Game, set, match: Czar says so long after 10 1/2 years

Australian Christopher O'Connell and his coach, David Moore, encountered a wall
of flames 200 yards (183 meters) ahead while evacuating during qualifying for the
2017 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger. They quickly turned around and were shaken but
unharmed. Photo courtesy of Christopher O'Connell

   After 10 1/2 years, this is my 3,324th and last post. That's almost one a day, mostly while working full-time. But who's counting?

   At 66 (ugh), I'm ready to move on. I will, however, keep this website active in case anyone wants to peruse past articles.

   I've seen a lot of great tennis in the past 10 1/2 years, but I will most remember the friendly players from around the world and the revealing interviews. Here are some highlights of the past decade-plus:

Dmitry Tursunov, a former top-20 player, detailed
his rigid upbringing in a four-hour interview in 2011.
2017 photo by Paul Bauman

   —Former top-20 player Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native who trained in Northern California as a junior and professional, spilling his guts about his rigid upbringing during a four-hour interview in 2011. As Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair) says in the hilarious 2001 movie "Legally Blonde," "Four hours."

   —Australian John Millman, like Tursunov one of the true nice guys in sports, candidly recalling the low point of his career in a 90-minute interview.

   —Millman becoming the first No. 1 seed in the 28-year history of the Aptos (Calif.) Challenger to win the title and shocking Roger Federer to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

   —Strolling on the beach in Aptos as the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean.  

   —Santiago Giraldo, a former top-30 player from Colombia, looking at a ball with a smiley face on it during changeovers in the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger to remind himself how lucky he was to be playing professional tennis. Giraldo won the title and retired four years later at 32. 

   —Belgium's An-Sophie Mestach, the world's top junior in 2011, hurting her wrist twirling her racket while bouncing the ball 25 times — yes, 25 times — before each serve.

   —Christopher O'Connell of Australia recounting his harrowing evacuation from Northern California wildfires during qualifying for the 2017 Fairfield Challenger. O'Connell won the title two years later.

Santiago Giraldo displays the smiley-face ball
he looked at during changeovers in the 2016
Fairfield Challenger "to remember how lucky
I am." Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Attending the Australian Open in 2012 — has it really been 10 years? — the U.S. Open in 2015 and 2016, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., annually.

   —Sorry to name-drop, but interviewing International Tennis Hall of Famers Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Pam Shriver and Nick Bollettieri. All were gems.

   —The inimitable Wayne Bryan, tennis ambassador, father of Bob and Mike Bryan, and former longtime coach of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis. Wayne Bryan is smart, funny, exuberant and down-to-earth. Not a bad combination.

   —Serena Williams winning the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

   —Naomi Osaka stunning 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in the first round at Stanford in 2014 as a 16-year-old qualifier playing her first main-draw match on the WTA Tour.

   —Germany's Sabine Lisicki breaking the record for the fastest women's serve (131 mph or 210.8 kph) in a first-round loss at Stanford in 2014.

   —Milos Raonic winning his third consecutive SAP Open title in 2013 in San Jose, Calif. The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Canadian with a pulverizing serve never lost a set in 13 matches in the indoor tournament, which folded in 2014 after 125 years in one form or another.

   —Covering the 100th-anniversary celebration of the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club in Sacramento, Calif. Shriver moderated a poignant question-and-answer session with fellow Hall of Famers Dennis Ralston, Rosemary Casals and Charlie Pasarell. Beforehand, I sat at a dinner table with Ralston, who died 14 months later at 78.

Serena Williams poses after winning the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford for the third and final time in 2014. Tri Nguyen/
TriNguyenPhotography.com

   —Interviewing San Francisco Bay Area product Brad Gilbert after the renowned coach, author and commentator and former top-five player addressed 125 juniors and parents at the beautiful, stately Olympic Club in San Francisco in 2013. 

   —Sofia Kenin winning a Northern California Challenger for three consecutive years as a teenager, triumphing in Sacramento, Stockton and Berkeley. Eighteen months after the latter tournament, she stormed to the Australian Open title.

   —Sam Querrey, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) San Francisco native, sweeping the three-week NorCal Challenger swing through Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon in 2014. Querrey had decided to stay on familiar ground rather than try to qualify in Asia on the elite ATP World Tour.

   —Cameron Norrie of Great Britain winning back-to-back NorCal Challengers in Tiburon and Stockton at 22 in 2017 and Taylor Fritz of the United States doing likewise in Sacramento and Fairfield at 17 in 2015. They are now ranked No. 1 in their countries at No. 12 and No. 22 in the world, respectively.

John McEnroe spoke to reporters before a 2014
legends match in Sacramento, Calif. Photo by
Paul Bauman 

   —The spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay from the town of Tiburon ("shark" in Spanish).   

   —American Bjorn Fratangelo — yes, he was named after Bjorn Borg — winning the 2018 Fairfield Challenger after almost quitting tennis.

   —American Stefan Kozlov — yes, he was named after Stefan Edberg — reaching the final of the 2014 Sacramento Challenger at 16.

   —Interviewing Jenson Brooksby at 12, CiCi Bellis at 13, Katie Volynets at 15 and Sam Riffice at 15.

   Brooksby and Bellis were voted the Newcomer of the Year on the ATP Tour last year and WTA Tour in 2017, respectively. Bellis, who underwent three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow in 2018-19, has not played in 14 months.

   Volynets, who turned 20 on Dec. 31, has climbed to No. 178 in the world. Riffice helped Florida win the NCAA team championship last May, then added the singles title.

   Brooksby and Riffice were born in Sacramento, Bellis in San Francisco and Volynets in Walnut Creek in the Bay Area.

   —Interviewing Stanford alumni Bob and Mike Bryan, Bradley Klahn, Nicole Gibbs and Kristie Ahn. All bias aside, fellow alums are the classiest, most articulate, most introspective athletes I've encountered in 47 years covering tennis. Granted, the tightly wound McEnroe wasn't exactly classy on the court, but he has always been refreshingly candid. Plus, he attended Stanford for only one year.

   Gibbs discussed her battle with depression. Others would have said, "Tennis questions only, please."

At 16, Naomi Osaka stunned Samantha Stosur in the first
round at Stanford in 2014. Photo by Paul Bauman

   True, Ahn flung her racket high into the crowd — accidentally, she said — during the semifinals of the 2019 Berkeley Challenger. But she patiently discussed the incident with a reporter afterward. Others would have hid in the locker room.

   —Nice guys Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish, Tim Smyczek, Denis Kudla, Noah Rubin, Liam Broady and Marc Polmans.

   —The sensational final between Smyczek (pronounced SMEE-check) and Kudla, close friends and training partners, in the 2015 Tiburon Challenger. Smyczek saved four match points and Kudla one in Smyczek's 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) victory.

   —Nice gals Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Zheng Saisai, Kimiko Date (pronounced DAH-tay), Mayo Hibi, Sachia Vickery and Grace Min.

   —Date, a former top-five player from Japan who retired at 26 for 12 years, reaching the semifinals of the Stockton Challenger at 44 in 2015 and losing in the final round of Stockton qualifying at 46. Date was Tom Brady before Tom Brady.

   —The "Gentle Giant," 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Ivo Karlovic.

   —The "Little Giant," 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter), 120-pound (54-kilogram) Danielle Lao.

The drive to the Tiburon Men's Challenger offers a spectacular view of the
Golden Gate Bridge from the town of Tiburon. 2017 photo by Paul Bauman 

   —Jan Tiilikainen, after winning the national men's 30 indoor title for the fifth time in 2014 in the Sacramento area, recalling his grueling workouts as a teenager in Finland.

   —Interviewing Wayne Thiebaud, a world-renowned artist who played tennis until the day after he turned 100 in November 2020, on the phone. The gracious, humble Thiebaud (pronounced TEE-bow) died this past Christmas.

   —The "cookie lady."

   —Speaking of sweets ... buying heavenly brownies and chocolate croissants at Fournée Bakery in Berkeley, taking them across the street to the venerable Berkeley Tennis Club and munching them while watching world-class tennis courtside in beautiful weather. It doesn't get any better than that.

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.    

Fritz saves two match points, upsets Zverev in BNP

Taylor Fritz, shown in his second-round victory
over Brandon Nakashima, reached his first ATP
Masters 1000 semifinal. Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 31 seed Taylor Fritz, playing in his native Southern California, survived two match points and stunned No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) today in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

   Fritz, who won the Sacramento and Fairfield Challengers in Northern California back-to-back at 17 in 2015, overcame a 2-5 deficit in the third set to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. 

   "I was really down and out, but I found a way to put myself into it," Fritz, who was born in Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area and lives in Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles region, said in an on-court interview. "I really wanted to make him have to close me out, and I was able to get back into the match. Normally, you would be so nervous in those situations and in the third-set tiebreak, but I felt so confident being aggressive, going after my game. It feels really great to play well with the pressure on."

   Fritz is scheduled to face No. 29 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia on Saturday after the 1:30 p.m. semifinal between No. 21 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain and No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria (Tennis Channel). Basilashvili surprised No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal.

   Norrie won the Tiburon and Stockton Challengers in NorCal back-to-back in 2017.

   In Sunday's women's final, No. 27 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus is set to meet No. 21 seed Paula Badosa of Spain. 

   Azarenka, who won Indian Wells in 2012 and 2016 and the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2010, outlasted No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a matchup of Grand Slam champions.

   Badosa, a quarterfinalist in this year's French Open and Tokyo Olympics, outclassed No. 12 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-3, 6-3 to gain the biggest final of her career.

   USTA Pro Circuit — Unseeded Maria Mateas of Chapel Hill, N.C., beat No. 3 seed Katie Volynets, 19, of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Florence (S.C.) Open on hardcourts. 

Three more high women's seeds lose in Indian Wells

No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko ousted No. 2 seed Iga
Swiatek 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 16 in Indian Wells.
2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   One day after No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova lost to lucky loser Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the BNP Paribas Open, the second, third and fourth women's seeds also fell in straight sets.

   In a matchup of former French Open champions, No. 24 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia surprised No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-4, 6-3 today in the round of 16 in Indian Wells.

   No. 21 seed Paula Badosa, a quarterfinalist in this year's French Open and Tokyo Olympics, beat No. 3 seed Barbora Krejcikova, the reigning French Open champion, 6-1, 7-5.

   And No. 19 seed Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., routed No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-1, 6-1 in 68 minutes. Pegula reached the Sacramento final in 2012 at 18 and Stockton semifinals in 2018 in Northern California Challengers.

   No. 10 Angelique Kerber is the highest remaining women's seed. The three-time Grand Slam singles champion reached the final of the last (2019) BNP Paribas Open, losing to 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu, and won the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

   Pegula is the highest seed left in the bottom half of the women's draw.

   In yet another women's upset, unseeded Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C.,  edged No. 23 seed Leylah Fernandez, the U.S. Open runner-up last month, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

   No. 18 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia dismissed Haddad Maia 6-0, 6-2 in 65 minutes.

   On the men's side, No. 31 seed Taylor Fritz of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area dispatched No. 5 seed Matteo Berrettini, the Wimbledon runner-up in July, 6-4, 6-3. Fritz won the Sacramento and Fairfield (Calif.) Challengers in consecutive weeks at 17 in 2015.

   In the BNP women's doubles quarterfinals, No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan beat unseeded Makoto Ninomiya of Japan and Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles 6-1, 7-6 (2).

   Shibahara, 23, was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA.

Brooksby frustrates Fritz to reach third round of Open

Jenson Brooksby needed more than four hours to subdue fellow
Californian Taylor Fritz today. 2021 photo courtesy of USTA

   Jenson Brooksby reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time today, gutting out a victory over fellow Californian Taylor Fritz.

   Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, outlasted Fritz, 23, of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles region, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10), 7-5, 6-2 in 4 hours, 6 minutes in the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Brooksby converted his seventh match point. 

   Less than nine months after turning pro, Brooksby will rise at least 11 places to a career-high No. 88 after the U.S. Open.

   Fritz will improve five spots to No. 37, 13 notches off his career high in March 2020. He won Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield in consecutive weeks in 2015 at 17. 

   Brooksby is set to face No. 21 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Saturday. The 27-year-old Karatsev, ranked 25th, saved two match points in a 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9), 6-1 victory over Jordan Thompson of Australia. The match lasted 4 hours, 40 minutes.

   Karatsev defeated Brooksby 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the French Open in May in their only previous meeting. The winner of the rematch likely will play top-ranked Novak Djokovic, seeking to become the first man to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969, for a quarterfinal berth.

   In the Australian Open in February, the 114th-ranked Karatsev became the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals in his Grand Slam main-draw debut, the first qualifier to advance to a major semifinal since Vladimir Voltchkov at Wimbledon in 2000 and the lowest-ranked Grand Slam semifinalist since No. 125 Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001.

   Also today, 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-3 outlasted Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 3:57 in a matchup of undersized veterans.

   Nishikori, 31, served for the match at 5-4 in the third set but was broken at love. He avenged a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 loss to McDonald four weeks ago in the Washington semifinals to earn a meeting with Djokovic.

   In a late match, No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, edged 20-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7) in 2:21.

   Anisimova, who won her first professional title in the last (2017) Sacramento Challenger and reached the semifinals of the 2019 French Open, had a match point at 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker.   

   In the first round of doubles:

   —No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a Bay Area native) of Japan dismissed Americans Madison Brengle and Claire Liu 6-2, 6-3. Brengle won NorCal Challenger singles titles in 2018 and 2019 and reached a NorCal singles final in 2013.

   —Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand beat Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and Giuliana Olmos, a Bay Area product who represents Mexico, 6-4, 6-2.

   —No. 11 seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan topped U.S. wild cards Mitchell Krueger and Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5). Mmoh won the singles crown in the 2018 Tiburon Challenger in the Bay Area.

U.S. men hit new low in world rankings

Taylor Fritz, who won back-to-back Northern California Challengers six years ago
at 17, leads all U.S. men at No. 31 in the world. 2018 photo by Mal Taam 

   For the first time in the history of the computerized rankings, no American men are in the top 30.

   The top U.S. man, Taylor Fritz, slipped one notch to No. 31 today after losing in the first round in Madrid last week.

   Fritz, who won back-to-back Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield six years ago at 17, is scheduled to play top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Italian Open on Tuesday. Djokovic won his fifth Italian Open title last year.

   The computerized rankings began almost 50 years ago, in 1973.

   The good news for the United States is that it has 10 men in the top 100, tied for second with Italy behind Spain and France with 11 each. Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, is ranked No. 66.

   Five of the top-100 Americans are 23 or younger and therefore likely headed higher. The youngest, 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Sebastian Korda, is No. 67.

Sebastian Korda, right, and his father, former world No. 2
Petr, chat at the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger. Andy
Roddick calls Sebastian the United States' "best prospect
in a long, long time." Photo by Paul Bauman

   "I'll say it in no uncertain terms," Andy Roddick, the last U.S. man to win a Grand Slam singles title (2003 U.S. Open), proclaimed recently in Inside Tennis. "(Korda) is our best prospect in a long, long time. I'm very bullish on Seb Korda." 

   Korda's father, Czech-born Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open to climb to a career-high No. 2. Petr Korda tested positive for doping later that year and was suspended for 12 months. He retired at age 30 shortly before the ban took effect.

   In doubles, only one American man is ranked in the top 30: Rajeev Ram, a 37-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, at No. 12.

   Three U.S. women are ranked in the top 20 in singles: No. 5 Sofia Kenin, No. 8 Serena Williams and No. 13 Jennifer Brady.

   The United States leads all nations with a whopping 17 women in the top 100. Next are the Czech Republic (10) and Russia (nine).

   The youngest Americans in the top 100 are No. 35 Coco Gauff (17), No. 39 Amanda Anisimova (19) and No. 76 Ann Li (20). 

   Four American women are ranked in the top 30 in doubles: No. 10 Nicole Melichar (who was born in the Czech Republic), No. 16 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, No. 19 Desirae Krawczyk and No. 27 Hayley Carter.

Shapovalov frustrates Fritz with five-set win

Denis Shapovalov, a 21-year-old Canadian, reached
 the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the second time.
2016 photo by Paul Bauman 

   Taylor Fritz was in position to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

   Instead, Denis Shapovalov rallied to advance that far in a major for the second time.

   In a matchup of rising stars, the 12th-seeded Shapovalov defeated the 19th-seeded Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in 3 hours, 26 minutes in the U.S. Open.

   Fritz, a 22-year-old Southern Californian ranked 25th, served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   "He was playing incredibly well today, and I think we both deserved to win," Shapovalov, a 21-year-old Canadian with a sensational one-handed backhand, said in an on-court interview. "It was great tennis, and I think I just got a little bit lucky.

   "I stayed with him in the fourth set, when he was in control, and I saw him get a little bit tight. I tried to make him play as much as possible, then I got a little bit lucky on the set point and read it correctly to hit a good forehand.

   "I figured I needed to make a change for the fifth set, and I picked up my intensity and level."

   Less than one year after losing to U.S. veteran Tim Smyczek in the first round of the $100,000 Fairfield, Calif., Challenger in 2016, Shapovalov reached the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open at 18.

   Fritz, the son of former top-10 player Kathy May and ex-pro Guy Fritz, won his first two Challenger titles in Sacramento, Calif., and Fairfield in consecutive weeks at 17 in 2015.

   Shapovalov, ranked 17th, is scheduled to play Belgium's David Goffin, seeded seventh and ranked 10th, for the second time on Sunday. Goffin, only 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), prevailed 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) in the second round in Tokyo last fall.

   Goffin beat 26th-seeded Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-1, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the fourth consecutive year. With another victory, Goffin will have advanced to the quarterfinals of every major.

   In a thriller that ended at 1:10 a.m. EDT Saturday, 27th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia saved six match points in a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory over fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. The battle lasted 4:36.

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic dispatched 28th-seeded Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in their second meeting in two weeks. 

   Djokovic dismissed Struff 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of last week's Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows. Djokovic also defeated Struff in four sets in the first round of the Australian Open in January.

   Djokovic, a three-time U.S. Open champion, improved to 26-0 this year and 29-0 dating to November.

   Sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist, beat unseeded Jessica Pegula, a 26-year-old American making her first appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament, 6-4, 6-3.

   Kvitova reached the quarterfinals of the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2017 in her only Northern California appearance. The tournament moved to San Jose as the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in 2018.

   Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, advanced to the final of the 2012 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger at 18 and semifinals of the 2018 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger.

Brady blitzes Bellis, avoids facing top-seeded Pliskova

CiCi Bellis lost to fellow American Jennifer Brady 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes today in the
second round of the U.S. Open. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

Jennifer Brady is rolling while CiCi Bellis is trying to rebound.

Brady, seeded 28th, overpowered Bellis, who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes today in the second round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Both players are based at the USTA National Campus in the Orlando, Fla., area.

Bellis hit only three winners and committed 20 unforced errors as she fell to 1-1 against Brady.

Brady, 25, won her first WTA title three weeks ago in Lexington, Ky. She will face France's Caroline Garcia, who ousted top-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (2) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Pliskova, the runner-up to Angelique Kerber in the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and 2016 U.S. Open, and Garcia have been ranked as high as No. 1 and No. 4, respectively. 

Pliskova suffered her earliest loss in a Grand Slam tournament since a second-round exit at Wimbledon in 2017. She also lost early in last week's Western & Southern Open at the National Tennis Center, falling to 41st-ranked Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 7-5, 6-4 in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

Brady and Garcia have split six career meetings. Even with a loss, Brady will rise four spots to a career-high No. 37 after the U.S. Open. 

Brady played at UCLA for two years (2014-15), helping the Bruins win the NCAA title as a freshman. In Northern California Challengers, she won the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and reached the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to defending champion Sofia Kenin.

Also in 2017, Brady advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open at age 21 and U.S. Open at 22. She became the first American female qualifier to advance to the last 16 in Melbourne in the Open Era.

Brady recorded her first two top-10 wins this year before the women's and men's tours shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a qualifier, she knocked off No. 1 Ashleigh Barty to reach the quarterfinals in Brisbane in January and No. 6 Elina Svitolina en route to the Dubai semifinals in February. 

Bellis, 21, was playing in the U.S. Open for the first time since 2017. She defeated Tamara Korpatsch of Germany 6-7 (13), 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round for her first victory at Flushing Meadows since 2016.

Bellis first made headlines by shocking 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the 2014 U.S. Open at 15. After climbing to No. 35 and earning WTA Newcomer of the Year honors in 2017, she underwent three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow in 2018-19. 

Ranked No. 860 last December, Bellis will jump 22 places to No. 166.

France's Kristina Mladenovic, seeded 30th, lost to Varvara Gracheva, a 20-year-old Russian playing in her first Grand Slam tournament, after leading 6-1, 5-1.

Mladenovic, who fell 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0, has been exposed to compatriot Benoit Paire, who tested positive for the coronavirus and was removed from the draw before the tournament. 

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat Kyle Edmund, 25, of Great Britain 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in high humidity to improve to 25-0 this year and 28-0 since November.

Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, third behind Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (19). Neither Federer (arthroscopic knee surgery) nor defending champion Nadal (coronavirus concerns) entered the U.S. Open.

Edmund struggled with a left knee injury last year, dropping as low as No. 75 in October after reaching a career-high No. 14 in October 2018. He has fought back to No. 44.

Edmund won his second career ATP title indoors in New York in February. He reached the semifinals of the 2015 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger, losing to eventual champion John Millman; fourth round of the 2016 U.S. Open; and semifinals of the 2018 Australian Open.

Taylor Fritz, seeded 19th and ranked 25th, beat Gilles Simon, a 35-year-old Frenchman, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to equal his best stage in a Grand Slam tournament. 

The 22-year-old Fritz, the only American man left in the top half of the draw, is scheduled to face Canada's Denis Shapovalov, seeded 12th and ranked 17th, on Friday. 

Shapovalov, a 21-year-old left-hander, has not lost a set in two matches against Fritz, who won consecutive Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield at 17 in 2015.

The second round in the bottom half of the men's draw is set for Thursday. Only three U.S. men remain: Frances Tiafoe, 21-year-old wild card J.J. Wolf and alternate Ernesto Escobedo. All will face higher-ranked players.

U.S. eliminated from Davis Cup despite victory

Sam Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native, and Jack
Sock gave the United States a dramatic win over Italy on Wed-
nesday in the Davis Cup Finals. File photo by Paul Bauman

   Despite a dramatic win over Italy, the United States was eliminated from the Davis Cup Finals on Wednesday.
   Twice coming within a tiebreaker of losing, the U.S. rallied for a 2-1 victory in Madrid.
   Sam Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native, and Jack Sock won the decisive doubles match 7-6 (4), 6-7 (2), 6-4 over Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
   The contest ended at 4:04 a.m. Madrid time, the latest finish in Davis Cup history and second-latest in tennis history. Lleyton Hewitt's victory over Marcos Baghdatis in the third round of the 2008 Australian Open ended at 4:30 a.m.
   "I don't even know where we are, what time it is, what day it is," U.S. captain Mardy Fish told reporters. "That was pretty special from these guys, for sure."
   Taylor Fritz, ranked 32nd, had pulled the United States even at 1-1 by beating eighth-ranked Matteo Berrettini, a U.S. Open semifinalist in September, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
   "I'm excited for Taylor," Fish said. "That's one of the biggest wins of his life. I'm just happy to be part of it."
   In the opener, 12th-ranked Fabio Fognini defeated 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka, ranked 36th, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
  Fritz and Opelka, both 22, made their Davis Cup debuts on Tuesday in the United States' 2-1 loss to Canada. Querrey and Sock were credited with a victory even though the doubles match wasn't played.
  The winners of the six three-team groups advance to Friday's quarterfinals, along with the two best second-place finishers.
  Canada won Group F with a 2-0 record. The United States finished 1-1, and Italy went 0-2. The Americans needed to beat Italy decisively, surrendering few sets or games, to advance in the new format.
   The United States leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles, but its last one came in 2007. The Americans' 12-year title drought is their longest in the 119-year competition, breaking their previous mark of 11 (1996-2006).

Canada defeats U.S. in Davis Cup for first time

   New format, more frustration for the United States.

   Canada defeated the Americans for the first time today, winning 2-1 in Group F in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid. It was Canada's maiden victory in 16 meetings against the United States and the first between the nations since 1965.

   Vasek Pospisil topped 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7), and Denis Shapovalov beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (6), 6-3.

   Shapovalov is ranked No. 15 at age 20. Pospisil, 29, had back surgery in January and returned at Wimbledon. He is No. 150 after reaching a career-high No. 25 in 2014.

   Fritz and Opelka, both 22, made their Davis Cup debuts. They are ranked No. 32 and No. 36, respectively.

   The scheduled doubles match was not played, but Sam Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native, and Jack Sock were credited with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Pospisil and Shapovalov.

   Canada, which beat Italy 2-1 on Monday, became the first team to reach the quarterfinals. The United States (0-1) must beat Italy on Wednesday to have a chance of advancing.

   For the first time in the 119-year history of the Davis Cup, nations are competing at one site in the same week instead of going head-to-head at host countries over four weekends throughout the year.

   Competitions between nations have been shortened from the best-of-five matches to the best-of-three. The six group winners and two best second-place finishers advance.

   The United States leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles, but the last one came in 2007. If the Americans fall short again, they will break their drought record.

   In Group A, France defeated Japan 2-1. In the deciding match, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut outlasted Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5.

Fritz frustrates Querrey for first ATP title

Taylor Fritz dominated Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4 in a matchup of
California natives to win the Eastbourne title. 2018 photo
courtesy of JFS Communications

   Taylor Fritz and Sam Querrey went unbeaten in Northern California Challengers several years ago.
   Fritz won the Sacramento and Fairfield titles in consecutive weeks at 17 in 2015 after skipping the Tiburon tournament. Querrey swept the three-week swing through Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon in 2014.
   On Saturday, Fritz dominated Querrey 6-3, 6-4 on grass in Eastbourne, England, for his first ATP title.
   "It's so amazing," Fritz, a 21-year-old Southern Californian, gushed on atptour.com. "I almost can't believe it. I'm still trying to take it in. I've wanted to win a tour title ever since I made the final (in Memphis) when I was 18. It feels like I've just been waiting so long. I'm so happy."
   The matchup of unseeded California natives lasted only 61 minutes. Fritz won 31 of 35 points (89 percent) on his first serve and saved the only break point against him.
   The 31-year-old Querrey, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles area, had nine aces and no double faults. He was playing in his first tournament since Houston in April because of an abdominal injury.
   Fritz will rise from No. 42 to a career high of about No. 30 on Monday. His mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals.
   Fritz and Querrey are scheduled to play their first-round Wimbledon matches on Tuesday. Fritz will face 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, and Querrey will take on fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.
   Querrey reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals in 2016, ousting the defending champion -- Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, respectively -- each time. Fritz reached the second round last year for his best result in three Wimbledon appearances.

Young Americans Tiafoe, Fritz, Anisimova upset seeds

Frances Tiafoe, right, poses with his trophy after beating fellow
American Noah Rubin to win the $100,000 Stockton (Calif.)
Challenger at age 18 in 2016. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The United States' youth brigade is beginning to make a big impact in Grand Slam tournaments.
   For the second time in three days, a U.S. male prospect ousted a top-10 seed in the Australian Open. Also, 21-year-old Taylor Fritz and 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova knocked off low seeds.
   Frances Tiafoe, who will turn 21 on Sunday, stunned 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Kevin Anderson, the fifth seed in Melbourne and runner-up in two of the last five majors, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 today in the second round.
   Anderson led 6-4, 3-0 before Tiafoe "just went to a different place," he told reporters. "I dug insanely deep. ... It's all about competing. Guys are so good, it's just how bad do you really want it? I wanted it real bad."
   Afterward, Tiafoe repeatedly slapped his right biceps and yelled in exultation.
   Anderson, 32, received treatment on his right elbow after the third set.
   On Sunday (California time), 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka, 21, eliminated 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) John Isner, seeded ninth, in the first round.
   Thomas Fabbiano of Italy beat Opelka 6-7 (17-15), 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-5) in a late second-round match. Opelka pounded 67 aces, the fifth-highest match total ever.
   Fabbiano, only 5-foot-8 (1.73 meters), reached the semifinals of the $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger last August as the top seed.
   Opelka lost in the first round of back-to-back $100,000 Challengers in Northern California last October as the second seed in Stockton and fourth seed in Fairfield.
   Tiafoe, who won the $100,000 Stockton Challenger in 2016 at 18, reached the third round of a major for the second time. He will face 34-year-old Italian Andreas Seppi, who shocked Roger Federer to reach the fourth round of the 2015 Australian Open.
   Fritz, who won the $100,000 Sacramento and Fairfield Challengers back-to-back at 17 in 2015, topped 30th-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in 3 hours, 24 minutes.
   "Tiafoe, Opelka and Fritz are the new Big 3," trumpeted ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert, who could have included extremely athletic Michael Mmoh in a Big 4. "That's the future of American men's tennis."
   Fritz will take on the third-seeded Federer, 37, for the second time. Federer, who seeks his third consecutive Australian Open title and seventh overall, beat 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Briton Daniel Evans, the Aptos champion in 2016 and runner-up to Stanford graduate Bradley Klahn in 2013, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Evans returned from 10-month cocaine suspension last April.
   Federer edged Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the second round at Stuttgart on grass in 2016.
   Anisimova, who won her first professional title in the $60,000 Sacramento Challenger in 2017 at 15, crushed 24th-seeded Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-0, 6-2 in 54 minutes. Tsurenko advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last September before losing to eventual champion Naomi Osaka.
   Anisimova will play 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, a 20-year-old Belarusian coached by former Northern California resident Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.
   Meanwhile, fifth seed and Fresno product Sloane Stephens dispatched Timea Babos of Hungary 6-3, 6-1. Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up, will meet 31st-seeded Petra Martic of Croatia.
   Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis at 15 in 2006, took out ninth-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
   Sixth-seeded Marin Cilic, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Croat, beat 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Mackenzie McDonald, a 23-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 7-5, 6-7 (11-9), 6-4, 6-4. McDonald reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last July.
   In the first round of men's doubles, fourth seeds and ex-Stanford stars Bob and Mike Bryan beat Australian wild cards Alex Bolt and Marc Polmans 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1).
   The 40-year-old Bryans seek their seventh Australian Open men's doubles title but first since 2013. Bolt and Polmans reached the singles final in Fairfield and Stockton, respectively, last October.
   Americans Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey, a 31-year-old San Francisco native, downed 16th-seeded Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
   Sixth-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Michael Venus of New Zealand eliminated Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate from Los Angeles, and Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Kukushkin lost to Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up to Federer, in the 2014 Aptos final.

Fritz beats Klahn for 150K Newport Beach title

   In an all-Southern California final, third-seeded Taylor Fritz beat unseeded Bradley Klahn (Stanford 2009-12) 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 today to win the $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series Newport Beach (Calif.).
   Both Klahn, a 27-year-old left-hander, and Fritz, 20, were born and raised in the San Diego area and now live in the Los Angeles region.
   Fritz won his fourth Challenger singles title, including back-to-back crowns in Sacramento and Fairfield, Calif., at age 17 in 2015.
   Klahn, a former top-70 player rebounding from his second back operation, sought his sixth Challenger singles title and first since 2014. His initial Challenger crown came in Aptos, an hour drive south of Stanford, in 2013
  In the Oracle women's singles final, U.S. wild card Danielle Collins defeated 18-year-old qualifier Sofya Zhuk of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Klahn and Collins won three NCAA singles titles combined. Klahn took the 2010 crown, and Virginia's Collins held the 2014 and 2016 trophies. Zhuk won the Wimbledon girls singles title in 2015 at 15.

Klahn, Fritz to meet in 150K Newport Beach final

   Unseeded Bradley Klahn, a former NCAA singles champion from Stanford, will meet third-seeded Taylor Fritz for the first time on Sunday in an all-Southern California final.
   Klahn, a 27-year-old left-hander, outlasted qualifier Christian Garin of Chile 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 today in the $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series Newport Beach (Calif.). Fritz, 20, defeated countryman and best friend Reilly Opelka, 6-foot-11 (2.11 meters), 6-3, 7-6 (6).
   Both Klahn and Fritz were born and raised in the San Diego area and now live in the Los Angeles region.
   Klahn, a former top-70 player fighting back from his second back operation, seeks his sixth Challenger singles title but first since 2014. His initial Challenger crown came in Aptos, an hour drive south of Stanford, in 2013.
   Fritz has won three Challenger titles, including back-to-back crowns in Sacramento and Fairfield at age 17 in 2015.
  In the Oracle women's final, U.S. wild card Danielle Collins will face 18-year-old qualifier Sofya Zhuk of Russia.
  Collins, a former two-time NCAA singles champ from Virginia, beat seventh-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-3. Zhuk survived 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 against qualifier Mayo Hibi of Japan. Hibi ousted second-seeded Alison Riske, a Pittsburgh native, in the opening round.

Qualifier Broady to face Bublik, 20, in Aptos final

   Qualifier Liam Broady of Great Britain upset wild card Taylor Fritz, a top U.S. prospect, 7-6 (3), 6-3 today to reach the final of the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger in Aptos, Calif.
   Throughout the match at the Seascape Sports Club near the Pacific Ocean, the 23-year-old Broady served his way out of trouble and outsteadied the 19-year-old Fritz from the backcourt.
   Broady, a 6-foot (1.83-meter) left-hander, won 84 percent of the points on his first serve (41 of 49) and saved all six break points against him.
   Fritz is ranked No. 131, down from a career-high No. 53 one year ago. Broady is No. 336 after climbing as high as No. 158 two years ago.
   Broady is the third British finalist, and second to emerge from qualifying, in Aptos in the past two years. Dan Evans defeated qualifier Cameron Norrie, a South Africa native, last year. Also, current world No. 1 Andy Murray of Scotland won the Aptos title in 2005 at age 18.
   Evans, 27, faces a suspension of up to four years after testing positive for cocaine in April.
   Broady's older sister, 6-foot-2 (1.89-meter) Naomi, is ranked No. 127 after reaching a career-high No. 76 in March last year.
   Liam Broady will face Alexander Bublik, who was born in Russia but changed his allegiance to Kazakhstan after being offered financial support, for the first time on Sunday after the 1 p.m. doubles final. The matches will be streamed live.
   Bublik, 20, defeated Sam Groth, a 29-year-old Australian with a booming serve, 7-6 (2), 6-3. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter), 165-pound (75-kilogram) Bublik won 82 percent of the points on his first serve (31 of 38).
   Groth set an unofficial record with a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) serve in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   Bublik already has beaten two top-20 players in his career: No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain to reach the quarterfinals in Moscow on the ATP World Tour last October and No. 16 Lucas Pouille of France in the first round of the Australian Open in January as a qualifier.
   Both Bublik, ranked No. 125, and Broady will play in their second Challenger singles final. Bublik won a $50,000 hardcourt tournament in Morelos, Mexico, in February. Broady was the runner-up in Charlottesville, Va., also a $50,000 hardcourt tourney, in 2014.
   The Aptos Challenger, the oldest on the men's circuit in the United States, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Past competitors include International Tennis Hall of Famers Patrick Rafter and Michael Chang, as well as future Hall of Famers Murray, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.
   Here are the Nordic Naturals singles and doubles draws and Sunday's schedule.

U.S. sensation Fritz reaches semis at 100K Aptos

After practicing, Taylor Fritz glances at a match
on Center Court in Aptos, Calif., on Wednesday.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Wild card Taylor Fritz, one of the United States' top prospects, defeated sixth-seeded Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, Tenn., 6-5, 7-6 (1) today in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

   Fritz, 19, of Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area, saved three sets points while serving at 5-6 in the second set.
   Fritz made his Challenger debut two years ago in Aptos, losing to veteran Mischa Zverev, now ranked 26th, in the first round. Two months later, Fritz won the Sacramento and Fairfield Challengers, also in Northern California, back to-back at 17.
   He became the second-fastest American man to reach an ATP World Tour final last year at Memphis and stunned then-No. 7 Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, at Indian Wells in March.
   Ranked a career-high No. 53 one year ago, Fritz has tumbled to No. 131 because of knee problems.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May peaked at No. 10 in the world in 1977 and played in three career Grand Slam quarterfinals.
   Taylor Fritz will meet qualifier Liam Broady of Great Britain in today's second semifinal. Broady, a 23-year-old left-hander, beat Raymond Sarmiento of Los Angeles 6-4, 6-4. Sarmiento, a 25-year-old former USC All-American, played in the Aptos quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
    In the first semifinal, which will follow an 11 a.m. doubles semi, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan will face Sam Groth of Australia.
   Bublik, a 20-year-old Russia native, eliminated wild card Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-1, 6-4 in 64 minutes. Milpitas is a one-hour drive north of Aptos.
   Bublik, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and only 165 pounds (75 kilograms), qualified for the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. He shocked France's Lucas Pouille, then ranked 16th, in the first round in Melbourne before losing to Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. Bublik fell to top-ranked Andy Murray 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round at Wimbledon.
   Groth held off countryman Akira Santillan, a 20-year-old Tokyo native, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Groth pounded 17 aces, and Santillan had 15.
   Groth, 29, set an unofficial record with a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) serve in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger and climbed to a career-high No. 53 in 2015.
    Both semifinals will be first-time meetings.
    The Aptos tournament, the oldest men's Challenger in the United States, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Past competitors include International Tennis Hall of Famers Patrick Rafter and Michael Chang, as well as future Hall of Famers Andy Murray, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

Zhang turns tables on No. 2 seed Fritz in S.F.

Ze Zhang exults late in his win over Taylor Fritz in
the first round of the $100,000 KPSF Open. Zhang
had lost to Fritz in straight sets in the first round
in Dallas the previous week. Photo by Mal Taam

   SAN FRANCISCO -- Ze Zhang and Taylor Fritz met in the first round for the second consecutive week on Tuesday,
   Zhang, however, played so much better that he looked like a different player.
   The 26-year-old qualifier from China stunned the second-seeded Fritz 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the $100,000 KPSF Open indoors at the Bay Club SF Tennis Center.
   One week after losing to Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in the $125,000 Dallas Challenger, the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Zhang repeatedly frustrated the 19-year-old U.S. sensation with booming serves and pinpoint groundstrokes. Fritz could only hang his head in dismay or smile in amazement as shots whizzed by him.
   Zhang won the last four games of the hard-hitting match, breaking Fritz for 3-2 on a spectacular backhand passing shot down the line and for 5-2 when Fritz netted a backhand. Zhang closed out the match with a service winner for 40-30 and another backhand passing shot down the line on his first match point.
   Fritz, the runner-up to countryman Ryan Harrison in Dallas, didn't suffer a letdown or underestimate Zhang. Far from it.
   "I felt like I played better this time," allowed the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Fritz. "There was just one game I regret in the third set where I dropped my serve the first time. I gave him a double fault, and I gave him an error on both of my game points. Even that being said, I still played pretty good that game, and on the break point, I couldn't have played it any better. These are the losses where I just have to be like, why does it happen to me?" Fritz added with a laugh.
   "I thought I played at a pretty good level. We (Fritz and his coach, David Nainkin) were just talking about it. I served well, I thought I was crushing the ball, but he was just beating me up. The only thing was I couldn't quite find the timing on my backhand. Sometimes I really connected on it, sometimes I mis-hit it a bit, but still I thought I played a higher level than last week when I actually beat him. Sometimes people just play too good for you."

   It was nothing like Zhang's performance last week.
   "He played the big points incredibly well (Tuesday), something last week I was able to really capitalize on," said Fritz, ranked 83rd. "Last week, he double-faulted on some big points, he played tight on some big points, and today he showed really no fear on any of the big points, just coming up with the best tennis. That's a big change. He served better, he returned better, he hit his backhand so much better."

Fritz said Zhang looked nothing like the player he had beaten in straight sets
in Dallas. Photo by Mal Taam

   Zhang, though, double-faulted into the bottom of the net to lose the second set.
   "That's the only thing he did in the last match that he actually showed me in this match," said Fritz, the son of former professional players Guy Fritz and Kathy May who became a father for the first time three weeks ago with his wife, former junior star Raquel Pedraza. "He gave me one double fault on the set point. Besides that, it was lights out on the big points, lights out for most of the match."

   Fritz easily could have lost to Zhang in Dallas.
   "Last week I came out and played a bad game to start the match and started myself down a break. And I put myself down a break in the second set as well," lamented Fritz, who won his first two Challenger titles back-to-back in Sacramento and Fairfield in Northern California at 17 in 2015. "I knew he was good, and I knew he was dangerous. I could see last week he goes for it. He hits the ball big. Those are the type of people that can come up big any day."
   The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Zhang, ranked No. 195, employed a simple game plan.
   "I needed just one rule: Just (be) aggressive, because last week I lost to Fritz in Dallas," Zhang said in broken English. "He's a good player. He (hurt me with his) serve and forehand (in Dallas). Many, many trouble. This match, I was just thinking I need (to be) aggressive. This is great."
   Beating top-100 players is nothing new to Zhang, His best victory came over then-No. 14 Richard Gasquet of France to reach the quarterfinals in Beijing on the ATP World Tour in 2012.

Fritz reacts after another great shot by Zhang. Photo by Mal Taam

   At least Fritz will have time to rest before next week's Memphis Open on the ATP World Tour. It's a big tournament for him, because if he doesn't at least match his runner-up finish to Kei Nishikori there last year, he will drop in the rankings.
   John-Patrick Smith also beat a young American seed on Tuesday to avenge a recent loss, but that upset was more predictable. Smith, a 28-year-old Australian left-hander, ousted Jared Donaldson, seeded fourth, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after losing to the promising 20-year-old 7-6 in the third set in the second round of qualifying in Brisbane last month.
   Donaldson, the runner-up to Fritz in the 2015 Sacramento Challenger, reached the third round of the U.S. Open as a qualifier last September. He knocked off David Goffin and Viktor Troicki -- then ranked No. 14 and No. 32, respectively.
   Top-seeded Frances Tiafoe, 19, beat fellow American Bradley Klahn, the 2010 NCAA champion from nearby Stanford, 6-4, 6-4.
   Tiafoe reached the second round of the Australian Open as a qualifier last month for the first of likely many Grand Slam victories.
   Klahn, a 26-year-old left-hander who climbed to a career-high No. 63 in the world in 2014, returned to the circuit in November after sitting out for almost two years. He underwent his second operation for a herniated disc in his back in February 2015. The first was in 2011.
   "He's obviously a very good player and hungry," Tiafoe said. "I'm really happy to see him back out playing again. He's a really nice guy and definitely has a lot of game, so I knew it was going to be a tough match."
   Sixth-seeded Peter Polansky of Canada dispatched Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-2, 6-2. Polansky won the 2013 Tiburon Challenger across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
   Here are the singles and doubles draws and today's schedule.