Ex-doubles star to play in Sierra College fundraiser

   Former professional doubles standout Christina Fusano is scheduled to play in a Sacramento-area exhibition on Saturday to help raise money for the Sierra College women's tennis team.
   Festivities will begin at 10 a.m. at Ben Combs' clay court at 8582 Westin Lane in Orangevale. Free beer and lunch will be available, and the doubles exhibition is set for 1:30 p.m.
   Donations can be made at the fundraiser or mailed to the above address (zip code 95662). Checks should be made out to Sierra College Women's Tennis.
   Fusano was born in Sacramento and grew up in El Dorado, 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of the California capital in the foothills. She attended Cal and won the 2003 NCAA doubles title with Raquel-Kops Jones.
   Both became doubles specialists in the pros, Fusano peaking at No. 84 in the world in 2008 and Kops-Jones at No. 13 last October. Fusano retired in September 2011 at age 30, but Kops-Jones remains active with a ranking of No. 14.
   Fusano, only 5-foot-5 (1.65 meters) and 125 pounds (57 kilograms), won one title on the elite WTA tour (Quebec City in 2007 with Kops-Jones) and 13 on the ITF (minor-league) circuit. She reached the second round at Wimbledon in 2008 (with Angela Haynes) and played in the U.S. Open three times.

PRO RANKINGS

   Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Nick Andrews, Cal All-American in 2012, resident of Folsom in the Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 1,048 in doubles (+3), No. 1,501 in singles (-5).  
   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 33 in singles (-1), unranked in doubles.
   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 226 in singles (-3), No. 480 in doubles (-9).
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 26 in doubles (+4), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 20 in singles (+3), No. 83 in doubles (-32).
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 181 in singles (-8), No. 843 in doubles (+1).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident from Russia -- No. 71 in singles (+5), No. 278 in doubles (+2).
   Pedro Zerbini, All-Pacific-10 Conference first team at Cal (2009-11) -- No. 464 in singles (no change), No. 418 in doubles (-9).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- Career-high No. 104 in singles (+21), No. 363 in doubles (+2). 
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 14 in doubles (+1), No. 1,149 in singles (-6).

   Megan Moulton-Levy, Capitals (2013) -- No. 72 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.

   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- Career-high No. 109 in singles (+3), No. 121 in doubles (+2).

   Romana Tedjakusuma, Tracy resident from Indonesia -- No. 463 in singles (-1), No. 1,098 in doubles (+2).
   Taylor Townsend, Capitals (2013) -- Career-high No. 350 in singles (+121), No. 541 in doubles (+2).

TV SCHEDULE

Sony Open (men and women)
In Key Biscayne, Fla.

All matches live; times PDT
   Today

   Early rounds, Tennis Channel, noon-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.

Saturday through Tuesday

   Early rounds, Tennis Channel, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

Wednesday

   Men's and women's quarterfinals, ESPN2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
   Women's quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 4-6 p.m.

Thursday

   Men's and women's quarterfinals/semifinals, ESPN2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m.

Friday, March 29

   Men's semifinals, ESPN2, noon-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m.

Saturday, March 30

   Women's final, CBS, 9-11:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 31

   Men's final, CBS, 8:30-11 a.m.

CALENDAR

    April 23-28 -- Pac-12 Men's and Women's Championships, Ojai Valley Athletic Club/Libbey Park, Ojai, www.pac12.com.
   April 25-28 -- Big West Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, www.bigwest.org.
   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.
   May 10-11 -- NCAA Men's and Women's Team Championships, first and second rounds at campus sites, www.ncaa.com.
   May 16-21 -- NCAA Men's and Women's Team Championships, round of 16 through finals, Urbana, Ill., www.ncaa.com, www.fightingillini.com.
   May 22-27 -- NCAA Men's and Women's Individual Championships, Urbana, Ill., www.ncaa.com, www.fightingillini.com.
   May 26-June 9 -- FRENCH OPEN, www.rolandgarros.com. 2012 champions: Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Max Mirnyi-Daniel Nestor, Sara Errani-Roberta Vinci.
   June 24-July 7 -- WIMBLEDON, www.wimbledon.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Jonathan Marray-Frederik Nielsen, Serena Williams-Venus Williams.
   July 1-7 -- $50,000 Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River, www.usta.com. 2012 champions: Maria Sanchez, Asia Muhammad-Yasmin Schnack.
   July 7 -- Sacramento Capitals open season vs. Texas Wild in World TeamTennis, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.   
   July 22-28 -- Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, www.bankofthewestclassic.com. 2012 champions: Serena Williams, Marina Erakovic-Heather Watson. 
   July 25 -- World TeamTennis conference championships at highest seeds, www.wtt.com.
   July 28 -- World TeamTennis Finals at Eastern Conference champion, www.wtt.com. 

Fusano reflects: From small town to big time in tennis

   Christina Fusano grew up in a child's paradise.
   On her parents' five-acre ranch in El Dorado, about 40 miles east of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada foothills, there was plenty of room to run around and fresh air to breathe.
   There were horses to ride, trees to climb, rocks to throw, trails to hike and lizards to catch. In the winter, there was nearby sledding. What more could a kid want?
   But for an aspiring professional tennis player, El Dorado was less than ideal. It ranked somewhere above Nome, Alaska, and far below Southern California.
   For starters, there weren't a lot of other promising players to hit with. Then there were the cold winters, occasional snowstorms and lack of indoor courts.
   Fusano overcame the handicaps to play on the pro circuit for eight years before retiring in September at 30. She looks back fondly on her childhood.
   "I loved it," the Sacramento native said. "It was definitely more like country life. (Nearby) Placerville is a great town. There was a lot of driving to Sacramento, though. When I got my (driver's) license, my mom let me go so she didn't have to drive me.
   "I'm trying to think of any tennis player who grew up like me. It's hard to be competitive when you live in the country, but I had great family support. I rode a pony when I was younger, and there were a lot of outdoor activities."
   Only 5-foot-5 and 125 pounds, Fusano went on to win the 2003 NCAA doubles title with Cal teammate Raquel Kops-Jones and specialize in doubles in the pros.
   Fusano won one title on the WTA tour (Quebec City in 2007 with Kops-Jones) and 13 on the ITF (minor league) circuit. She reached the second round at Wimbledon in 2008 (with Angela Haynes), played in the U.S. Open three times and reached a career-high No. 84 in the world in 2008.
   Fusano also played World TeamTennis for five years, including part-time for the Sacramento Capitals for the past two seasons.
   "Unfortunately, I never got to play a full season for them, but you take what you can get," said Fusano, who also played for Boston in 2007, Delaware in 2008 before the team folded and the New York Sportimes in 2009.
   Fusano was ranked in the mid- to low 100s for the last several years, relegating her to the USTA circuit. However, she and former Stanford All-American David Martin won a national playoff to earn a mixed doubles berth in this year's U.S. Open.
   That's where her career ended in a first-round loss to Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, one of six women to win a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles, and longtime Capital Mark Knowles, the 2009 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion with Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
   "I spent a lot of time out there (on the pro tour), and I was ready to take the next step in my life," said Fusano, a part-time assistant coach for the UC Davis women who also teaches at the Gold River Racquet Club and Sutter Lawn Tennis Club. "The last few years were up and down, and I was not playing at the highest level (of tournaments). I was burned out, to be honest."
   Fusano considered Argentina's Gisela Dulko, ranked No. 9 in the world in doubles after climbing to No. 1 last November, one of her toughest opponents. At 5-7 and 123, she's built similarly to Fusano.
   "I was really impressed with Dulko," Fusano said. "She's really smart. I prided myself on touch and being smart, but she took it to another level."
   Tammy Hendler, who played for the Capitals in 2008, met Fusano met once, in the first doubles match of 2011 for both players. Fusano and Sacramento-area resident Yasmin Schnack defeated Hendler and Gabriela Paz of Venezuela 6-4, 6-2 in a $25,000 tournament on clay in Plantation, Fla., in January en route to the final.
   "(Fusano) was such a dominant player at the net that it was tough to pass her," Hendler recalled. "She reads the game so well. She plays all the right shots at the right times."   
   Hendler said she asked Fusano to play doubles with her in a $50,000 hardcourt tournament in Lexington, Ky., in July, but Fusano wasn't sure if she was going to go to Lexington. She didn't, and Hendler and fellow 19-year-old Chichi Scholl of Pompano Beach, Fla., proceeded to win the title.
   "Christina is a really good friend," Hendler said. "She's a great person, one of the nicest on the USTA circuit. She's always smiling."
   Fusano's vivacious personality belies the intensity of pro tennis.
   "It's a business, No. 1," she asserted. "In business, they'll do whatever it takes to succeed. I wish I had learned that earlier -- which tournaments to play, how many, who to play with ... It's not easy out there. You have to love the battle, and I did for eight years."
   Fusano revels in "what an incredible, lucky life I've lived. I've traveled to Asia and South America, and, dang, Sacramento, California, is an awesome place." 
   She said her coaching philosophy is the same as it was as a player: "Work hard and have fun."
   Bill Maze, the head women's coach at UC Davis, taught Fusano "on and off for 12 or 13 years," he said, and recruited her out of Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs. Her playing experience and outgoing personality made her "a complete lock" for the Aggies job, Maze said.
   "To get someone ranked the top 200 (in the world) in doubles who has played in the U.S. Open and won an NCAA doubles title, not many assistants have that on their resume. There are a lot of great players out there, but she has such great charisma and leadership skills. She gets the team so fired up. I couldn't be happier. She's a natural coach," said Maze, a former three-time All-American at Stanford who played No. 1 doubles with John McEnroe.
   "I know she wants to move on. She would be a phenomenal head coach. I feel it's a one-year deal and she'll move on to the business world."
   Fusano admitted the UC Davis position is a "steppingstone" but added that she's "enjoying it more than I thought. The girls are great fun and have a lot of potential. I got a real estate license, so I'll reassess after one year."
   Fusano is the youngest of three children, each five years apart. John, the eldest, is the head basketball coach at Sierra College in Rocklin. Laurena is a realtor. Their father, Chris, worked in property management while their mother, Bettie Ann, raised them.
   Christina took up tennis at 6 when the Millennium SportsClub El Dorado opened in Shingle Springs in 1987. John and Bettie Ann played and introduced Christina to the sport. She competed in volleyball for four years and basketball as a senior at Ponderosa while honing her tennis game at Millennium, in Sacramento and in Davis.
   From the beginning, Fusano's goal was to play professionally.
   "I always worked hard with that in mind," she said. "I realize how much effort my parents put into it. I'm really lucky and thankful."

Facing Faceys jolts opponent

   Now Jacqueline Cako knows what Yogi Berra meant when he said, "It's like deja vu all over again."
   Cako had a surreal experience when she faced the Faceys back to back in singles qualifying for the recent $25,000 Oak River Rehab Challenger in Redding.
   Cako, a sophomore at Arizona State seeded first in qualifying, beat the 18-year-old twins from the Sacramento suburb of Cameron Park by almost identical scores to advance to the main draw. Alexandra lost 6-2, 6-0 in the first round, and Kat fell 6-2, 6-2 the next day in the second round.
   "It was pretty funny," said the 5-foot-10 Cako, who lost to University of Florida junior and eventual semifinalist Allie Will in the second round. "It's never happened to me. I played on the same court, I warmed up with the same person, and I was following the same person as the day before. It was like the day before all over again."
   Cako, a pre-med major from Brier, Wash., near Seattle who took a year off after high school to play professional tennis, plans to graduate in 2 1/2 years because she's eager to return to the circuit. She reached the round of 16 in the NCAA championships at Stanford in May.
   Cako said the Faceys have "very similar" games featuring powerful serves and two-handed forehands and backhands.  
   The Ponderosa High School graduates received a wild card into the main draw of doubles in Redding. Playing as amateurs in their first professional tournament, they lost to unseeded Julia Boserup, 20, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Malou Ejdesgaard, 20, of Denmark 6-0, 6-4 in the first round. Boserup went on to win her first professional singles title.
   Three days after the doubles loss, the Faceys left for UC Irvine to begin their freshman year on full scholarships.
   Christina Fusano, a 30-year-old Ponderosa graduate who retired early this month after eight years on the professional circuit, has practiced frequently with the Faceys in the last two years.
   "They're really athletic and talented but need coaching and matches," said Fusano, now an assistant coach for the UC Davis women. "They will really develop in college. I'm bummed because we play Irvine. (The Faceys) looked at Davis, but (head coach Bill Maze) only had one scholarship (available)."    
   Somewhat surprisingly, neither of the Faceys named twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 men's doubles team in the world, as tennis idols.
   Alexandra chose Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. "Both play every point, have a lot of motivation and never give up," she said.
   Kat picked Alexandra and their mother, Kim, who played No. 2 singles at Auburn in the late 1980s and coaches her daughters.
   The Facey twins, however, did meet the Bryans at a doubles invitational in New York two years ago.
   Unlike the Bryans, the Faceys are not identical twins. At 5-foot-9, Alexandra is two inches taller than Kat. And whereas Bob is left-handed and Mike right, both Faceys are right-handed.
   Kim and her husband -- Mike, an information technology consultant -- have one other child. Michael is a junior on the University of Montana tennis team.
   When asked if Alexandra and Kat have pro potential, Fusano said: "I don't see why not. They have big games, but they have a long way to go. First, they have four years of college."
   As Berra said, "You can observe a lot by watching."
   WTA tour -- Kops-Jones and fellow Californian Abigail Spears, coming off the women's doubles title in Quebec City, defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan and Zhang Shuai of China 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first round of doubles in the $2.05 million Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

Blake, Gonzalez set to play in Natomas Challenger

   Although they come from different countries, James Blake and Fernando Gonzalez have much in common.
   Both are 31. Both have reached the top five in the world. Both are battling back from injuries. And both are scheduled to play in the $100,000 Natomas/USTA Challenger, Oct. 1-9 at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   Gonzalez, who received a wild card last week, climbed to a career-high No. 5 in the world in January 2007 after finishing as the runner-up to Roger Federer in the Australian Open. The Chilean won the singles silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and finished in the top 15 for the fifth consecutive year in 2009. However, he underwent right hip surgery last October and has plunged to No. 297.
   Blake, a three-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist, ascended to a career-high No. 4 in 2006 and played a key role on the United States' 2007 Davis Cup championship team. But the Yonkers, N.Y., native, now living in Tampa, Fla., missed 10 weeks in the spring of 2010 with a knee injury and fell to No. 173 last March. He has since climbed back to No. 73.
   Other entrants in the Natomas Challenger include former top-15 player Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, 2005 U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri of Kennesaw, Ga., and 2007 Sacramento Challenger champion Wayne Odesnik of Weston, Fla.
   Blake, Karlovic (32) and Ginepri (28) are no strangers to Northern California. All have done well in the SAP Open in San Jose.
   Blake reached the singles semifinals in 2003 and 2009 and won the doubles title in 2004 with Mardy Fish. The 6-foot-10 Karlovic came within a tiebreaker of winning the 2007 SAP Open, losing to Andy Murray.  Ginepri advanced to the semis in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2005 with Jan-Michael Gambill.
   Odesnik, 25, returned to action in January after serving a one-year suspension for possession of HGH.
   Also receiving a wild card last week was 18-year-old Jack Sock, who won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with fellow American Melanie Oudin last week.
   Redding Women's Challenger -- Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove, a Sacramento suburb, reached the Redding singles quarterfinals for the third time in four appearances.
   The eighth seed and former UCLA All-American defeated doubles partner and ex-USC rival Maria Sanchez of Modesto 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the second round of the $25,000 Oak River Rehab Challenger at Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness.
   Schnack, 5-10, has a good chance to reach the Redding singles semifinals for the first time when she meets unseeded Yuliana Lizarazo of Colombia today. Schnack then could face top-seeded Camila Giorgi of Italy.
   In the bottom half of the draw, second-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan will play wild card Allie Will of Boca Raton, Fla., and third-seeded Julia Boserup of Newport Beach will take on sixth-seeded Lauren Davis of Boca Raton. The 5-foot-2 Davis, nine inches shorter than Boserup, has lost only two games in two matches.
   Schnack and Sanchez, the top seeds in doubles, beat Surina de Beer of South Africa and Olga Puchkova of Russia 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Schnack is the defending champion with Sacramento native Christina Fusano, who retired two weeks ago.
  
            

King cruises in women's doubles at U.S. Open

   Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova are rolling as they defend their U.S. Open women's doubles title.
   The third seeds dispatched Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-2, 6-2 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., in the second round for their sixth consecutive victory. 
   King, a Long Beach product living in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Shvedova, from Kazakhstan, won the women's doubles title in Cincinnati two weeks ago. They have not lost more than two games in a set in this year's U.S. Open and next face American wild cards Jessica Pegula, 17, and Taylor Townsend, 15.
   Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, was quoted in the New York Times last week as saying Townsend, an African-American left-hander from Stockbridge, Ga., is better than his daughters were at the same age. Pegula's father, Terrence, owns the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL.
   King, meanwhile, lost in the first round of mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna of India. The fifth seeds fell to Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic and Philipp Petzschner of Germany 7-6 (1), 4-6, 10-7 tiebreak.
   King's teammate on the Capitals, Mark Knowles of the Bahamas,  advanced in men's doubles and mixed doubles.
   Knowles and Belgium's Xavier Malisse, seeded 15th in men's doubles, advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Martin Emmrich of Germany and Andreas Siljestrom of Sweden.
   The unseeded team of Knowles and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat wild cards Christina Fusano, a Sacramento native and former NCAA women's doubles champion from Cal, and ex-Stanford All-American David Martin 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of mixed doubles.
   Raquel Kops-Jones, who won the 2003 NCAA women's doubles title with Fusano, and fellow American Rajeev Ram lost in the second round of mixed doubles to Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 7-5, 7-5.
   Wild cards Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette, the reigning NCAA women's doubles champions from Stanford, fell to unseeded Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Anna Tatishvili of Georgia 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.     
  

Fusano earns U.S. Open mixed doubles berth

   Christina Fusano is on her way to the U.S. Open.
   The Sacramento native teamed with David Martin of Tulsa, Okla., to beat Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove and Eric Roberson of Sacramento 2-6, 6-1, 10-5 tiebreak Saturday in the U.S. Open National Playoffs mixed doubles final at New Haven, Conn.
   The victory gave Fusano and Martin a wild card into the mixed doubles main draw of the U.S. Open. The year's final Grand Slam tournament is scheduled to begin Monday, with mixed doubles starting Wednesday.
   Fusano and Martin, who emerged from a field of almost 200 teams in the inaugural U.S. Open National Playoffs in mixed doubles, have several similarities.
   Both are 30. Both are former All-Americans at Bay Area colleges, Fusano at Cal and Martin at Stanford. Both have starred in doubles on the USTA Pro Circuit, Martin winning 20 titles and Fusano 11.
   And both reached their career-high world rankings in doubles in 2008, Martin at No. 38 and Fusano at No. 84. Currently, Martin is No. 103 and Fusano No. 174.
   However, Fusano is right-handed and Martin left-handed, which only adds to their effectiveness as a doubles team.
   Martin has competed in men's doubles in all Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2007 as a qualifier with former Stanford teammate Scott Lipsky, but never in mixed doubles. Fusano has played women's doubles in two Grand Slam tournaments, losing in the first round of the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2008.
   Fusano and Schnack, meanwhile, are part-time doubles partners on the USTA Pro Circuit. They won the $25,000 USTA Challenger of Redding last September in Schnack's professional debut.
     

Sacramento-area residents eye U.S. Open berth

   Today's mixed doubles final in the U.S. Open National Playoffs will have a strong Sacramento-area flavor.
   Top-seeded Christina Fusano, a Sacramento native who lives in nearby Plymouth, and David Martin, a former Stanford All-American from Tulsa, Okla., will play unseeded Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove and Eric Roberson of Sacramento in New Haven, Conn., for a berth in the mixed doubles main draw of the U.S. Open.
   Fusano and Martin demolished Brook Connelly of Yukon, Okla., and Dave Mullins of Norman, Okla., 6-1, 6-1 in Friday's semifinals, and Schnack and Roberson eliminated Amanda Rodgers of Bradenton, Fla., and Ellis Ferreira of South Africa 6-2, 7-6 (3).
   Fusano, a 30-year-old veteran and former NCAA doubles champion from Cal, and Schnack, a 23-year-old ex-UCLA star, are part-time doubles partners on the USTA Pro Circuit. They won the title in the $25,000 USTA Challenger of Redding last September.
    U.S. Open singles qualifying -- Stanford senior Bradley Klahn, last year's NCAA men's singles champion, lost to Canadian veteran Frank Dancevic 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final round of qualifying at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   ATP World Tour doubles -- Former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky of Huntington Beach and Colin Fleming of Great Britain lost to Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel 6-4, 6-4 in the doubles semifinals of the $553,125 Winston-Salem (N.C.) Open.
   Lipsky and Martin reached the NCAA doubles final in 2002, losing to Andrew Colombo and Mark Kovacs of Auburn. Erlich and Ram won the 2008 Australian Open for their only career Grand Slam men's doubles title.  

Tursunov to meet familiar face in U.S. Open

   Dmitry Tursunov won't have to wait long for a chance at revenge.
   The Folsom resident, ranked 44th in the world, drew Belgium's Steve Darcis, ranked No. 102, on Thursday in the U.S. Open. Tursunov lost to Darcis 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 Tuesday in the second round of the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Open to even their career head-to-head record at 1-1.
   The winner of the Tursunov-Darcis match in the U.S. Open, which begins Monday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., could play 24th-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the second round. Tursunov is 0-2 lifetime against Chela.
   Tursunov has lost in the first round of the last two U.S. Opens. That he even played in them was a considerable achievement, considering that he underwent three operations on his left ankle or foot between April 2009 and February 2010.
   In fact, when Tursunov reached the second round at Wimbledon in June, he ended a streak of nine consecutive first-round singles losses in Grand Slam tournaments dating to the 2009 Australian Open. He had been on a string of three straight third-round showings.
  Tursunov, 28, will be playing in his ninth consecutive U.S. Open since debuting in 2003. His best results are third-round appearances in 2003, 2006 and 2008.
   Meanwhile, Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals will face Greta Arn of Hungary in the U.S. Open. The 5-foot-5 King, ranked No. 105 in singles, and the 5-11 Arn, ranked No. 62, have never met.
   The winner could play 29th-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia in the second round, and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki looms in the third round. King is 0-1 against Gajdosova and 0-2 vs. Wozniacki.
   King, 22, will be playing in her seventh consecutive U.S. Open since debuting in 2005. Her best showing in singles was the third round in 2009. She will defend her doubles title with Yaroslava Shvedova.
   U.S. Open qualifying -- Stanford senior Bradley Klahn, last year's NCAA singles champion, defeated 14th-seeded Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the second round of qualifying at the U.S. Open.
   Klahn will meet unseeded Canadian veteran Frank Dancevic, ranked No. 183 after reaching a career-high No. 65 in 2007, today for a berth in the main draw.
   U.S. Open mixed doubles playoffs -- Sacramento-area players Christina Fusano, seeded first with former Stanford All-American David Martin of Tulsa, Okla., and Yasmin Schnack, unseeded with Sacramento's Eric Roberson, advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open National Playoffs in mixed doubles at New Haven, Conn.
   Fusano and Martin coasted to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada and Aleksander Vlaski of Serbia, while Schnack and Roberson eked out a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 12-10 tiebreak win over Imke Reimers of Minneapolis and Erik Donley of Duluth, Minn.
   The winner of the tournament will earn a wild card in the mixed doubles main draw of the U.S. Open.
 
    
  

Lipsky advances in Cincinnati doubles; new rankings

   Although Scott Lipsky was born and raised on Long Island and lives in Huntington Beach, he has several Northern California ties.
   Lipsky starred at Stanford, won the doubles titles in the 2005 (inaugural) Sacramento Challenger and this year's SAP Open in San Jose, and is coached by Woodland product Scott McCain.
   Lipsky, a 30-year-old doubles specialist, continued his strong year Monday night as he and Bruno Soares of Brazil defeated Mark Knowles of the Sacramento Capitals and Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
   The winners will meet seventh-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, both of Poland, in the second round.
   Lipsky has improved from No. 55 in the world in doubles at the beginning of the year to No. 29, three spots below his career high last month. In addition to winning his first Grand Slam title (French Open mixed doubles with Casey Dellacqua of Australia), he has captured three men's doubles titles on the ATP Tour and three on the Challenger circuit this year.
   In the Barcelona final on clay in April, Lipsky and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico edged Bob and Mike Bryan, arguably the greatest men's doubles team of all time, 5-7, 6-2 (10-8 match tiebreaker).
   New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of other players with Northern California connections (change from last week in parentheses):

Women

   Vania King, Capitals -- No. 7 in doubles (no change), No. 89 in singles (-6).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 52 in doubles (+2), no singles ranking.
   Christina Fusano, Sacramento native, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal, Plymouth resident -- No. 175 in doubles (+1), no singles ranking.
   Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident -- No. 221 in doubles (no change), No. 381 in singles (-2).

Men

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles, no singles ranking.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford --  No. 1 in doubles, no singles ranking.
   Knowles -- No. 31 in doubles (-1), no singles ranking.
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 44 in singles (+1), No. 94 in doubles (no change).
   David Martin, former Stanford All-American -- No. 102 in doubles (-4), No. 698 in singles (+6).
   Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 383 in singles (+1), No. 672 in doubles (-3).
   Dusan Vemic, Capitals -- No. 496 in doubles (-210), No. 1,496 in singles (+2).
   Kiryl Harbatsiuk, former Sacramento State star -- No. 710 in singles (+83), No. 1,027 in doubles (+151).
        

Tursunov falls to Monfils; other results

   Fifteenth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Folsom lost to top-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-2, 7-6 (9) Thursday in the third round of the $1,166,400 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.
   Tursunov, who underwent three operations on his left ankle or foot between March 2009 and February 2010, has fought his way back to No. 45 in the world rankings after reaching a career high of No. 20 in 2006.
   Women's $100,000 tournament -- The Sacramento-area team of Christina Fusano and Yasmin Schnack fell to third-seeded Monica Niculescu of Romania and Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-1 this week in the first round of doubles at the $100,000 Odlum Brown Vanopen in Vancouver, British Columbia.
   Radwanska is the younger sister of Agnieszka Radwanska, ranked 13th in the world in singles.
   Schnack, in her first full year as a professional after an All-America career at UCLA, lost in the second round of singles qualifying. Fusano plays only doubles.
   Men's Futures --Kiryl Harbatsiuk, a Belarus native who turned pro in June after starring at Sacramento State, upset seventh-seeded John Peers of Australia 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the $10,000 USTA/Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic in Decatur, Ill.
   Harbatsiuk will face unseeded Tennys Sandgren, a junior-to-be at the University of Tennessee from Gallatin, Tenn. Sandgren, a singles semifinalist in the NCAA championships at Stanford in May, won his first pro title last week in singles at Godfrey, Ill.
   Habatsiuk also reached the doubles semifinals with Boris Nicola Bakalov of Bulgaria. Seeded third, they lost to unseeded Americans Devin Britton and Bradley Cox 6-3, 6-4.
   USTA junior nationals -- Matthew Alves of Gold River beat David Doehring of Fallbrook, Calif., 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Analysis: Capitals make net gains

   Although the season still wasn't up to the Sacramento Capitals' lofty standards, they made progress in 2011.
   After suffering only the second and third losing seasons in their 26-year history, the Capitals went 8-6 in the regular season, returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and came within two games of reaching the WTT Finals.
   The Capitals lost to the St. Louis Aces 20-19 Saturday in the Western Conference finals in Charleston, S.C. The Washington Kastles (16-0)  beat St. Louis 23-19 in overtime in the WTT Finals on Sunday to become the first team in the league's 36-year history to complete an undefeated season.
   Sacramento owns WTT records of six league titles, 19 playoff appearances and seven consecutive playoff appearances. The Capitals went a combined 108-35 (.755) in the regular season with all six of their titles from 1997 through 2007. Since then, they are 28-28.
   Sacramento started this season 1-3, splitting two road matches and then losing at home to teams featuring future International Tennis Hall of Famers Martina Hingis and Serena Williams.
   But the Capitals won five of their next six matches to get back in the playoff race. Among the victories was a home contest against a Kansas City team featuring three reigning Wimbledon doubles champions (Bob and Mike Bryan and Kveta Peschke).
   Sacramento beat the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers in the regular-season finale for both teams to eke out a playoff berth.
   The Capitals were shut out of the WTT awards, but here are some unofficial team honors:
   MVP -- Vania King was the only regular to play three events for Sacramento, and she performed well in each. King, the WTT Female MVP in 2009 for Springfield Lasers, finished third (of nine players) in women's singles, third (of 19) in women's doubles and seventh (of 19) in mixed doubles. The two-time Grand Slam women's doubles champion missed the Capitals' first five matches while resting after Wimbledon. Sacramento native Christina Fusano replaced her in women's doubles, finishing 10th.
   Top newcomer -- OK, so Yasmin Schnack was the Capitals' only newcomer this season. Still, the rookie from the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove had remarkably little trouble adapting to WTT. Perhaps it was because of her experience playing for UCLA for four years (2006-10), which included the NCAA team title in 2008. Playing with her close friend King, Schnack finished fifth in women's doubles. She also filled in capably for King in singles and mixed doubles in the Capitals' first five matches. 
   Most disappointing -- Mark Knowles, a three-time WTT Male MVP (2001, 2005 and 2007), ranked 17th among 18 players in men's doubles. Knowles did better in mixed doubles, placing eighth. The four-time Grand Slam doubles champion, formerly ranked No. 1 in the world in men's doubles, will turn 40 in September.
   Most enigmatic -- Serbia's Dusan Vemic, who missed the Capitals' first two matches because of visa problems and was replaced by Nick Monroe,  finished third in men's singles and last in men's doubles. And he's a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in men's doubles. Go figure.

Capitals midseason analysis

   Against all odds, the Sacramento Capitals sit atop the Western Conference midway through their World TeamTennis season.
   The Capitals (4-3) should not get too giddy, though. They came within a Supertiebreaker on Wednesday of being 3-4 and trailing by 1 1/2 matches in the conference.
   After losing three of its first four matches, Sacramento has won three in a row.
   The Capitals opened the season with two road matches, then faced future International Tennis Hall of Famers Martina Hingis and Serena Williams in consecutive matches. Also, half of Sacramento's full-time roster joined the team late.
   Vania King, a two-time Grand Slam women's doubles champion and the 2009 WTT Female MVP for the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, sat out the Capitals' first five matches to rest after Wimbledon. Dusan Vemic, who plays men's singles and doubles for Sacramento, missed the first two matches because of visa problems in Serbia.
   With a full roster for the first time, the Capitals routed the WTT defending champion Kansas City Explorers 23-12 in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights on Tueday night. Kansas City's roster featured three reigning Wimbledon doubles champions (Bob and Mike Bryan and Kveta Peschke).
   Less than 24 hours later, Sacramento met the Aces in St. Louis with first place on the line. The Capitals prevailed in a thriller, 20-19 (7-2 Supertiebreaker).
   Fortunately for Sacramento, St. Louis' Lindsay Davenport, the reigning WTT Female MVP and a former Capitals star, announced on the day of the Aces' opener that she's pregnant with her third child and under doctor's orders to skip the season.
   Meanwhile, WTT rookie Yasmin Schnack and substitutes Christina Fusano and Nick Monroe filled in capably for King and Vemic. Schnack, in her first full year as a professional after an All-America career at UCLA, and Fusano, a 30-year-old doubles specialist, are from the Sacramento area and part-time doubles partners on the women's circuit.
   Schnack, who now plays women's doubles only for the Capitals, ranks fourth among 10 WTT players in women's singles and ninth among 17 in mixed doubles.
   Overall, the Capitals rank second in the nine-team league in women's singles, third in women's doubles, third in mixed doubles, sixth in men's singles and a surprisingly low eighth in men's doubles.
   The latter figured to be one of Sacramento's strongest events with Mark Knowles and Vemic. Although Knowles will turn 40 in September, he is a three Grand Slam men's doubles champion (most recently in 2007) and former world No. 1 in men's doubles. Vemic, 35, has reached two Grand Slam semifinals in the event (most recently in January 2010).
   Knowles and Vemic ended a four-set losing streak with a 5-1 victory against St. Louis on Wednesday.
   It doesn't get any easier for Sacramento. Four of the Capitals' next five matches are on the road, beginning tonight against the Bryan brothers in Kansas City and including Monday's contest at 7-0 Washington. Sacramento ends the regular season with two home matches.
   The top two teams in each conference advance to the WTT playoffs, July 22-24 in Charleston, S.C.
   Sacramento figures to lose to Kansas City and Washington, so the Capitals probably must win four of their other five remaining matches to have a chance of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The winners of a record six WTT titles will face Newport Beach (3-5) twice, Springfield (2-5) twice and Boston (4-4) once.
   The Capitals conceivably could reach the WTT Finals, but they would be heavy underdogs to Washington or New York (6-2).

Capitals rebound, beat Kansas City

   The Sacramento Capitals turned it around in one night.
   After falling behind 10-3 and losing their season opener at St. Louis on Wednesday, the Capitals jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat the host Kansas City Explorers, the World TeamTennis defending champions, 23-16 in overtime Thursday night.
   After the Capitals' Mark Knowles and Nick Monroe began the match with a 5-3 victory in men's doubles, Sacramento-area resident Yasmin Schnack demolished Madison Brengle 5-0 in 14 minutes in women's singles. Then Monroe beat Ricardo Mello 5-2 to give Sacramento a 15-5 lead at intermission.
   The Capitals held on from there to even their record at 1-1 and drop Kansas City, featuring newly crowned Wimbledon women's doubles champion Kveta Peschke, to 0-2.
   "I'm very happy with our play tonight," Sacramento coach Wayne Bryan said. "We improved dramatically over the course of the last three days (including practice before the season opener)."  
   For the second straight match, Monroe and Sacramento native Christina Fusano replaced regular players Dusan Vemic and Vania King. Vemic encountered visa problems leaving his home in Serbia, and King is resting after Wimbledon.
   Vemic is expected to play in tonight's home opener against Martina Hingis and the New York Sportimes at 7:30 at Sunrise Mall. King, the 2009 WTT Female MVP for the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers, will join the Capitals by Tuesday, general manager Matt McEvoy said.

Capitals def. Kansas City 23-16 (OT)
   Men's doubles -- Mark Knowles/Nick Monroe (Capitals) def. Alex Kuznetsov/Ricardo Mello (Explorers) 5-3.
   Women's singles -- Yasmin Schnack (Capitals) def. Madison Brengle (Explorers) 5-0.
   Men's singles -- Monroe (Capitals) def. Mello (Explorers) 5-2.
   Mixed doubles -- Kveta Peschke/Kuznetsov (Explorers) def. Schnack/Knowles (Capitals) 5-3.
   Women's doubles -- Brengle/Peschke (Explorers) def. Christina Fusano/Schnack (Capitals) 5-4.
   Overtime -- Brengle/Peschke (Explorers) tied Fusano/Schnack (Capitals) 1-1.

Big weekend, Capitals' opener, etc.

   This weekend could be the biggest in Sacramento tennis history. Consider:
   --Martina Hingis, a likely future Hall of Famer, and the New York Sportimes will face the Capitals in a World TeamTennis match on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
   --Serena Williams -- the greatest female player in history, according to Sports Illustrated -- will make what is believed to be her first visit to the Sacramento area on Saturday. Williams and the Washington Kastles will take on the Capitals at 7:30 p.m. at Sunrise Mall.
   --Former Capital Andre Agassi will be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., on Saturday (Tennis Channel, 9:30 a.m. PDT).
   --Bob and Mike Bryan, arguably the greatest men's doubles team ever and the identical twin sons of Capitals coach Wayne Bryan, will play for the United States on Saturday in the Davis Cup quarterfinals (Tennis Channel, noon PDT). The U.S. will meet Spain, minus the resting Rafael Nadal, beginning Friday (same station and time) in Austin, Texas, where team member Andy Roddick lives.
   Three-fourths of the U.S. team -- the Bryans and Mardy Fish -- will come to Sunrise Mall next week in separate WTT matches.
   --The USTA West Coast Junior Championships are scheduled for Saturday through Tuesday at the Rio del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   Emmett Egger of Issaquah, Wash., and Christina Makarova of San Diego are seeded first in boys and girls 18 singles, respectively. Matthew Alves of Gold River, Calif., a Sacramento suburb, is seeded third in boys 18 singles. Egger is ranked fifth nationally, Makarova 40th and Alves 43rd.
   Depleted Capitals lose -- Playing on the road without half of their regular roster, the Capitals opened their 26th WTT season with a 26-21 loss to the St. Louis Aces on Wednesday night.
   Vania King (resting after Wimbledon) and Serbia's Dusan Vemic (visa problems), missed the match and will be absent again Thursday night at defending WTT champion Kansas City, said Capitals general manager Matt McEvoy.
   Vemic will play Friday night in the Capitals' home opener, and King might play then, McEvoy added. At the latest, King will play Tuesday, in which case she will have missed five of the Capitals' 14 regular-season matches.
   King won the Wimbledon women's doubles title last year with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, but they lost in the second round this year.
   Christina Fusano, a Sacramento native and area resident, and Nick Monroe of Chapel Hill, N.C., replaced King and Vemic, respectively, against St. Louis.
   The Aces meanwhile, played without Lindsay Davenport, the reigning WTT Female MVP. The team announced Tuesday that the former Capital is pregnant with her third child and will miss the season under doctor's orders. She was replaced by former USC All-American Maria Sanchez of Modesto, Calif.
   Yasmin Schnack made her WTT debut for the Capitals. The resident of Elk Grove, a Sacramento suburb, won in mixed doubles and women's singles but lost in women's doubles.
   Complete results:
   Men's doubles -- Jean-Julien Rojer/Roman Borvanov (Aces) def. Monroe/Mark Knowles (Capitals) 5-2.
   Men's singles -- Borvanov (Aces) def. Monroe (Capitals) 5-1.
   Mixed doubles -- Knowles/Yasmin Schnack (Capitals) def. Rojer/Liezel Huber (Aces) 5-3.
   Women's singles -- Schnack (Capitals) def. Sanchez (Aces) 5-3.
   Women's doubles -- Huber/Sanchez (Aces) def. Fusano/Schnack (Capitals) 5-3.
   Strong field -- Three of the four semifinalists in women's singles at Wimbledon last week are entered in the Bank of the West Classic, July 25-31 in Stanford, Calif.
   Set to play are defending champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 2010 runner-up Maria Sharapova of Russia and Sabine Lisicki of Germany. The field also includes Williams, who recently returned from an 11-month injury/illness layoff and lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
   Unfortunately for Bank of the West organizers, Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is not entered.
   Tickets are available at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or http://www.bankofthewestclassic.com/. Single-session tickets for the tournament's opening round start at $26.