he should achieve at Wimbledon this summer.
   Dimitrov, 24, has been called "Baby Fed" because his talent and playing style are similar to Federer's. Both have sensational one-handed backhands.
   Sharapova, the No. 5 seed and 2008 champion, topped Lauren Davis of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0 to become the 16th woman with 600 career wins.
   "Oh, wow, I've won 600 matches?" Sharapova, 28, mused on ausopen.com. "Oh, boy. Is this like a friendly reminder that I'm getting older?"

Maria Sharapova
2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Sharapova, who at 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters) is 1 foot (30.5 centimeters) taller than Davis, was the runner-up to Victoria Azarenka in the 2010 Bank of the West Classic. Davis reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 Redding Challenger at 17.
   Daria Gavrilova, who won the doubles title in the 2014 Sacramento Challenger (with fellow Australian Storm Sanders) in her first tournament back from reconstructive ACL surgery, upset a seed for the second straight match.
   After knocking off No. 6 Petra Kvitova, the 21-year-old Moscow native edged No. 28 Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-4, 4-6, 11-9.
   Gavrilova will face No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, who took the doubles crown in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic with fellow Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, for a quarterfinal berth.
   In the second round of men's doubles, 13th-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., defeated California natives Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
   Johnson, a Southern Californian who won the 2012 Aptos Challenger, and Querrey, who was born in San Francisco, advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals last September, ousting top seeds and defending champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the first round.
   Klaasen and Ram will face the third-seeded Bryan twins for a berth in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
   Querrey, 28, and Ram, who will turn 32 in March, won the doubles title in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose with separate partners. Querrey triumphed with now-retired Mardy Fish in 2010, and Ram prevailed with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky in 2011.
   Ram was the singles runner-up to Wayne Odesnik in the Sacramento Challenger 10 years ago. Odesnik, a 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) left-hander from Florida, was suspended for 15 years last March for his second doping violation.
   Ram also reached the Sacramento doubles final in 2008 with John Isner. They lost to fellow Americans Brian and Dann Battistone.
   Brian Battistone employed a unique volleyball-style jump serve, switching his racket hand in mid-air. Both Battistones used a bizarre two-handled racket.

French Open Day 3 highlights: No. 6 Bouchard exits

No. 6 seed Eugenie Bouchard lost to Kristina Mladen-
ovic in the first round. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- You could see this one coming.
   Kristina Mladenovic, playing in her home country, dispatched sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
  Mladenovic, a two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, eliminated No. 2 seed and 2011 champion Li Na in the first round of last year's French Open.
   Bouchard, a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year, has won just one match in her last six events.
   Notable -- Jack Sock of Tampa, Fla., beat 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-3. It's the second year in a row that Dimitrov, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, has lost in the opening round at Roland Garros. He fell to 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Ivo Karlovic in 2014.
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 6 Rafael Nadal (nine-time champion, including last five years), No. 7 David Ferrer, No. 9 Marin Cilic, No. 15 Kevin Anderson, No. 16 John Isner, No. 20 Richard Gasquet, No. 23 Leonardo Mayer.
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 10 Dimitrov.
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 1 Serena Williams (2002 and 2013 champion), No. 4 Petra Kvitova, No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 10 Andrea Petkovic, No. 16 Madison Keys, No. 18 Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009 champion), No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky, No. 32 Zarina Diyas.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 6 Bouchard, No. 25 Jelena Jankovic. 
   Stars and stripes -- After the first round,  three of seven U.S. men remain (No. 16 Isner, Sock and Steve Johnson), and four of 17 American women are left (No. 1 Williams, No. 16 Keys, Sloane Stephens and Irina Falconi -- all in the top half of the draw).
   Fast fact -- Nadal's No. 6 seeding is his lowest in a Grand Slam tournament since 2005.
   Northern California connection -- Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis, and Johnson defeated Martin Klizan of Slovakia and Philipp Oswald of Austria 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the first round. ... Ex-Stanford standout Scott Lipsky of Irvine and Treat Huey of the Philippines lost to 13th-seeded Marin Draganja of Croatia and Henri Kontinen of Finland 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
   Quote -- French wild card Maxime Hamou on winner Jerzy Janowicz's exaggerated handshake and finger-pointing after the match: "I found it was a little edgy on his part. There is nothing else I have to say at this point. I think a lot of players know him; I did not know him. I know him now."

Wimbledon Day 9 highlights: Dimitrov topples Murray

Grigor Dimitrov reached his first Grand Slam
semifinal. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- There will be no royal repeat. Third-seeded Andy Murray, who last year became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years, fell to 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Murray underwent "minor" back surgery last September and hired 2006 Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach last month on a trial basis. Dimitrov, 23, reached his first Grand Slam semifinal.
    Men's semifinal matchups -- Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, vs. Dimitrov and Roger Federer (4), Switzerland, vs. Milos Raonic (8), Canada.
   Djokovic, the 2011 champion, topped 26th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2. Federer, seeking a record eighth Wimbledon men's singles title, outplayed ailing countryman Stan Wawrinka, seeded fifth, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
   Raonic, 23, advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal and ended the run of 19-year-old wild card Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Kyrgios, who saved nine match points against 13th-seeded Richard Gasquet in the second round, had less than 24 hours to prepare mentally after ousting top-ranked Rafael Nadal.   
   Women's semifinal matchups -- Simona Halep (3), Romania, vs. Eugenie Bouchard (13), Canada, and Petra Kvitova (6), Czech Republic, vs. Lucie Safarova (23), Czech Republic.
   Halep, who reached her first Grand Slam final last month in the French Open, defeated 19th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, last year's Wimbledon runner-up to Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-0.
   Bouchard, the 2012 Wimbledon girls singles champion, dispatched ninth-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4. Bouchard, 20, is the only woman to reach the semifinals at all three Grand Slam tournaments this year.
   Notable -- In women's doubles, top seeds and defending champions Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China lost to 14th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the third round.
   U.S. report -- Only Bob and Mike Bryan, the top seeds and defending champions in men's doubles, and Jack Sock, unseeded with Vasek Pospisil of Canda in men's doubles, remain in men's or women's events. Seventh-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones of San Jose and Abigail Spears of San Diego lost in the round of 16 in women's doubles, and second-seeded Bob Bryan and Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) fell in the last 16 in mixed doubles.
   Northern California connection -- The Bryans, 36-year-old twins from Stanford, advanced to the semifinals with a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4 victory over ninth-seeded Julian Knowle of Austria and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. ...
   Kops-Jones and Spears lost to 11th-seeded Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 7-5, 6-4. Rodionova, a Russia native, formerly played for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis. ...
   In girls singles, 14-year-old qualifier Michaela Gordon of Los Altos Hills in the San Francisco Bay Area edged Isabelle Wallace, 17, of Great Britain 6-2, 5-7, 8-6 in the second round.
   Fast fact -- Djokovic will play in his fifth consecutive Wimbledon semifinal.
   Quote -- Murray, on his loss to Dimitrov: “He was the better player from start to finish. I started the match badly, and I think that gave him confidence."