Daniil denies Djokovic's bid for calendar-year Slam

   A formidable opponent, fatigue and pressure were too much for Novak Djokovic.

   No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev outclassed the top-ranked Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 today in the U.S. Open for his first Grand Slam title.

   Djokovic fell one victory short of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam. Laver, 83, attended the final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Djokovic, 34, also remained tied with Roger Federer, 40, and Rafael Nadal, 35, with a record 20 major singles titles.

   Medvedev, a 25-year-old Russian, had been 0-2 in Grand Slam finals and 0-2 against Djokovic in majors. 

   "You never know if you're going to achieve (winning a major) in your career," Medvedev, who improved to 4-5 against Djokovic with four wins in their last six meetings, told reporters. "I was always saying, if I don't, I just want to know that I did my best to do it."

   Djokovic was coming off a draining, five-set victory over No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who ended Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics en route to the gold medal, on Friday and lost the first set for the fifth consecutive match. 

   Medvedev, meanwhile, lost only one set in his seven matches, to qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

   Medvedev has a tremendous combination of size (6-foot-6 or 1.98 meters) and quickness. He pounded 16 aces to Djokovic's six and saved five of six break points. Djokovic ripped 27 winners and committed 38 unforced errors.

   Djokovic told the crowd that, despite the loss, "I'm the happiest man alive because you guys made me feel very special. You guys touched my soul. I've never felt like this in New York."

   Medvedev broke serve twice to lead 3-0 in the third set and held for 4-0. Serving for the title at 5-2, he double-faulted twice in a row, once on championship point, and was broken on an error.

   After Djokovic held for 4-5, Medvedev double-faulted on his second championship point but converted his third with a service winner.

   In the opening set, Medvedev won all 15 points on his first serve. Early in the second set, Djokovic smashed his racket on the court in frustration.

   In the women's doubles final, No. 14 seeds Samantha Stosur, 37, of Australia and Zhang Shuai, 32, of China beat No. 11 seeds Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., and Catherine McNally, 19, of Cincinnati,  6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for their 11th consecutive victory.

   Stosur claimed the first of her four Grand Slam women's doubles titles in the 2005 U.S. Open with since-retired Lisa Raymond. Zhang won her only other major women's doubles crown with Stosur in the 2019 Australian Open.

   Zhang reached the singles quarterfinals in San Jose last month, defeating Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. 

   WTA Tour — No. 3 seed Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt defeated No. 4 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-3, 6-2 to win the $125,000 Liqy Moly Open on clay in Karlsruhe, Germany. 

   In the doubles final, No. 4 seeds Irina Bara of Romania and Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia topped No. 3 seeds Katarzyna Piter of Poland and Sherif 6-3, 2-6 [10-7].

Djokovic tops Zverev, eyes history vs. Medvedev in final

Novak Djokovic needs one more victory to earn the first calendar-
year Grand Slam in 52 years and a record 21st major singles title.
2015 photo by Paul Bauman

  Only Daniil Medvedev stands in the way of history for Novak Djokovic.

  In a match filled with breathtaking rallies, the top-ranked Djokovic defeated No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 tonight in the U.S. Open to move within one victory of becoming the first man to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

   Djokovic, who lost the first set for the fourth consecutive match, also can break the record of 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom missed the U.S. Open with injuries. 

   Djokovic ended the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev's winning streak at 16 matches, including the gold medal in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics. Zverev, who has denied domestic abuse allegations, ended Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the Olympic semifinals.

   Zverev advanced to last year's U.S. Open final, losing to Dominic Thiem after leading two sets to none.

   In tonight's fifth set, Zverev blew an overhead to trail by two service breaks at 0-4, and Djokovic held for 5-0. Zverev then held serve and converted his fifth break point on Djokovic's double fault for 2-5, but Djokovic broke back for the match.

   On Djokovic's first set point in the third set, Zverev ended a 53-ball rally with an inside-out forehand passing shot. Djokovic put away an overhead on the next point to take the set. 

   Djokovic won the fourth set when he finished a 30-ball rally with a forehand cross-court passing shot.

   Djokovic is scheduled to play the second-seeded Medvedev of Russia on Sunday at 1 p.m. (ESPN).

   The 6-foot-6 Medvedev, 25, eliminated No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, the first Canadian man to reach the U.S. Open semis, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to advance to his third Grand Slam singles final. Medvedev rallied from 2-5 in the second set and saved two set points at 4-5.

   Medvedev lost to Nadal in five sets in the 2019 U.S. Open final and to Djokovic in straight sets in this year's Australian Open title match.

  Djokovic is 5-3 against Medvedev, who has won three of the last five meetings.

   Men's doubles — No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a 37-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat No. 7 seeds Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 for their second Grand Slam men's doubles crown.

   Ram and Salisbury, who also won the 2020 Australian Open, saved four match points against unseeded Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell of Australia in the quarterfinals.

   Ram also owns two Australian Open mixed doubles titles (with Barbora Krejcikova in 2019 and 2021) and an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles (with Venus Williams in 2016.)

   Salisbury, 29, also advanced to the U.S. Open mixed doubles final with Desirae Krawczyk of Palm Desert, Calif. Seeded second, they are set to play unseeded Giuliana Olmos, an Austria native who grew up in Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area and represents Mexico, and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador on Saturday. 

   Salisbury is trying to become the first player to win the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year at the U.S. Open since Bob Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) in 2010.

   Krawczyk, a 27-year-old left-hander, seeks her third consecutive Grand Slam mixed doubles crown. She won the French Open with Salisbury and Wimbledon with Neal Skupski of Great Britain this year.

   Krawczyk and Olmos claimed the doubles title in the last (2017) Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger.

   Soares, 39, was playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon. He had an appendectomy upon arriving in Tokyo for the Olympics.

   Murray, Andy's older brother, and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016. Soares also prevailed at Flushing Meadows last year with Mate Pavic of Croatia.

   Boys doubles — Wild cards Nicholas Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., surprised No. 3 seeds Sean Cuenin and Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.

   Godsick's parents are Mary Joe Fernandez, a former top-five player in singles and doubles who now works as an ESPN commentator, and Tony Godsick, Federer's agent.

Djokovic overcomes slow start to beat Brooksby, 20

Novak Djokovic moved one step closer to completing the first calendar-
year Grand Slam in 52 years. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Well, it was a good start for Jenson Brooksby.

   Then reality hit.

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Carmichael, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 tonight to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Djokovic, who committed 10 unforced errors in the first set to Brooksby's one, moved one step closer to becoming the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam.

   Djokovic, 34, also aims to break the record of 20 major singles titles that he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom missed the U.S. Open with injuries.

   Brooksby faced a top-10 player for the first time and played his first match in 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis facility in the world. Ranked No. 307 when he turned pro in late December, Brooksby will jump 20 places to a career-high No. 79 after the U.S. Open.

   "Brooksby is very talented and intelligent," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "America has a bright future."

   ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert, who was born in Oakland, Calif., and grew up in nearby Piedmont, predicted that the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Brooksby eventually will crack the top 10 and, if he develops a big serve, the top five. 

   No American men or women reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The top three U.S. women — Sofia Kenin (positive COVID test), Jennifer Brady (unspecified injury) and Serena Williams (hamstring injury) — missed the tournament.

   No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick in the 2003 U.S. Open, but there's hope with Brooksby, 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka (24) and Sebastian Korda (21).   

   Next for Djokovic is No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a rematch of this year's Wimbledon final, which Djokovic won in four sets. Berrettini beat qualifier Oscar Otte of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

   In the other men's quarterfinal in the top half of the draw, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany is set to meet unseeded Lloyd Harris of South Africa.

   Zverev, last year's U.S. Open runner-up, extended his winning streak to 15 matches, including an Olympic gold medal, with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over No. 13 seed Jannik Sinner, a 20-year-old Italian.

   Harris, who won a Northern California Challenger and reached the final of another in 2018, outplayed No. 22 seed Opelka of Delray Beach, Fla., 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Harris blasted 36 aces and Opelka 24.

   Emma Raducanu also advanced to her first major quarterfinal, as the 18-year-old qualifier from Great Britain routed Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes. Rogers was coming off a 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (5) win over top-ranked Ashleigh Barty.

   Raducanu is slated to face No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on Wednesday. Bencic, the gold medalist in women's singles in the Tokyo Olympics, beat No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek, last year's French Open champion at 19, 7-6, (12), 6-3. 

   No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, is scheduled to play No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece on Wednesday.

   Sakkari, the runner-up in the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., outslugged No. 6 seed Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion at 19, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a 3-hour, 30-minute battle that ended at 2:15 a.m. EDT. Andreescu had her left thigh taped during the third set.  

   Sakkari's victory ensures a first-time U.S. Open champion. 

   Women's doubles — No. 14 seeds Samantha Stosur of Australia and Zhang Shuai of China eliminated No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area) of Japan 7-5, 7-5 in the third round. Stosur and Zhang won the 2019 Australian Open, and Stosur captured the 2005 U.S. Open with Lisa Raymond.

   Men's doubles — No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain edged No. 12 seeded Rohan Bopanna, 41, of India and Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach the quarterfinals.

   Boys singles — Wild card Aidan Mayo, a Sacramento-area product, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., won their first-round matches. Mayo is set to face top-seeded Shang Juncheng of China on Tuesday.

Zverev ends Djokovic's bid for Golden Slam

Alexander Zverev of Germany ended Novak Djokovic's winning streak
at 22 matches. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany surprised top-ranked Novak Djokovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 today in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, ending the Serb's bid for the first men's Golden Slam.

   Zverev battled back from a service break down in the second set to end Djokovic's winning streak at 22 matches and improve to 3-6 in the head-to-head series.

   Djokovic, who fell to 38-4 this year, was trying to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in a calendar year. Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1988. The Olympics dropped tennis from 1924 until 1988.

   Djokovic still would earn the first men's calendar-year Grand Slam since 1969 (Rod Laver) by winning the U.S. Open, Aug. 30-Sept. 12 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Zverev is scheduled to face No. 12 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia on Sunday for the gold medal in a matchup of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) players. Khachanov beat No. 6 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-3.

   Zverev, 24, and Khachanov, 25, have split four career matches, but Khachanov has won the last two. Djokovic and Carreno Busta are set to meet for the bronze medal on Saturday. 

   In women's singles on Saturday, No. 9 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland is slated to play unseeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic for the gold medal, and No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is set to meet No. 15 seed Elena Rybakina, a Moscow native who represents Kazakhstan, for the bronze medal.

   The left-handed Vondrousova, the runner-up in the 2019 French Open at 19, outlasted Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round in Miami last March in their only previous meeting.

   Svitolina reached the semifinals of the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Rybakina is entered in next week's Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif.

   WTA Tour — Former Stanford stars Carol Zhao of Canada and Kristie Ahn of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., are scheduled to play back-to-back on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. PDT in the first round of qualifying for the Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State University. Then Katie Volynets, 19, of nearby Walnut Creek, Calif., is set to play.

   The main draw will begin Monday as the tournament celebrates 50 years of women's tour tennis in the San Francisco Bay Area. In featured 7 p.m. matches, 18-year-old British sensation Emma Raducanu will meet Zhang Shuai of China on Monday, Fresno, Calif., product Sloane Stephens will face compatriot Alison Riske on Tuesday, and No. 3 seed Madison Keys will play Raducanu or Zhang on Wednesday. Keys won the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2017.

   Elise Mertens of Belgium and Rybakina are seeded first and second, respectively, in San Jose. 

   ATP Challenger Tour — Eighth-seeded Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia outlasted top-seeded Jenson Brooksby, 20, of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in 2 hours, 56 minutes in the quarterfinals of the $52,080 Lexington (Ky.) Challenger. 

   Kokkinakis, 25, pounded 15 aces and converted four of 19 break-point opportunities. Brooksby capitalized on four of eight break-point chances.

   Injuries have derailed Kokkinakis' promising career. In 2018, he stunned Roger Federer in the second round in Miami and won the Aptos (Calif.) Challenger. Kokkinakis also reached the final of the 2019 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger, losing to American Tommy Paul.

   Brooksby was coming off an appearance in the final of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I., two weeks ago. It was his first tournament ever on grass and first in the main draw on the ATP Tour.

   In the Lexington doubles semifinals, wild cards Alex Rybakov of Fort Worth, Texas, and Reese Stalder of Costa Mesa in the Los Angeles region beat third-seeded Christian Harrison of Bradenton, Fla., and Dennis Novikov of San Jose 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3). Harrison and Novikov won the doubles crown in last week's $52,080 Cary, N.C., Challenger.

Djokovic ties record with 20th major singles crown

Novak Djokovic can earn the first men's Golden Slam ever
by winning the Olympics and U.S. Open. The title at Flush-
ing Meadows would give him the first men's Grand Slam
since Rod Laver in 1969. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   It appears to be only a matter of time until Novak Djokovic goes down as the greatest player ever.

   Maybe as little as two months.

   Djokovic tied Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles today, defeating Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 at Wimbledon. 

   Federer will turn 40 on Aug. 8, and Nadal, 35, is showing signs of his age. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Djokovic can earn the first men's calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 by winning the U.S. Open, Aug. 30-Sept. 12 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. 

   "I can definitely envision that happening," Djokovic said with a laugh in an on-court interview. "I will definitely give it a shot. I am in great form, and I am playing well at the Grand Slams. So let's keep it going."

   Furthermore, a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in two weeks could give Djokovic the first men's Golden Slam in history (the Olympics dropped tennis between 1924 and 1988).

   Djokovic won sixth Wimbledon singles crown, third among men in the Open Era (since 1968) behind Roger Federer (eight) and Pete Sampras (seven), and third in a row. He has won five of the last seven.

   "It was more than a battle," Djokovic said after improving to 3-0 against Berrettini. "Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream of mine as a child. I know how special this is, and I don't want to take it for granted.

   "I was a 7-year-old boy in Serbia, constructing a Wimbledon trophy with improvised materials in my room, and now I am standing here with six titles. It's incredible."

   The top-ranked Djokovic overcame 16 aces by the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Berrettini to extend his winning streak to 18 matches and end Berrettini's at 11. 

   "For me, it's not the end; it's the beginning," said Berrettini, the first Italian player — man or woman — to reach the Wimbledon final.

   Djokovic led 5-2 (one service break) in the first set as the seventh-seeded Berrettini inevitably suffered the jitters in his first Grand Slam final. But Berrettini, who played with his left thigh taped after taking a nasty fall in Friday's semifinals, rallied for 5-5, saved a set point by chasing down a sharply angled drop shot and won the set with an ace down the middle.

   "There was a lot of tension," Djokovic admitted. "Then I started swinging through the ball."

   In the second set, Djokovic led 4-0 and served for it at 5-2, but Berrettini broke and overcame a 0-40 deficit by winning five consecutive points to hold for 4-5. This time, Djokovic held at love to even the match.   

   Djokovic broke for 2-1 in the third set on a Berrettini backhand error, saved two break points to hold for 4-2 and served out the set.

   Djokovic recovered from 0-30 to hold for 3-3 in the fourth set. Berrettini then double-faulted on break point. Djokovic held for 5-3 and broke serve for the match, converting his third championship point when Berrettini netted a slice backhand. 

   Mixed doubles final — No. 7 seeds Neal Skupski of Great Britain and Desirae Krawczyk, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., beat unseeded Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart of Great Britain 6-2, 7-6 (1).

   Krawczyk and Salisbury won the French Open mixed doubles title last month.

   Skupski played for the Sacramento-area California Dream of World TeamTennis in 2015, the team's only season of existence. Krawczyk, Salisbury and Dart starred in Northern California Challenger doubles in 2017.

Djokovic can tie mark vs. Berrettini in Wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic practices at Indian Wells in 2019.
Photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Novak Djokovic is one victory from tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with a record 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles.

   Standing in Djokovic's way is hard-serving Matteo Berrettini.

   The top-ranked Djokovic dismantled No. 10 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5 today in the Wimbledon semifinals for his 17th consecutive victory, including the French Open title.

   Djokovic remains on track for the first men's calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 and the fourth ever. He also can join Steffi Graf (1988) as the only players to achieve a Golden Slam, which includes an Olympic singles gold medal. The Olympics dropped tennis between 1924 and 1988. 

   The seventh-seeded Berrettini defeated 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam final and become the first Italian to advance that far at Wimbledon. 

   Djokovic improved to 7-0 against Shapovalov, a 22-year-old left-hander with a spectacular one-handed backhand.

   Shapovalov, who lost in the first round of the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger at 17, converted only one of 11 break-point opportunities. He served for the first set at 5-4, double-faulted to drop the set and double-faulted on break point at 5-5 in the second set.

  The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Berrettini, 25, pounded 22 aces en route to his 11th straight victory. He won Queen's Club on grass in London two weeks before Wimbledon. 

   Djokovic is 2-0 against Berrettini, including a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 decision in the French Open quarterfinals last month. They will meet on grass for the first time. 

   Meanwhile, No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated No. 5 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the women's doubles semifinals.

   Mertens reached the singles semifinals of the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. Shibahara, a 23-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, played at Wimbledon for the first time this year.

   In the second round of girls doubles, No. 1 seeds Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus and Diana Shnaider of Russia dismissed Clervie Ngounoue, 14, of Washington, D.C., and Alexandra Yepifanova, an incoming Stanford freshman from Lake Worth, Fla., 6-2, 6-2. 

Djokovic overcomes big deficit for French Open crown

Novak Djokovic joined Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men
to win each major tournament at least twice. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   As incredible as Novak Djokovic's physical skills are, his mental toughness is at least as impressive.

   The combination has produced probably the greatest player ever.

   Coming off a grueling victory over 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, the top-ranked Djokovic defeated upstart Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 today in 4 hours, 11 minutes in the final at Roland Garros in Paris.

   Djokovic, 34, came back from two sets down in a Grand Slam final for the first time and became the first man to win a French Open final after losing the first two sets since Gaston Gaudio of Argentina in 2004. Dominic Thiem also accomplished the feat in the U.S. Open last September.

   "I'm very proud, very happy," Djokovic, who joined Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men to win each major tournament at least twice, told reporters. "I don't want to stop here. Hopefully, I can keep on (winning) here at Roland Garros, at least one or two more times."

   Djokovic claimed his 19th Grand Slam singles title, one short of the record held by Roger Federer, who will turn 40 in August, and Nadal, 35, and moved halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Laver in 1969. Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the Australian Open in February.

   Djokovic is 27-23 against Federer and 30-28 against Nadal.

   Djokovic also lost the first two sets against rising star Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round, making him the first man in the professional era to win a Grand Slam tournament after twice trailing two sets to none, according to the International Tennis Federation. The third set of his 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Nadal was perhaps the most electrifying ever played. 

   The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas, 22, was trying to become the first Greek to win a major singles title. He showed no sign of nerves in the first two sets and fought valiantly until the end.

   "I'd like to thank the Greek fans and my team, who are constantly behind me, for my dreams," Tsitsipas said. "This is a long journey."

   In the fifth set today, Djokovic broke serve to lead 2-1, and Tsitsipas saved two break points to hold for 3-4. Djokovic, serving at 5-4, converted his second championship point. 

   In the opening set, Djokovic saved a set point while serving at 4-5 and broke serve at 15 for 6-5. Tsitsipas broke back at 15 and led 4-0 in the tiebreaker. Djokovic fought back to earn a set point at 6-5, but Tsitsipas reeled off the next three points for the set. 

   Tsitsipas broke serve in the opening game of the second set, went up a double break at 5-2 and closed out the set with an ace. Djokovic then took one of his two allotted locker room breaks and had a talk with himself.

   "There's always two voices inside," he said. "There is one telling you that you can't do it, that it's done, it's finished. That voice was pretty strong after that second set. So I felt that that was a time for me to actually vocalize the other voice and try to suppress the first one that was saying I can't make it. I told myself I can do it. Encouraged myself. I strongly started to repeat that inside of my mind, tried to live it with my entire being."

   Djokovic took a 3-1 lead in the third set on his fifth break point of the game and served out the set. Tsitsipas then took a medical timeout to receive back treatment.

   Djokovic led 4-0 with two service breaks in the fourth set and held on for the victory. 

   Earlier today, Barbora Krejcikova became the first woman to sweep the French Open singles and doubles titles since Mary Pierce in 2000. Krejcikova and fellow Czech Katerina Siniakova, seeded second, beat 14th-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Iga Swiatek, last year's singles champion at 19, of Poland 6-4, 6-2.

Djokovic outduels Nadal in French Open classic

Novak Djokovic became the first player to beat Rafael Nadal twice in the French
Open. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   In a match featuring perhaps the most breathtaking set ever played, Novak Djokovic overcame a terrible start to achieve the toughest feat in tennis.

   Beating Rafael Nadal in the French Open.

   The top-ranked Djokovic subdued the third-seeded Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a 4-hour, 11-minute semifinal today in Paris.

   "It was for sure the most beautiful match I've played here in Paris," Djokovic said on court in French after ending Nadal's four-year reign at Roland Garros.

   Nadal, attempting to become the oldest man to win the French Open at 35, fell to 105-3 at Roland Garros. Djokovic, 34, became the first player to beat him twice there. Now-retired Robin Soderling of Sweden is the other.

   Nadal has won the French Open 13 times, the most by anyone in a Grand Slam tournament. He remains tied with Roger Federer with a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

   Djokovic will try to win his 19th major and second French Open crown on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas, a first-time Grand Slam finalist, on Sunday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC).

   Nadal won the first five games of today's match in what looked like a replay of his 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Djokovic in last October's French Open final. Suddenly, however, the Serb found his game.

   The third set, in particular, was filled with spectacular shotmaking by both players. Djokovic served for the set at 5-4, Nadal saved a break point to hold for 6-5, and Djokovic survived a set point in the next game with a gutsy backhand drop shot. 

   Nadal led 2-0 in the fourth set before his left ankle apparently started bothering him. After Djokovic held for 3-2, Nadal had the tape sliced off the ankle. It didn't help.

   Djokovic improved to 30-28 overall, 8-19 on clay and 2-7 in the French Open against Nadal.

   The all-time greats "never should have met in the semifinals," bellowed NBC commentator Mary Carillo. 

   The French Open seeded players strictly by rankings. Therefore, No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who had been 0-4 at Roland Garros, was placed at the bottom of the draw instead of Nadal or Djokovic.

   Tsitsipas, 22, outlasted No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 in 3 hours, 37 minutes to become the first Greek to reach a Grand Slam final and the youngest man to do so since Andy Murray in the 2010 Australian Open.

   Tsitsipas, who had been 0-3 in major semifinals, overcame a 0-40 deficit in the opening game of the fifth set. Zverev, 24, escaped four match points serving at 2-5, but Tsitsipas converted his fifth match point with an ace out wide.

   Last November, Zverev denied domestic abuse allegations.

   Djokovic is 5-2 (3-0 on clay) against Tsitsipas. They will meet for the third consecutive time on clay. Djokovic prevailed 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the Italian Open quarterfinals last month and 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 in the French Open semifinals eight months ago.

   Meanwhile, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic could become the first woman since Mary Pierce in 2000 to sweep the singles and doubles titles. Krejcikova and countrywoman Katerina Siniakova, the second seeds and 2018 champions, routed unseeded Magda Linette of Poland and Bernarda Pera, a Croatia-born American, 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.

   Krejcikova, unseeded in singles, is scheduled to meet 31st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Saturday at 6 a.m. (NBC). Both will play in their first Grand Slam singles final.

   ATP Tour — Unseeded Sam Querrey continued to take advantage of a favorable draw, topping promising Dominic Stephan Stricker, an 18-year-old wild card from Switzerland, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup on grass in Stuttgart, Germany.

   Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, played qualifiers in the first two rounds. He reached his first semifinal since Eastbourne on grass in June 2019, going on to lose to Taylor Fritz in the final.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Wild card Sam Riffice, a 22-year-old native of Sacramento, Calif., beat Ulises Blanch 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open on hardcourts. Both players are based in Orlando.

   As a junior at the University of Florida, Riffice helped the Gators win their first NCAA men's team title and added the singles crown last month.

   Another Sacramento native, third-seeded Jenson Brooksby, withdrew from his quarterfinal against qualifier Nicolas Mejia of Colombia because of a right arm injury.

Djokovic wins 9th AO title; Brooksby breaks through

Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy and Serbian flag after winning
the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   For someone who supposedly tore an abdominal muscle in the third round, Novak Djokovic did pretty well in the Australian Open.

   That's not entirely shocking.

   The top-ranked Djokovic rolled to his third consecutive Australian Open singles title and — brace yourself — ninth overall in the tournament, beating fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 today in Melbourne. 

   "Definitely, emotionally, the most challenging Grand Slam that I ever had, with everything that was happening — injury, off-court-stuff, quarantines," Djokovic, who improved to 18-0 in Australian Open semifinals and finals, told reporters. "A roller-coaster ride."

   It was the 33-year-old Djokovic's 18th Grand Slam singles crown, two short of the record held by Roger Federer, 39, and Rafael Nadal, 34. The trio have won 15 of the past 16 majors — Dominic Thiem won last year's U.S. Open with Djokovic defaulted and Nadal and Federer absent — and 58 of the last 70.

   Djokovic snapped Medvedev's winning streak at 20 matches and improved to 5-3 against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian.

   "He's really good (at) reading an opponent's game, knowing what you will do next, how to beat you," said Medvedev, who had won three of his past four encounters against Djokovic, all in best-of-three-set matches. 

   Medvedev, 25, fell to 0-2 in Grand Slam finals. He lost an epic match to Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open.  

   Djokovic pocketed $2.13 million for the title, down from $3.12 million last year for pandemic-related reasons. He will remain No. 1 at least through March 8, giving him 311 weeks at the top to break Federer's mark.

   Medvedev, who collected $1.16 million, will rise one notch to a career-high No. 3 on Monday.

Jenson Brooksby poses with his trophy in
South Africa. Photo courtesy of ATP Tour.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Jenson Brooksby, 20, of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area won his first Challenger title today, topping Teymuraz Gabashvili, 35, of Russia 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the $52,080 PotchOpen II in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Both players were unseeded.

   "I was pretty nervous at the start," Brooksby, who turned pro in December, admitted on atptour.com. "Teymuraz started out strong and caught me a bit off guard, but I battled past the nerves, thankfully, to get through."

   Brooksby, who earned $7,200, will soar 66 places to a career-high No. 249 on Monday. As an 18-year-old qualifier, he stunned Tomas Berdych, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010, in the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Gabashvili, who climbed to a career-high No. 43 in 2016, will improve 32 spots to No. 247. He reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2010 and 2015.

Djokovic heads ATP honor roll for 2020

 2020 ATP AWARDS

   Year-end No. 1 (singles) — Novak Djokovic

   Year-end No. 1 (doubles) — Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares

   Most Improved Player — Andrey Rublev

   Coach of the Year (voted by ATP coaches) — Fernando Vicente (Rublev's coach)

   Newcomer of the Year (voted by ATP players) — Carlos Alcaraz

   Comeback Player of the Year (voted by ATP players) — Vasek Pospisil

   Sportsmanship Award (voted by ATP players) — Rafael Nadal

   Humanitarian Award (by ATP) — Frances Tiafoe

Medvedev dominates Djokovic in ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic, practicing at Indian Wells last year,
remains in the running for his sixth title in the ATP
Finals. Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 today in the round-robin phase of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

   Medvedev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian, defeated Djokovic, who's still in the running for his sixth title in the ATP Finals, for the third time in their last four matches.

   Medvedev clinched a berth in Saturday's semifinals at 2-0 in the indoor hardcourt tournament. Djokovic will meet Alexander Zverev, both of whom are 1-1, on Friday for the other semifinal spot in the four-man Tokyo 1970 Group. The ATP Finals began 50 years ago in Tokyo.

   The fifth-seeded Zverev, who has denied recent accusations of domestic abuse, eliminated Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

   In doubles, second-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain are scheduled to play third-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany on Thursday at 10 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel) for a semifinal berth.

   ATP Challenger Tour — This time, Teymuraz Gabashvili and Dennis Novikov's opponents went on a run to win a match tiebreaker. 

   Playing their fifth consecutive match tiebreaker, Gabashvili of Russia and Novikov, a 27-year-old San Jose, Calif., product, fell to second-seeded Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 6-7 (4), 6-2 [10-5] in the first round of the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open on a windy day at the USTA National Campus. 

   Gabashvili and Novikov won the doubles title in last week's $52,080 Atlantic Tire Championships in Cary, N.C., prevailing in match tiebreakers in all four of their contests. They reeled off the last nine points against fourth-seeded Golubev and Nedovyesov in the quarterfinals and the last four points against Hunter Reese of Knoxville, Tenn., and Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16) of the Netherlands in the semifinals.

   Reese and Verbeek also lost today, 6-4, 4-6 [10-7] to Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul of France.

   In singles, eighth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, is set to play Elias Ymer of Sweden on Thursday at 7 a.m. for a quarterfinal berth. The match on McDonald's adopted home courts will be streamed live. 

   ITF Women's Circuit — Second-seeded Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt beat wild card Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the opening round of the $25,000 Open Gran Canaria on clay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, off the coast of northwestern Africa.

   Sherif won a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Charleston, S.C., as a qualifier two weeks ago.

   Kaia Kanepi, 35, of Estonia is seeded first in the Open Gran Canaria. She has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open twice each and been ranked as high as No. 15 in 2012. 

Nadal dominates Djokovic for 13th French Open crown

Rafael Nadal equaled Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
2017 photo by Mal Taam

   It was hardly surprising that Rafael Nadal tied Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles today.

   The way he did it was another matter, especially in the first two sets.

   Nadal, ranked second, dismantled Novak Djokovic, ranked first, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours, 41 minutes to win his fourth consecutive French Open title and mind-boggling13th overall. 

   Djokovic, who ranks third with 17 Grand Slam singles crowns, double-faulted to give Nadal a 6-5 lead in the third set. Nadal then held serve at love, finishing with an ace.

   "In terms of these records, of course I care," Nadal told reporters. "I am a big fan of the history of sport in general. I respect that a lot. For me, it means a lot to share this number with Roger, no? But let's see what's going on when we finish our careers. We keep playing."

Rafael Nadal improved to 100-2 in the French Open. 2017 photo
by Mal Taam

   It was Nadal's most lopsided Grand Slam victory in the storied rivalry, eclipsing his 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the semifinals of the 2007 French Open. It was also the biggest rout in a Roland Garros final since Nadal overwhelmed Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 only three years ago.

   Today's outcome, however, was not entirely shocking. Nadal crushed Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the 2008 French Open final and blanked Djokovic in the first set for the second straight match on clay. Nadal downed Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in last year's Italian Open final. 

   Nadal became the first player in the Open Era, which began in 1968, to win one of the Grand Slam tournaments four times without losing a set. He also did so at Roland Garros in 2008, 2010 and 2017.

   Djokovic breezed in his first four matches of the tournament before defeating 17th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta in four sets in a 3-hour, 10-minute quarterfinal and fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets in a 3-hour, 54-minute semifinal. In the latter encounter, Djokovic held a match point serving at 6-3, 6-2, 5-4.

   Djokovic, 33, leads the 34-year-old Nadal 29-27 in the head-to-head series. Nadal, though, improved to 7-1 in the French Open and 3-0 in Roland Garros finals against Djokovic.

   Overall, Nadal is 100-2 in the French Open, falling to Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals and Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.

   Nadal salvaged his year with a vintage performance. He lost to Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open quarterfinals, skipped the U.S. Open because of coronavirus concerns and, in his only French Open tuneup tournament, lost to Diego Schwartzman for the first time in 10 meetings in the quarters.

   "I played at an amazing level of tennis, no?" Nadal said of today's final. "For two sets and a half, I played great. I can't say another thing. Is impossible to have this score against him without playing great."

Novak Djokovic fell to 37-2 this year, including his
default from the U.S. Open, and 1-4 in French Open
finals. File photo by Paul Bauman

   Djokovic fell to 37-2 this year, including his default from the U.S. Open, and 1-4 in French Open finals. He committed 52 unforced errors to only 14 for Nadal. Djokovic often resorted to drop shots, to no avail against the fleet Spaniard.

   "I was probably rushing a bit much, trying to play shorter points," lamented Djokovic, who seemed fine physically. "I probably wasn't constructing the points well. That reflected on the result. But that was also caused by him, by his amazing defense. He was getting a lot of balls back."

   Djokovic was bidding to become the first man in the Open Era to win every Grand Slam title at least twice. Federer has won one French Open crown, and Nadal has captured one Australian Open title.

   Federer, 39, missed the U.S. Open and French Open after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee twice this year. He plans to return in 2021.

   Women's doubles final — Second-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France won the title for the second consecutive year, beating 14th-seeded Alexa Guarachi, a native of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., who plays for Chile, and Desirae Krawczyk, who was born in Palm Desert, Calif., 6-4, 7-5.

   Krawczyk won the doubles title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger with Giuliana Olmos, who was born in Austria, grew up in Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area and plays for Mexico. 

Nadal, Djokovic set up showdown for French Open title

Rafael Nadal, practicing at Indian Wells last year, will play for
his 13th French Open crown. Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal struggled to put away gritty opponents today but survived to set up a dream French Open final.

   The top-ranked Djokovic had the tougher battle, subduing fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 in 3 hours, 54 minutes in Paris.

   Djokovic, who held a match point serving at 5-4 in the third set, improved to 37-1 (including his U.S. Open default) this year. He reached the French Open final for the first time since completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2016 and the fifth time overall.

   "Novak showed once again what an incredible athlete he is and his ability on the courts," Tsitsipas, 22, said on atptennis.com. "It was difficult, for sure, playing him. He is one of the most difficult opponents I've faced in my entire life. I have huge respect for that. He gave me a really difficult time on the court.

   "Unfortunately, toward to end of the match, an injury that I had during my match in Rome came back. It was difficult to close the match in a fighting way, in a fighting spirit. But I tried my best despite all of this. I'm happy that I came back from two-sets-to-love down and tried to stay in the match as long as possible."

   Nadal, ranked second, eliminated 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0) in 3 hours, 9 minutes after leading 3-1 in the third set.

   Schwartzman was coming off a 5-hour, 8-minute victory over third-seeded Dominic Thiem, who won his first Grand Slam title in the U.S. Open last month.

   The 28-year-old Schwartzman, who's listed at 5-foot-7 (1.70 meters) and 141 pounds (64 kilograms), will crack the top 10 for the first time on Monday, rising six places to No. 8.

   Nadal improved to 10-1 against Schwartzman, who shocked the Spanish star 6-2, 7-5 three weeks ago in the Italian Open quarterfinals. 

   Djokovic, 33, and Nadal, 34, will meet for the 56th time on Sunday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC). Either Nadal will tie 39-year-old Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, or Djokovic will pull within one of Nadal.

Novak Djokovic, practicing at Indian Wells last year, is one
of two players to beat Rafael Nadal in the French Open.
Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 29-26, but Nadal owns advantages of 17-7 on clay (8-7 in the last 15 encounters), 6-1 in the French Open and 2-0 in Roland Garros finals (both in four sets). Djokovic and Robin Soderling are the only players to beat Nadal in the French Open.

   Most notably, Nadal has won 12 French Open singles titles, including the last three, to Djokovic's one. 

   "To play against Novak, I need to play my best," said Nadal, who has not lost a set in the tournament. "Without playing my best tennis the situation is very difficult. I know this is a court that I have been playing well on for such a long time, so that helps. At the same time, he has an amazing record here, too, being in the final rounds almost every single time. 

   "He is one of the toughest opponents possible. But I am here to keep trying my best. I like to play in this scenario. I know I have to make a step forward. I think I did one today. But for Sunday, it is not enough. I need to make another one. That's what I'm looking for. I am going to work hard to try to make that happen."

   Djokovic acknowledged that Nadal "has lost twice in his entire career on this court. Obviously, the conditions are different than the ones that we are used to playing in May and June. That could be better for me, obviously the ball not bouncing as high over the shoulder as he likes it usually.

   "Regardless of the conditions, he's still there, he's Rafa, he's in the final, and we're playing on clay. Best-of-five playing him in the final at Roland Garros, I know that feeling."

   Women's final — Fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin, 21, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and unseeded Iga Swiatek, 19, of Poland will meet for the first time as professionals on Saturday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC).

   Kenin, who won her first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open early this year, and Swiatek, the 2018 Wimbledon girls singles champion, took contrasting routes to the final. 

   Four of Kenin's six matches have gone to three sets. Swiatek, meanwhile, has not lost more than five games in a match, including a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep in the fourth round. 

   Swiatek defeated Kenin, who was born in Moscow and moved to the United States as a young child, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the French Open girls event in 2016. Kenin proceeded to win Northern California Challengers in Sacramento that year at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018.

Kenin, Tsitsipas avenge losses to reach semis in Paris

Sofia Kenin, playing in the 2018 Berkeley (Calif.) Challenger, beat
fellow American Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 today in the French
Open. Kenin had been 0-3 against Collins. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Sofia Kenin and Stefanos Tsitsipas gained revenge today to reach the French Open semifinals.

   The fourth-seeded Kenin beat unseeded Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in an all-American matchup in Paris. Collins, an Australian Open semifinalist last year, suffered from an apparent stomach ailment in the third set.

   Kenin, who won her first Grand Slam title in this year's Australian Open, had never won a set against Collins in three career meetings. 

   The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas, from Greece, outclassed 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in a clash of 22-year-old rising stars. Rublev defeated Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 10 days ago in the Hamburg final.

   Both Kenin, 21, and Collins, 26, have excelled in Northern California. Kenin won Challengers in Sacramento in 2016 at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018. Collins reached the final of the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., on the WTA Tour.

   Rublev also is no stranger to NorCal. He lost to former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round of the 2015 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger at 17.

   Kenin will face seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic on Thursday after the 6 a.m. (PDT) semifinal between unseeded Iga Swiatek, 19, of Poland and qualifier Nadia Podoroska of Argentina (Tennis Channel).

   Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and a French Open semifinalist in 2012, dismissed unseeded Laura Siegemund, who won the U.S. Open doubles crown with Vera Zvonareva last month, 6-3, 6-3. 

   Kvitova, a 30-year-old left-hander, is 2-0 (1-0 on clay) against Kenin. Kvitova suffered career-threatening cuts to her left hand in a December 2016 attack at her home in the Czech Republic and missed more than four months.

   Tsitsipas, a semifinalist in last year's Australian Open, will take on top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won the 2016 French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, on Friday. 

   Djokovic defeated 17th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in a rematch of their infamous fourth-round encounter in the U.S. Open last month. Djokovic was defaulted after losing his serve to trail 5-6 in the first set and accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball in anger. It's the 33-year-old Serb's only loss in 37 matches this year.

   Djokovic, who's right-handed with a two-handed backhand, played today with tape on his neck to address a nagging problem and took a medical timeout for a left-arm issue after losing the first set.

   "I definitely didn't feel great coming onto the court today," Djokovic said on atptour.com. "I don't want to take away anything from his good performance. Especially for a set and a half, he was the better player, dictating play. I was very neutral.

   "I didn't have much energy really ... in my legs or movement or game itself. It took me about a set and a half to really get comfortable and start really playing the way I should."

   Countered Carreno Busta: "Every time the (match) gets complicated, he asks for medical assistance. He has been doing this for a long time. I knew what would happen at the U.S. Open, what would happen here and what will continue to happen."

   Djokovic is 3-2 (1-0 on clay) against Tsitsipas with straight-set victories in their last two meetings, both on hardcourts.

   In the women's doubles quarterfinals, 14th-seeded Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States eliminated seventh-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-4.

   Each player except Aoyama was born in the U.S. and played in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Shibahara, 22, was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA. 

   Guarachi and Krawczyk — former standouts at Alabama and Arizona State, respectively — were coming off a straight-set victory over top-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic.

   Krawczyk won the doubles title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger with Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico.

   In the third round of boys singles, seventh-seeded Dominic Stephan Stricker of Switzerland beat ninth-seeded Arthur Fery, a Stanford freshman from Great Britain, 6-4, 6-3.

   Fery and compatriot Felix Gill outplayed Dev Javia of India and Li Hanwen of China 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of doubles.

French Open quarterfinals to feature rematches

Novak Djokovic, practicing at Indian Wells last year, will play
Pablo Carreno Busta in a rematch of their infamous U.S. Open
encounter last month. Photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Rematches will be the theme of Wednesday's quarterfinals in the French Open.

   Most notably, top-ranked Novak Djokovic will face 17th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. Djokovic was defaulted from the U.S. Open last month for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball after Carreno Busta had broken serve to lead 6-5 in the fourth round. Djokovic has won their three other meetings, including two on clay.

   Djokovic, who won the 2016 French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, dispatched 15th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 today in Paris to improve to 35-1 this year. Carreno Busta outclassed qualifier Daniel Altmaier of Germany 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the French Open quarterfinals for the second time.

   Also Wednesday, fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece will take on 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia in a matchup of 22-year-old rising stars. Rublev topped Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 eight days ago to win the Hamburg title on clay and improve to 3-1 in the head-to-head series.

   Tsitsipas beat 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-2 today to become the first Greek man to reach the French Open quarterfinals.

   Rublev, who had never won a match at Roland Garros before this year, outdueled Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in 3 hours, 54 minutes for his ninth consecutive victory. 

   On the women's side, fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin will play either 30th-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or unseeded Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, Fla. That match was postponed by rain. 

   Kenin is 2-0 against Jabeur and 0-1 against Collins this year. Kenin — who won Northern California Challengers in 2016 at 17, 2017 and 2018 — defeated Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open en route to her first Grand Slam title and 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the third round of the U.S. Open. Collins clobbered Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in the second round in Adelaide on a hardcourt.

   Kenin advanced today by frustrating France's Fiona Ferro, the Palermo champion in the first tournament after the WTA Tour resumed in early August, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach her first quarterfinal on clay. 

   Kenin cried after the match in front of a sparse crowd. Only 1,000 spectators are allowed each day at Roland Garros because of a surge in coronavirus cases in France.

   "I was just super proud of myself," Kenin, whose only tune-up match for the French Open was a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Victoria Azarenka in the Italian Open, said on wtatennis.com. "Yes, there (were) a lot of emotions. I was just super happy that I won. The crowd wasn't the best, which is understandable, but still I wish it (had) been a little bit different. 

   "I'm super happy that I'm in the quarters. I usually don't play (well) on clay. In the juniors, I hated the clay. Last year, I started to like it for the first time."

   Seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and a French Open semifinalist in 2012, and unseeded Laura Siegemund, the reigning U.S. Open doubles champion with Vera Zvonareva, will meet after winning in straight sets. Kvitova trounced Siegemund 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the 2015 U.S. Open in their only previous encounter.

   In a showdown between this year's Grand Slam doubles champions, seventh-seeded Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil outlasted third-seeded Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. 

   Ram, who was named a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley in June, and Salisbury won the Australian Open, and Pavic and Soares claimed the U.S. Open. 

   In the second round of boys singles, ninth-seeded Arthur Fery, a Stanford freshman from Great Britain, crushed Mario Mansilla Diez of Spain 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes.

Stephens coasts, Querrey blows big lead in French Open

Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., routed Russian Vitalia Diatchenko
6-2, 6-2 today in the first round of the French Open. 2016 photo by Mal Taam 

   Sloane Stephens earned her first clay-court victory of the year, while Sam Querrey's struggles continued today.

   Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product seeded 29th, dispatched Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes in the opening round of the French Open in Paris.

   Diatchenko, 30, hit only six winners and committed 28 unforced errors.

   Stephens, who reached the 2018 final and 2019 quarterfinals at Roland Garros, had lost in the first round in Rome and Strasbourg in the previous two weeks. She is now based in Florida.

   No. 13 seed Andrey Rublev, a 22-year-old rising star from Russia, topped Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native now living in Las Vegas, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in 3 hours, 17 minutes for his first main-draw victory in the French Open.

   Querrey, who has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros in 13 appearances, led 5-2 in the third set. 

    Overall, the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey blasted 29 aces and committed 11 double faults. The 6-foot-2 (1.87-meter) Rublev had 23 and two, respectively.

   Querrey, who became a father in February, fell to 0-4 since the ATP and WTA tours resumed in early August after a five-month layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Only 1,000 fans are allowed at Roland Garros each day because cases have skyrocketed in France recently.

   Rublev, the French Open boys singles champion in 2014, reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second time this month and won his third title of the year on Sunday in Hamburg on clay.   

   Stephens, who has tumbled from a career-high No. 3 in 2018 to No. 34, is scheduled to play Paula Badosa, a 22-year-old New York native who plays for Spain, for the first time on Thursday.

   Badosa, the 2015 French Open girls singles champion, defeated Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. The 87th-ranked Badosa had 41 winners and only 15 unforced errors.

   Meanwhile, 17-year-old Clara Tauson of Denmark saved two match points and stunned 21st-seeded Jennifer Brady, a U.S. Open semifinalist, 6-4, 3-6, 9-7 in 2 hours, 45 minutes for her first Grand Slam main-draw victory.

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won the 2016 French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, routed Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 38 minutes to improve to 32-1 this year.

   Djokovic's only loss of 2019 came when he was defaulted in the fourth round of the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. The line judge gasped for air but was not seriously injured.

   Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece topped Spain's Jaume Munar 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Rublev defeated Tsitsipas in the Hamburg final and Munar in the 2014 French Open boys singles final.

   In the first round of men's doubles, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary and Cameron Norrie of Great Britain beat Mackenzie McDonald, who was born and raised in Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, Tenn., 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

   Norrie won back-to-back singles titles in Northern California Challengers in 2017, defeating Sandgren in the Tiburon final. 

Djokovic breaks record; Halep breaks through

Novak Djokovic won the Italian Open for his 36th Masters 1000 title, breaking
the record he had shared with Rafael Nadal. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   The temper is still there, but so is the phenomenal game.

   In his first tournament since being defaulted from the U.S. Open, top-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated eighth-seeded Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 today for his fifth Italian Open title in Rome.

   Top-seeded Simona Halep won the women's title for the first time, beating second-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 2-1, retired (left thigh) in a matchup of 28-year-olds and former world No. 1s.

   Djokovic, who received warnings for smashing a racket in anger in the quarterfinals and uttering an obscenity in the semifinals, won his 36th Masters 1000 (the highest level besides the Grand Slams) crown to break a tie with Rafael Nadal for the record.

   The 33-year-old Djokovic, the only player to win all nine Masters 1000 tournaments at least twice and the oldest player to win the Italian Open, passed his idol, Pete Sampras, with 287 weeks at No. 1 for second behind Roger Federer's 310.  

   Djokovic lost only one set in his five matches in Rome but was extended to a tiebreaker in the third round and lost the first three games (two service breaks) against Schwartzman.

   "It was a great week, a very challenging week," Djokovic, who improved to 31-1 this year, said in an on-court interview. "I don't think I played my best tennis throughout the entire week, but I think I found my best tennis when I needed it the most, the decisive moments today, yesterday, practically every match. That makes me definitely very satisfied and proud."

   Djokovic now turns his attention to the French Open, which begins Sunday. A four-time finalist at Roland Garros, he won the 2016 title to complete a career Grand Slam.

   Schwartzman, only 5-foot-7 (1.70 meters) and 141 pounds (64 kilograms), rose two spots to No. 13, two short of his career high in June 2018. The 28-year-old Argentine beat Nadal, a nine-time Italian Open champion, for the first time in 10 matches in the quarterfinals and edged 12th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in 3 hours, 15 minutes in the semifinals.

   Halep recorded her 14th consecutive victory and 19th in her last 20 matches. The Rome runner-up in 2017 and 2018, she lost her opening match there last year to Marketa Vondrousova, who was 19 at the time.

   "I've finally won it," Halep, who will turn 29 on Sunday, gushed in an on-court interview. "I love this tournament, and I play well here almost every year – besides last year, of course.

   "I started my rise up the rankings at this tournament in 2013, so I've always dreamed of having this title. I'm really happy that it happened today."

   Halep has reached three French Open finals, winning the first of her two Grand Slam titles in 2018. Pliskova, the runner-up in the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, said she hopes to be ready for Roland Garros.

   WTA Tour — Japan's Nao Hibino, who won the inaugural Stockton (Calif.) Challenger in 2015 at 20, beat eighth-seeded Sloane Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno product, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg. 

   Stephens, the runner-up to Halep in the 2018 French Open, has lost in the opening round of eight of her 10 tournaments this year.