U.S. Open Day 4 highlights: No. 8 Ivanovic, Bellis fall

Karolina Pliskova, shown in last month's Bank of
the West Classic at Stanford, upset eighth-seeded
Ana Ivanovic in the second round of the U.S. Open.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- Karolina Pliskova, a 22-year-old Czech who stands 6-foot-1 (1.86 meters), knocked off eighth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-4 in the second round.
   Ivanovic ascended to No. 1 in the world after winning the 2008 French Open for her only Grand Slam title. After dropping out of the top 20, she has rebounded this year. Ivanovic upset Serena Williams to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January and returned to the top 10 for the first time since 2009 on Aug. 4.
   Pliskova, ranked 42nd, advanced to the third round of a major for the first time. She lost to Williams 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last month.
   Northern California connection --  CiCi Bellis, a 15-year-old wild card from Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, lost to Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 6-3, 0-6, 6-2. Diyas, 20, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon this summer.
   Bellis had stunned 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in the first round to become the youngest player to win a match in the U.S. Open since Anna Kournikova, also 15, in 1996.
   Wild card Nicole Gibbs, a two-time NCAA singles champion from Stanford, surprised 23rd-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Ana Ivanovic returned to the top 10 for the first
time since 2009 on Aug. 4. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis, outclassed 28th-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a third-round matchup with top-ranked Novak Djokovic.  
   In the first round of men's doubles, former Stanford stars Scott Lipsky and Bradley Klahn won separately, but Querrey and Steve Johnson lost to fourth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
   Lipsky and fellow American Rajeev Ram edged 16th-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and John Peers of Australia 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4). Murray is Andy's older brother. 
   Klahn and Smyzcek outlasted Austin Krajicek of Bradenton, Fla., and John-Patrick Smith of Australia 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
   Match of the day -- Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, a five-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, saved two match points in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) victory over 24th-seeded Sam Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion. 
   Men's seeded winners -- Djokovic, No. 5 Milos Raonic, No. 8 Andy Murray, No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 10 Kei Nishikori, No. 13 John Isner, No. 16 Tommy Robredo, No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber and No. 23 Leonardo Mayer.
   Men's seeded losers -- Garcia-Lopez and No. 31 Fernando Verdasco.
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 1 Williams, No. 3 Petra Kvitova, No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard, No. 11 Flavia Pennetta, No. 15 Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 16 Victoria Azarenka, No. 17 Ekaterina Makarova, No. 29 Casey Dellacqua and No. 30 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
   Women's seeded losers -- Ivanovic, Pavyluchenkova, Stosur and No. 27 Madison Keys.
   Notable -- Victor Estrella Burgos, a Dominican playing in the U.S. Open for the first time at 34, defated Borna Coric, 17, of Croatia 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Estrella Burgos, only 5-foot-8 (1.73 meters), won a $15,000 Futures tournament in the Sacramento suburb of Loomis in 2008.
   U.S. report -- The men went 2-0 in singles, but the women went 3-6 (including one all-American match). Four U.S. women lost to seeds.
   Through two rounds, four U.S. ladies remain: Williams, No. 19 Venus Williams, Uzbekistan native Varvara Lepchenko and Gibbs. With half of the men's second round to be played, the only Americans left are Isner, Querrey and wild card Tim Smyczek (pronounced SMEE-check).
   Fast facts -- Isner will face Kohlschreiber in the third round of the U.S. Open for the third straight year. Kohlschreiber won in five sets in 2012 and in four sets last year.
   Vania King, who lost to Serena Williams 6-1, 6-0, sang "America the Beautiful" in Arthur Ashe Stadium before a U.S. Open night session in 2006.
   King and Pavlyuchenkova also are former Capitals.
   Quote -- Bellis, after her loss: “This whole experience has been unbelievable, like mind-blowing. It's been crazy. It's been the best couple days of my life.”

French Open awards: Marathon, wacky celebration, etc.

   Reflections on an eventful French Open: 
   Best match -- Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis, making his Grand Slam debut, saved a match point and outlasted French veteran Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16 in the first round in four hours, 26 minutes.
   Benneteau soon turned despair into delerium, winning the men's doubles title with countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The 11th-seeded pair topped 12th-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (1) to become the first Frenchmen to claim the doubles crown since Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah 30 years ago.
   Biggest upset -- Serena Williams has laid an egg in both Grand Slam tournaments this year. After losing in the round of 16 to Ana Ivanovic in the Australian Open, Williams, the top seed and defending champion, fell to Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the second round at Roland Garros.
   Sure, Muguruza is a 20-year-old rising star. But 6-2, 6-2? What's up with that?

SIMONA HALEP
2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Breakout performers -- Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania reached her first Grand Slam final, losing to seventh-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Halep, 22, had been as far as the quarterfinals of a major only once, at the Australian Open in January, and lost in the first round at Roland Garros last year.
   No. 18 seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal, knocking off No. 4 Roger Federer and No. 6 Tomas Berdych before falling to No. 2 Novak Djokovic.
   After reaching the French Open quarterfinals at 19 in 1988, Gulbis stopped working hard and went 23 straight Grand Slam tournaments without advancing past the third round. Feeling that time was running out to reach his potential, the 25-year-old Gulbis finally decided to get serious.     
   Biggest flops -- Reigning Australian Open champions Li Na, seeded second, and Stan Wawrinka, seeded third, lost in the first round. Neither upset, in truth, was all that surprising for several reasons.
   Players like Wawrinka often suffer a letdown after winning their first Grand Slam title. It takes time for the celebrations and distractions to die down and for players to regain their intensity.
   The issue is magnified for Li, who became the first player from China, with a population of 1.35 billion, to win a major in singles in the 2011 French Open. It took her almost three full years to win another at the Australian Open, Asia's Grand Slam tournament.
   Also, the Australian Open and French Open are played on different surfaces -- hardcourts and clay, respectively.
   Finally, Li and Wawrinka drew dangerous first-round opponents. Kristina Mladenovic, a two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, was playing in her home country. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain had won a clay-court tournament in Casablanca in April.
   Mentally toughest -- Sharapova, who's renowned for her determination, won three consecutive matches after losing the first set to reach the final. Then she topped Halep in three sets for her second singles title in the French Open and fifth in a Grand Slam.
   Best sandbagger -- After crushing Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in the third round, Rafael Nadal complained that his back was acting up again. Nadal proceeded to win the title for the fifth straight time and ninth overall.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Most poignant moment -- Djokovic, again denied a career Grand Slam, fought back tears during a prolonged ovation by the fans after losing to Nadal 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
   Most poignant quote -- Amid the focus on the superstars, it's easy to forget that just playing in a Grand Slam tournament is a tremendous accomplishment. Especially if you're from the Dominican Republic.
   Victor Estrella Burgos became the first Dominican in more than half a century to compete in a major, losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 to 22nd-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland. At 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), Janowicz is one foot (30.5 centimeters) taller than Estrella Burgos.
   "This day, I'll remember. I'm never going to forget," the 33-year-old Estrella Burgos, who saved a match point in the tiebreaker, told reporters. "When I get into the court, I almost want to cry for the first time. There are so many people from the Dominican who come to see me."
   Estrella Burgos won a $15,000 Futures tournament in the Sacramento suburb of Loomis in 2008, beating Ricardo Hocevar of Brazil 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (8) in a scintillating match. Hocevar escaped three match points and Estrella one in the tiebreaker.
   Best U.S. performance -- CiCi Bellis, 15, of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, became the only American finalist in the tournament.
   The seventh-seeded team of Bellis and Marketa Vondrousova, 14, of the Czech Republic fell to unseeded Ioana Ducu and Ioana Loredana Rosca of Romania 6-1, 5-7 [11-9] in junior girls doubles.
   Worst-dressed -- For some reason, Berdych felt compelled to wear a navy and white Hawaiian shirt. What, was he headed to a luau?
   This is the guy who wore a shirt with sky blue and white vertical stripes at the Australian Open in January. He looked as if he was moonlighting on the Argentine national soccer team or as a basketball referee.
   Who's Berdych's fashion consultant? Bud Collins? Craig Sager?
   Wackiest celebration -- Marinko Matosevic of Australia beat Dustin Brown of Germany in the opening round for his first Grand Slam victory after failing to qualify for nine majors and then going 0-12 in the main draw.
   Afterward, the free-spirited Matosevic rolled on the court from behind the baseline to the service line, got up caked with clay, screamed twice at the top of his lungs and finally raised his arms in triumph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeeeYzC_TYs.
   Best dance moves -- Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Laurent Lokoli staged a dance-off during a rain delay on Kids' Day. The battle has received more than 3.4 million hits on youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO3IQtW8Dlc.
   Amazingly, Monfils didn't hurt himself. 

Blake, 31, to face Sock, 19, in match for the ages

   It will be the past vs. the future in American men's tennis at the $100,000 RelyAid Natomas Racquet Club Challenger.
   Top-seeded James Blake, who turns 32 in December, will face wild card Jack Sock, who turned 19 two weeks ago, today at noon in the quarterfinals of the Sacramento tournament.
   "I could have babysat one of these guys," Blake quipped Thursday after beating Chris Guccione, a 6-foot-7 left-hander from Australia, 6-4, 6-4. "Now I'm the old guy.  It's fun to see the new generation. I remember when I started in these tournaments. It's exciting.
   "He can swing for the fence. He has nothing to lose. I've been in that situation."
   Second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia and third-seeded Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native living in Las Vegas, also advanced. But sixth-seeded Izak Van der Merwe of South Africa lost to Alex Kuznetsov of Richboro, Pa., and Tampa, Fla., 6-4, 6-2, and seventh-seeded Bjorn Phau of Germany fell to Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus 6-4, 7-6 (4). 
   Karlovic, the tallest player in the tournament at 6-foot-10, dispatched the shortest, 5-8 Victor Estrella of the Dominican Republic, 6-3, 6-2. They played doubles together in the tournament, losing in the first round to wild cards Nicholas Monroe of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Sock 6-4, 4-6, 15-13.
   Kuznetsov reached the semifinals of the Sacramento Challenger five years ago at 19 years old.
   The United States is guaranteed to have a player in the final, as all four remaining players in the top half of the draw -- Blake, Sock, Kuznetsov and fourth-seeded Bobby Reynolds -- are American.
   The 6-6 Querrey, who fired 19 aces in his 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over veteran left-hander Denis Gremelmayr of Germany, is the only American left in the bottom half. Joining Querrey are Karlovic, Ignatik and 2006 Wimbledon junior boys champion Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands.
   Ironically, given their ages, Blake is healthier than Sock entering their first career meeting.
   Blake, ranked a career-high No. 4 in 2006, missed three months last year with chronic tendinitis in his right knee and plummeted to No. 173 in March. But he has rebounded to No. 74 and showed no ill effects against the hard-serving Guccione.
   Sock, meanwhile, sprained his left ankle early in the third set of his second-round victory over Roman Borvanov of Moldova on Wednesday. But Sock won in doubles later that day and again Thursday.
   "I don't worry about the other guy," said Blake, who splits his time between his training base in Tampa and his childhood home of Fairfield, Conn. "If you start playing differently because he's hurt, it's going to affect you negatively. I'm not changing my game."
   Sock, a native of Lincoln, Neb., living in Overland Park, Kan., already has an impressive resume. Six weeks after turning pro in July, he won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Melanie Oudin. Last year, he became the first American since Andy Roddick in 2000 to win the U.S. Open junior boys title. This year, Sock became the first player since Donald Young in 2005-06 to win the USTA Boys 18 National Championships two years in a row.
   "He has a ton of talent," said Blake, who has practiced with Sock. "He'll be a great player."
   Ripping his returns, Blake broke Guccione's serve once in each set. Meanwhile, Blake never faced a break point on his own serve, winning 15 of 16 points on his second delivery against the 2010 Sacramento quarterfinalist.
   "It's tough playing Guccione," said Blake, who nevertheless improved to 3-0 lifetime against the red-headed Aussie. "He controls everything when he serves. You have to take chances on his serve.
   "My biggest concern was taking care of  my serve, and I did that really well. He only got to deuce twice.
   "I got a little lucky on his serve. I took advantage of some opportunities and got a couple of breaks. That's all you can ask for."
   ATP World Tour -- No. 1 seeds and former Stanford All-Americans Bob and Mike Bryan breezed to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and Florian Mayer of Germany in the doubles quarterfinals at the China Open in Beijing.
   The Bryan twins, trying to bounce back from losing in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in 10 years, have lost only seven games in two matches in Beijing. They fell to Karlovic and Frank Moser of Germany at the U.S. Open last month. Karlovic and Moser then lost in the second round to Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
   WTA tour -- Fourth-seeded Vania King of the Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan defeated eighth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-0, 7-5 in the doubles quarterfinals at Beijing.
   King and Shvedova are trying to rebound from a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) loss to Americans Lizel Huber and Lisa Raymond  in the U.S. Open final.
   ITF Women's Circuit -- Unseeded Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove and Amanda Fink of Calabasas received a walkover from fourth-seeded Alexandra Mueller of Abington, Pa., and Asia Muhammed of Las Vegas in the quarterfinals of the $50,000 Women's Pro Tennis Classic in Kansas City, Mo.

RELYAID NATOMAS CHALLENGER
At Natomas Racquet Club
Second-round singles

   James Blake (1), Tampa, Fla., def. Chris Guccione, Australia, 6-4, 6-4. Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., def. Izak Van der Merwe (6), South Africa, 6-4, 6-2. Thiemo de Bakker, Netherlands, def. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, Canada, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Victor Estrella, Dominican Republic, 6-3, 6-2. Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, def. Bjorn Phau (7), Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sam Querrey (3), Las Vegas, def. Denis Gremelmayr, Germany, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Doubles quarterfinals
   Vasek Pospisil, Canada, and Bobby Reynolds, United States, def. Frederik Nielsen, Denmark, and Travis Parrott (3), Portland, Ore., 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5). Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione, Australia, def. Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana, Thailand, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Nicholas Monroe, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Jack Sock, Lincoln, Neb., def. John Paul Fruttero, San Jose, and Raven Klaasen, South Africa, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak. Travis Rettenmaier, Los Angeles, and Simon Stadler, Germany, def. Jordan Kerr, Australia, and David Martin (4), Huntington Beach, 6-3, 4-6, 11-9 tiebreak.

Friday's schedule

(Beginning at noon)

Center Court

   Blake (1) vs. Sock, Ignatik vs. Querrey (3), Monroe and Sock vs. Rettenmaier and Stadler.

Court 1

   Reynolds (4) vs. Kuznetsov, De Bakker vs. Karlovic (2), Pospisil and Reynolds vs. Ball and Guccione.

Karlovic wins thriller; Blake, Querrey, Sock advance

   At 6-foot-10, Ivo Karlovic is known mostly for his booming serve.
   Two years ago, the Croat set a Davis Cup record with 78 aces only to lose to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 16-14 in the fifth set in a match lasting 5 hours, 59 minutes. In March, Karlovic hit a 156-mph serve in a Davis Cup match against Germany to break Andy Roddick's record by 1 mph.
   But there's more to Karlovic's game than his serve, as he showed Tuesday in the Rely Aid Natomas Racquet Club Challenger in Sacramento.
   The oldest player in the singles draw at 32 years, 7 months and the tallest ever in the top 100 on the ATP World Tour, the No. 2 seed used his poise under intense pressure, underrated groundstrokes and -- yes -- serve to pull out a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8) victory over dogged Martin Fischer of Austria in the first round of the $100,000 tournament.
   Karlovic overcame a 4-1 deficit (two minibreaks) in the tiebreaker and later saved two match points against the 5-11 Fischer, who displayed an outstanding return of serve in the first career meeting between the players.
   On the first match point, Fischer ripped what appeared to be a winning return of Karlovic's first serve to the corner. Karlovic not only reached the ball, he pounded a cross-court backhand. The 25-year-old Fischer -- who improved his year-end ranking every year from 2004 through 2010 but has fallen from No. 133 to No. 185 this year -- then netted an ill-advised backhand drop shot for 6-6.
   On the second match point, Karlovic followed a strong first serve with a forehand putaway volley for 8-8. A service winner gave him his second match point, and Fischer hit a backhand long to end the 2-hour, 7-minute match.
   Karlovic converted his last eight first serves in the tiebreaker, including three aces and one service winner, after missing his opening one. He finished with 22 aces to Fischer's three.
   Karlovic won't out-rally many players, but he has surprisingly good mobility for someone so tall and powerful, reliable groundstrokes.
   "If you look at my serve, of course my other strokes look worse," said Karlovic, a classic gentle giant off the court. "But they're not as bad as people think. That's mostly the perspective of people who aren't pro tennis players. Pro tennis players know it's not only the serve."
   The past, present and future of American men's tennis also advanced.
   Top-seeded James Blake, 31, defeated Amer Delic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-4, 7-5. It was the second straight year that Delic, the 2003 NCAA singles champion from Illinois and 2006 doubles runner-up in Sacramento, faced the No. 1 seed in the first round of the tournament. He fell to Tobias Kamke of Germany 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 last year.
   Third-seeded Sam Querrey, who will turn 24 Friday, outlasted Laurynas Grigelis, a 20-year-old Lithuanian who won the $100,000 Aptos Challenger in July, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
   "I can see how he won Aptos," said Querrey, a San Francisco native who is playing in his second tournament since undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his right (playing) elbow in June. "He has an unbelievable backhand."
   And Jack Sock, a 19-year-old wild card who won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Melanie Oudin last month, ousted No. 8 seed James Ward of Great Britain 6-3, 7-6 (3).
   The only other seed to lose Tuesday was No. 5 Vasek Pospisil, a Canadian who fell to the Netherlands' Thiemo de Bakker, the 2006 Wimbledon junior boys champion, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 6-3.
   Roman Borvanov of Moldova ended the winning streak of qualifier Steve Johnson, the reigning NCAA singles champion from USC, at 13 matches with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
   Karlovic was playing his first match since reaching the third round of the U.S. Open one month ago. His Jamaican wife, Alsi, gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Jada, on Sept. 15 in Miami, where the family lives.
   "I didn't practice a lot, and I knew (Fischer) can play good," Karlovic said. "I was struggling a lot, but in the end, I played good."
   Karlovic enjoyed considerable success before undergoing surgery in July 2010 to remove part of a bone impinging his left Achilles' tendon and missing the last half of the year.
   He helped Croatia win its only championship in Davis Cup history in 2005, reached the 2007 SAP Open final in San Jose before losing to Andy Murray 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (2), climbed to a career-high No. 14 in 2008 and advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009.
  Oh, and he led all players in aces from 2007 through 2009.
  With Karlovic, who has fallen to No. 76, it always comes back to the serve.
   Natomas notes -- Give Querrey credit for looking on the bright side.
   Regarding his string of physical problems -- falling through a glass table two years ago at a tournament in Bangkok, his elbow surgery and his subsequent umbilical infection -- he said, "At least I'm meeting my insurance deductible." ...
   After the first round, Querrey is the only American left in the bottom half of the singles draw. Tim Smyczek, the only other one when the tournament started, lost to qualifier Pierre-Ludovic Duclos 6-2, 7-5. Four Americans remain in the top half: Blake, Sock, fourth-seeded Bobby Reynolds and Alex Kuznetsov. ...
    In a matchup of former Loomis Futures champions, Victor Estrella of the Dominican Republic beat qualifier Michael Venus of New Zealand 6-2, 6-4. Estrella, only 5-8, will meet his doubles partner, Karlovic, in the second round. ...
   Trivia question: Who was de Bakker's female counterpart as Wimbledon junior champion five years ago? Answer: Caroline Wozniacki, now the top-ranked woman in the world. De Bakker is No. 207. ...
   Izak Van der Merwe, the defending champion in doubles with fellow South African Rik de Voest, and Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines lost to Australians Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione 2-6, 7-6 (6), 10-4 tiebreak Monday in the opening round. De Voest is playing on the ATP World tour in Beijing this week.   
  ATP World Tour -- Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native living in Folsom, upset sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 7-5 in the first round of the $1,214,500 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo. Tipsarevic, who reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals last month, won his first ATP World Tour title last week in the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.
   Former Stanford All-Americans Bob and Mike Bryan, seeded first, beat Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the $2.1 million China Open in Beijing. 
   WTA tour -- Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego reached the doubles quarterfinals in the China Open with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over sixth-seeded Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic.
   ITF Women's Circuit -- Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove and Amanda Fink defeated Madison Brengle and Gail Brodsky 6-2, 6-3 in an All-American match in the first round of doubles at the $50,000 Women's Pro Tennis Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
   In another All-American match, Maria Sanchez of Modesto and Whitney Jones lost to fourth-seeded Alexandra Mueller and Asia Muhammed 6-2, 6-2.

RELY AID NATOMAS CHALLENGER
At Natomas Racquet Club
First-round singles
   James Blake (1), United States, def. Amer Delic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6-4, 7-5. Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Martin Fischer, Austria, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8). Sam Querrey (3), United States, def. Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania,  6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Thiemo de Bakker, Netherlands, def. Vasek Pospisil (5), Canada, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 6-3. Izak Van der Merwe (6), South Africa, def. Blake Strode, United States, 6-3, 6-4. Bjorn Phau (7), Germany, def. Robert Farah, Colombia, 6-1, 6-4. Jack Sock, United States, def. James Ward (8), Great Britain,  6-3, 7-6 (3). Chris Guccione, Australia, def. Juan Sebastian Cabal, Colombia, 6-3, 6-4. Roman Borvanov, Moldova, def. Steve Johnson, United States, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Frederik Nielsen, Denmark, def. Nick Monroe, United States, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Alex Kuznetsov, United States, def. Simon Greul, Germany, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, def. Fritz Wolmarans, South Africa, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Denis Gremelmayr, Germany, def. Jamie Baker, Great Britain, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, Canada, def. Tim Smyczek, United States, 6-2, 7-5. Victor Estrella, Dominican Republic, def. Michael Venus, New Zealand, 6-2, 6-4.
Final-round doubles qualifying
   Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, Canada, and Adam Hubble, Australia, def. Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania, and Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 12-10 tiebreak.
Wednesday's schedule
Center Court
(Beginning at 10 a.m.)
   Reynolds (4) vs. Nielsen, Borvanov vs. Sock, Kuznetsov vs. Van der Merwe (6), Kerr and Martin (4) vs. Hossain and Martinez not before 3 p.m., Blake (1) vs. Guccione.
Court 1
(Beginning at 11 a.m.)
   Ratiwatana and Ratiwatana vs. Grigelis and Ignatik, Cabal and Farah (1) vs. Fruttero and Klaasen, Pospisil and Reynolds vs. Johnson and Querrey, Duclos and Hubble vs. Nielsen and Parrott, Estrella and Karlovic vs. Monroe and Sock.