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.

Barty blows big lead; Nadal stunned; Gibbs retires at 27

Ashleigh Barty of Australia fell to 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech
Republic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   The home-country drought in the Australian Open will continue for at least another year.

   Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty of Australia blew a big lead today and lost to 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in Melbourne.

   Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, bolted to a 5-0 advantage in the first set while dropping only six points. She led 2-0 in the second set, and Muchova took a medical timeout after winning the next game. 

   "I was a bit lost on the court, and my head was spinning, so I took a break," the 24-year-old Muchova, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, said in a post-match interview. "And it helped me."

  No Aussie man or woman has won the singles title in the Australian Open since Chris O'Neil on the women's side 43 years ago.

   Muchova is scheduled to meet 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., on Wednesday (PST) after the 7 p.m. semifinal between third-seeded Naomi Osaka and 10th-seeded Serena Williams (ESPN2). 

   Fans will be allowed to return to the tournament Thursday, ending the five-day COVID-19 lockdown in the state of Victoria.

   Brady, 25, eliminated compatriot and close friend Jessica Pegula, who was unseeded, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second Grand Slam semifinal. A first-time major finalist is guaranteed.

   Both Brady, a former UCLA All-American, and Pegula, who skipped college, starred in Northern California Challengers. 

   Brady swept the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advanced to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to defending champion Sofia Kenin.

   Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills and Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, reached the Sacramento final in 2012 at 18 and the Stockton semifinals in 2018.

   Muchova edged Brady 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in the second round on clay at Prague in 2019 in their only previous meeting. 

   Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev advanced to the men's semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, seeded seventh. 

   Medvedev, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the 2019 U.S. Open, will play seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who stunned the second-seeded Nadal 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5 in 4 hours, 5 minutes. 

   Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champion, had lost only once in a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. That occurred in the third round of the 2015 U.S. Open against Fabio Fognini. 

   Nadal and Roger Federer remain tied with a record 20 major singles titles.

   Medvedev is 5-1 against Tsitsipas.

   Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, advanced to the semifinals in men's doubles and mixed doubles.

   Defending champions Ram and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat unseeded Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Philipp Oswald of Austria 7-6 (6), 6-2. Daniell, 31, announced last month that he will donate 10 percent of his prize money for the rest of his career to charity.

   Ram and Salisbury are set to face sixth-seeded Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother from Great Britain, and Bruno Soares of Brazil. Murray and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016.

   Both Ram and Murray won a doubles title in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., Ram in 2011 with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and Murray in 2007 with Eric Butorac.

   In mixed doubles, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Ram downed third-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Mate Pavic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 6-3.

   Krejcikova seeks her third consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles crown after triumphing with Ram in 2019 and Nikola Mektic of Croatia last year.

   Kenin undergoes appendectomy — Kenin, last year's Australian Open champion, underwent an emergency appendectomy this week in Melbourne. 

   Kenin, who also won NorCal Challengers in 2017 and 2018, lost to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia last week in the second round of the Australian Open. 

   Gibbs retires — Former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs announced her retirement on Monday at 27. 

   Gibbs, a petite 5-foot-6 (1.54 meters), is ranked No. 172 after climbing to a career-high No. 68 in 2016. She reached the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open and 2017 Australian Open and the final of the 2018 Berkeley Challenger, losing to Kenin in the latter match.

   Gibbs went public with her battle against depression in early 2018 and overcame oral cancer in 2019.

   The personification of feistiness, Gibbs once stomped on her racket face during a match because she didn't like the string tension, and she likely had the most menacing stare in pro tennis.

   Win or lose, Gibbs answered reporters' questions thoughtfully. Whether she was asked about her depression or engagement to her now-husband, no subject was off-limits.

   Gibbs won three NCAA titles, two in singles and one in doubles, in her three years at Stanford.

   A strong social critic on Twitter, Gibbs plans to enroll in law school this fall and eventually work in public service.

Serena could face Osaka in Australian Open showdown

Serena Williams will try again to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam
singles titles. 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   Eighth-seeded Serena Williams, a part-time Silicon Valley resident, could face third seed and defending champion Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
   The winner could play top-ranked Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals.
   The singles draws for the year's first Grand Slam tournament, which will begin Sunday (California time) in Melbourne, was held late Thursday night.
   Osaka, 22, is 2-1 against Williams, 38. Osaka stunned Williams 6-2, 6-4 in the tumultuous 2018 U.S. Open final, but Williams gained revenge with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the Toronto quarterfinals last August.
   Williams drew Anastasia Potapova, an 18-year-old Russian ranked 90th, in the first round of the Australian Open. Potapova made her French Open debut last year, ousting former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round before losing to eventual runner-up Marketa Vondrousova in the second round.
   Williams still seeks her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie Margaret Court's record. Williams won her last major title in the 2017 Australian Open, had her first child in September that year and suffered life-threatening complications. She has played in four Grand Slam finals since then, losing each in straight sets.
   Osaka, meanwhile, has not reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal since winning her second consecutive major title last year in Melbourne.
   In other first-round Australian Open matchups:
   –No. 24 seed Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., will meet Zhang Shuai. Both players broke through in the Australian Open, with Stephens reaching the 2013 semifinals at 19 and Zhang advancing to the 2016 quarterfinals at 27. Zhang will play in Friday's singles and doubles finals in Hobart.
   –Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate, will try to end the singles career of former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniacki, who won her only Grand Slam title in the 2018 Australian Open, announced last month that she will retire after this year's tournament in Melbourne.
   –CiCi Bellis, a 20-year-old San Francisco native who grew up in nearby Atherton, will play Tatjana Maria, 32, of Germany. It will be Bellis' first Grand Slam match since she lost to 30th-seeded Kiki Bertens in the first round of the 2018 Australian Open. Bellis had three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow during a 19-month layoff that ended last November.
   –Another San Francisco native, 32-year-old Sam Querrey, will take on 25th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia. Coric, 23, shocked then-No. 4 Dominic Thiem last week in the round-robin phase of the inaugural ATP Cup in Sydney.
   –Mackenzie McDonald, a 24-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, will face 30th-seeded Daniel Evans of Great Britain for the first time in a matchup of undersized players. McDonald is 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms); Evans is 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters) and 165 pounds (75 kilograms). McDonald had right hamstring surgery in June and missed the rest of the year.
   Australian Open qualifying – Harriet Dart of Great Britain beat 15th-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) 6-2, 6-3 early today in the second round.

Gibbs advances in Australian Open qualifying

No. 15 seed Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, beat
Cristina Bucsa of Spain 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round of
Australian Open qualifying. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 15 seed Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) defeated Cristina Bucsa of Spain 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 early today in the first round of Australian Open qualifying in Melbourne.
   The 26-year-old Gibbs, ranked No. 123, had 19 winners and 26 unforced errors to 28 and 55, respectively, for the 22-year-old Bucsa, ranked No. 167.
   Heavy smoke from Australia's massive wildfires blanketed Melbourne. One player, Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia, retired after dropping to her knees and suffering a coughing fit while leading Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-4, 5-6. Eugenie Bouchard of Canada also had breathing problems but won.
   Gibbs, who won three NCAA titles at Stanford (two in singles and one in doubles), is playing in her second Grand Slam tournament since undergoing surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth last May 17. As a qualifier, she lost to fourth-seeded Simona Halep 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open.
   Gibbs reached the third round of the 2017 Australian Open, equaling her best Grand Slam result. She lost to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-3. It's Williams' last major title.
   Gibbs is scheduled to face Harriet Dart, 23, of Great Britain for the first time on Wednesday (California time). Dart, ranked No. 169, eliminated Elitsa Kostova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-1.
   Dart played in the main draw of three Grand Slam tournaments last year, advancing to the third round at Wimbledon before losing to top-ranked Ashleigh Barty of Australia 6-1, 6-1.

Serena's losses in major finals highlight top stories of '19

Serena Williams, playing at Indian Wells in March, lost two more Grand Slam
finals in straight sets to remain one major title short of Margaret Court's record
of 24. Photo by Harjanto Sumali

   The wait continues for Serena Williams.
   The part-time Silicon Valley resident, who turned 38 in September, went 0-2 in Grand Slam singles finals in 2019 to remain one major singles title short of Margaret Court's record of 24.
   Williams, who won eight consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2012 to 2015, is 0-4 in them since capturing the Australian Open title in January 2017. Each loss has been in straight sets.
   Williams had her first child on Sept. 1, 2017, and suffered life-threatening complications. Since then, injuries – and nerves – have slowed Williams.
   Here are the top 10 stories in Northern California tennis in 2019 and 10 honorable mentions:
   1. Andreescu upsets Serena for U.S. Open title – One year after 20-year-old Naomi Osaka stunned Williams in a tumultuous final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu triumphed 6-3, 7-5 in front of a staunchly pro-Williams crowd at 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium.
   The hart-hitting Andreescu, seeded 15th, showed no sign of nerves in her first major final until trying to close out the match. The daughter of Romanian immigrants, she became the first Canadian, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
   2. Halep routs Serena for first Wimbledon crown – Playing the match of her life, Simona Halep routed a nervous Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes for her second major singles title and first at Wimbledon.
   Halep, playing great defense, committed only three unforced errors to Williams' 26 and won 83 percent of the points on her first serve (29 of 35) to Williams' 59 percent (19 of 32).
   3. Serena voted AP Female Athlete of Decade – Williams, who won a dozen Grand Slam singles titles in the 2010s, was voted The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Decade. No other woman won more than three Slams during that time.
   Williams was ranked No. 1 for 3 1/2 years in a row, equaling Steffi Graf's record for most consecutive weeks atop the rankings.

As an 18-year-old wild card in qualifying, Jenson Brooksby
shocked Tomas Berdych, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010,
in the first round of the U.S. Open. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   4. Brooksby stuns Berdych in U.S. Open – Jenson Brooksby, an 18-year-old qualifier from the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, shocked 33-year-old Tomas Berdych, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open.
   Brooksby became only the second qualifying wild card to win a men's main-draw match in the U.S. Open, joining Stanford graduate Bradley Klahn.
   5. Bellis returns from 19-month layoff – Qualifier CiCi Bellis reached the third round of the $162,480 Houston Challenger in her first tournament in 19 months.
   The 20-year-old San Francisco Bay Area product rebounded from three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow. She was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2017 after climbing as high as No. 35.
   6. Gibbs reaches final in return from cancer surgery – Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) advanced to the final of the $60,000 Honolulu Challenger only two months after having surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth.
   Gibbs lost to fellow American Usue Arconada 6-0, 6-2 one day after topping Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in 2 hours, 41 minutes.
   7. Bryans to retire after 2020 U.S. Open – Former Stanford stars Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, generally considered the greatest doubles team in history, announced that they will retire after the 2020 U.S. Open.
   The 41-year-old identical twins have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, an Open Era-record 118 trophies (including four in the ATP Finals) and an Olympic gold medal (2012 London). They also helped the United States win its last Davis Cup championship, in 2007.
   8. Ma leads U.S. to Junior Fed Cup title – Connie Ma, 16, of Dublin in the Bay Area led the United States to a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the Junior Fed Cup final in Orlando, Fla.
   It was the third consecutive Junior Fed Cup title for the Americans and second straight for Ma. She played on last year's team, but not in the final against Ukraine.
   9. Stanford women rout Georgia for 20th NCAA crown – The No. 3 Cardinal routed No. 1 Georgia 4-0 in Orlando for its second consecutive NCAA crown, third in four years and 20th overall.
   Stanford coach Lele Forood matched her predecessor, Frank Brennan, with 10 NCAA titles. No other school approaches the Cardinal's total. Florida ranks second with seven titles, and Georgia is tied for third with three other schools at two.

Katie Volynets poses after winning the girls 18 singles
title in the USTA National Championships in San Diego.
Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   10. Volynets wins USTA Girls 18 Nationals – Second-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the Bay Area beat third-seeded Emma Navarro of Charleston, S.C., 6-2, 6-4 to win the girls 18 singles title in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls National Championships in San Diego.
   Volynets became the third Northern Californian to win a USTA 18 hardcourt national singles title in six years, joining Collin Altamirano (2013) of Sacramento and Brooksby (2018). All train under Joseph Gilbert at the Arden Hills Athletic & Social Club in Sacramento.
   Honorable mention – Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate, defeated 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 7-5 to reach the round of 16 in the U.S. Open. Ahn had never won a main-draw match in a Grand Slam tournament before that week.
   –Unseeded Zheng Saisai of China knocked off four consecutive seeds in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., and won her first WTA singles title. In the final, she toppled Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, ranked 10th and seeded second, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
   –After trailing 6-1, 5-2, seventh seed and 2018 runner-up Maria Sakkari of Greece saved four match points in a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over top-seeded Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Silicon Valley Classic.
   –Saving seven championship points, second-seeded Luke Casper of Santa Cruz, Calif., outlasted top-seeded Samir Banerjee of Basking Ridge, N.J., 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) to win the USTA Boys 16 National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla.

Pam Shriver speaks at the Sutter Lawn Tennis
Club's 100th-anniversary celebration in Sacra-
mento, Calif. Photo by Paul Bauman

   –In the doubles semifinals of the $108,320 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger, Alex Lawson was defaulted for swatting a ball into the seats during a match tiebreaker. The ball struck a middle-aged man in the back, but he was not hurt.

   –Ahn, seeded sixth, flung her racket high into crowd during her 6-1, 6-3 loss to top-seeded Madison Brengle in the semifinals of the $60,000 Berkeley (Calif.) Tennis Club Women's Challenge. No one was injured, but Ahn later was fined an undisclosed amount of up to $500.
   –Bob Bryan returned from hip surgery in the Brisbane International at the beginning of the year, losing in the first round with Mike Bryan to Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Milos Raonic of Canada 3-6, 6-4 (10-7).
   –Pam Shriver, an International Tennis Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator, emceed the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club's 100th-anniversary celebration in Sacramento, Calif.
   –Volynets, who will celebrate her 18th birthday on Tuesday, turned pro.
   –Top-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose and Sarah Hamner of Fort Collins, Colo., won the girls 16 doubles title in the Eddie Herr International in Bradenton, Fla.

Stephens loses to qualifier in U.S. Open

No. 11 seed Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, lost to Anna Kalinskaya,
a qualifier ranked 127th, 6-3, 6-4 tonight in the first round of the U.S. Open.
Stephens won the title two years ago. 2016 photo by Mal Taam 

   Even for erratic Sloane Stephens, this was a stunning loss.
   The 11th-seeded Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, fell to Anna Kalinskaya, a 20-year-old Russian qualifier ranked 127th, 6-3, 6-4 tonight in the first round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Stephens, who committed 33 unforced errors to Kalinskaya's 15, has dropped five of her last six matches. In addition, she lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament for the third time since winning the U.S. Open two years ago.
   Kalinskaya is scheduled to meet Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate, on Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
   Ahn, who lives a 30-minute drive away in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and practices at the site of the U.S. Open, beat 34-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, the champion 15 years ago, 7-5, 6-2.
   Both Kalinskaya and the 141st-ranked Ahn, who's playing in the main draw of the U.S. Open for the first time in 11 years, earned their first Grand Slam victories.
   This year, Ahn also:
   –Saved two match points in a victory over top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, in the first round on clay in Bogota.
   –Played in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time, losing in the first round as a qualifier.
   –Reached the semifinals of the $60,000 Berkeley Challenger.
   –And earned her first win over a top-20 player, No. 20 Elise Mertens, in San Jose to reach her second WTA quarterfinal.
   Ahn's friend and former Stanford teammate, lucky loser Nicole Gibbs, lost to fourth-seeded Simona Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
   Gibbs was playing in her fourth tournament since undergoing surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles.
   Halep, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2015 and quarterfinalist in 2016, ended a streak of two first-round losses in Flushing Meadows.
   Fifteenth-seeded Bianca Andreescu, 19, of Canada outplayed Katie Volynets, 17, of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-2, 6-4.
   Volynets received an automatic wild card for winning the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego and made her Grand Slam women's main-draw debut.
   An even younger teenager, 15-year-old phenom Coco Gauff of Delray Beach, Fla., defeated Anastasia Potopova, 18, of Russia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Last month, Gauff became the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
   Four top-10 men's seeds, all in the bottom half of the draw, lost today. Exiting were No. 4 Dominic Thiem, No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 9 Karen Khachanov and No. 10 Roberto Bautista Agut.

Brooksby, Gibbs advance to main draw in U.S. Open

Jenson Brooksby, 18, of Carmichael in the Sacramento area qualified for
the U.S. Open after receiving a wild card last year in Flushing Meadows
as the USTA boys 18 national champion. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby received a main-draw berth in last year's U.S. Open by defeating fellow juniors.
   The 18-year-old Sacramento-area resident earned a spot this year by beating the big boys.
   Brooksby, a wild card from Carmichael, topped unseeded Pedro Martinez, 22, of Spain 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 today in the final round of qualifying in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Also, 24th-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) lost to 33-year-old Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 but advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser.
   Gibbs is playing in her fourth tournament since undergoing surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles. She reached the final of the $60,000 Honolulu Challenger, lost in the first round of qualifying in Toronto on the WTA tour and fell in the opening round of the $100,000 Vancouver Challenger.
   Martinez, ranked No. 152, was the second top-200 player Brooksby, ranked No. 393, has beaten in three days and third overall. Brooksby knocked off No. 134 Yuichi Sugita of Japan on Thursday and No. 163 Marc Polmans of Australia on clay in April.
   Brooksby is scheduled to face unseeded Tomas Berdych, a 33-year-old Czech who has been sidelined with a back injury for most of the past 14 months, on Monday. The 2010 Wimbledon runner-up has tumbled from a career-high No. 4 in 2015 to No. 101.
   Brooksby won the USTA Boys 18 National Championships last year in Kalamazoo, Mich., to earn an automatic wild card in the U.S. Open. He lost to John Millman of Australia 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round in sweltering weather but advanced to the boys semifinals in the last junior tournament of his career. Millman went on to stun five-time champion Roger Federer to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
   Brooksby, who plans to enroll at Baylor in January, could have entered Kalamazoo again this year but told reporters he felt he "was ready to qualify" in the U.S. Open.
   Men's qualifiers also included Dominik Koepfer of Germany and Egor Gerasimov of Belarus. They reached the final and semifinals, respectively, in the $81,240 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger two weeks ago.
   Koepfer, a 25-year-old left-hander who graduated from Tulane in New Orleans, will meet Jaume Munar of Spain. Gerasimov, 26, will play South Africa's Lloyd Harris, last year's champion in the $100,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger and runner-up in Aptos.
   Peng, formerly ranked No. 14 in singles and No. 1 in doubles, began cramping in both legs while leading 5-1 in the third set against Gibbs. During a semifinal loss to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2014 U.S. Open, Peng suffered full-body cramps and left the court in a wheelchair.
   Gibbs, a 26-year-old resident of Venice in the Los Angeles area, will make her eighth consecutive appearance in the main draw of the U.S. Open. She reached the third round five years ago.
   Gibbs will face fourth-seeded Simona Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion, for the second time. Halep won 6-4, 6-1 in the first round en route to the title in Shenzhen, China, during the first week of 2018.
   Halep has lost in the first round of the U.S. Open for the past two years after having reached the quarterfinals in 2016 and semifinals in 2015.
   Here are the U.S. Open men's and women's singles draws and Monday's schedule. ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the tournament beginning Monday at 9 a.m. PDT.

Serena, Sharapova to meet in first round of U.S. Open

Serena Williams, shown last year, is scheduled to play Maria Sharapova in the
U.S. Open for the first time. Photo by Mal Taam

   Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have met in four Grand Slam singles finals, with Williams winning three.

   Not only will the former world No. 1s and U.S. Open champions square off in the first round in Flushing Meadows, they will face each other there for the first time.

   The draw for the year's last Grand Slam tournament, Monday through Sept. 8, was held today.

   The eighth-seeded Williams, a 37-year-old part-time resident of Silicon Valley, and Sharapova, 32, are among six women to have achieved a career Grand Slam in the Open era (since 1968), joining Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. 

   However, Williams has dropped to eighth in the world and Sharapova to 87th. Williams had her first child in September 2017, Sharapova returned from a 15-month doping ban in April 2017, and both have been hampered by physical problems. Williams retired from the Toronto final two weeks ago with an upper-back injury.

Former world No. 1s Maria Sharapova, shown in 2017, and Serena Williams
 have struggled in recent years. Photo by Mal Taam 

   Williams, who won the last of her six U.S. Open singles titles five years ago, is 19-2 against Sharapova, the 2006 champion at Flushing Meadows. Not counting Williams' injury withdrawal in the fourth round of last year's French Open, she owns an 18-match winning streak in the head-to-head series.
   Fresno product Sloane Stephens, the 11th seed and 2017 U.S. Open champion, will play a qualifier in the first round. The winner will meet either 34-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion and runner-up last week in Cincinnati, or wild card Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate.
   Katie Volynets, a 17-year-old wild card from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, will make her Grand Slam women's debut against 15th-seeded Bianca Andreescu, a 19-year-old who became the first Canadian woman to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 50 years.
   In the men's draw, San Francisco native Sam Querrey, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2017, will play Argentina's Juan Ignacio Londero, who reached the fourth round of the French Open in June. The survivor likely will face top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won his third U.S. Open singles title last year, in the second round. Querrey ousted Djokovic in the third round at Wimbledon in 2016.
   Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate who won his first Challenger title in Aptos, Calif., in 2013, will play Thiago Monteiro, 25, of Brazil in a clash of left-handers. The winner probably will face seventh-seeded Kei Nishikori, the U.S. Open runner-up five years ago, in the second round. 
   Steve Johnson, who won his second Aptos title two weeks ago, will meet 28th-seeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia. Kyrgios incurred eight fines totaling $113,000 after his second-round loss to Karen Khachanov in Cincinnati last week. Kyrgios was cited for violations including unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and audible obscenity.
   U.S. Open qualifying – Nicole Gibbs, who played with Ahn on Stanford's 2013 NCAA championship team, advanced to the last round of U.S. Open qualifying by walkover against former Pacific-12 Conference rival Robin Anderson, who starred at UCLA, in a matchup of 26-year-olds.
   Gibbs will seek her eighth consecutive berth in the main draw against 33-year-old Peng Shuai, formerly ranked as high as No. 14 in singles and No. 1 in doubles, from China. They will meet for the first time.
   Fifth-seeded Kirsten Flipkens, a 33-year-old Belgian who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2013, trounced Jovana Jaksic, a 25-year-old Serb living in Sacramento, 6-2, 6-0 in 58 minutes.

Gibbs defeats Aussie in return to Grand Slam play

Ex-Stanford star Nicole Gibbs, playing in Berkeley
last year, won today in the first round of qualifying
at the U.S. Open after undergoing cancer surgery
in May. Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 24 seed Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) returned to Grand Slam competition today with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Kaylah McPhee of Australia in the first round of qualifying at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   It was Gibbs' first appearance in a major tournament since she fell in the last round of qualifying at the Australian Open in January. She underwent surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 at UCLA.
   Gibbs has played in the main draw of the U.S. Open for the past seven years, reaching the third round in 2014.
   Gibbs is playing in her fourth tournament since the surgery. After advancing to the final of a $60,000 ITF tournament in Honolulu, Gibbs lost in the opening round of qualifying in Toronto on the WTA tour and to a qualifier in the first round of a $100,000 tournament in Vancouver.
   "I've had a tough last couple of competitive weeks, so I think that today was a tough one to get through for me in terms of my confidence," Gibbs, a resident of Venice in the Los Angeles area, said on usopen.org. "Being on the other side of it feels really good, and I think I'll have a lot to build on now."
   Gibbs, 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters), is scheduled to meet former Pacific-12 Conference rival Robin Anderson, a 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) native of Long Branch, N.J., who starred at UCLA, in a matchup of 26-year-olds on Thursday.
   Anderson, ranked No. 165, is 2-1 against Gibbs, ranked No. 135 after climbing to a career-high No. 68 in 2016, in professional tournaments. This will be their third meeting of the year after they split matches in $100,000 U.S. clay-court tournaments in consecutive weeks last spring.
   Also today, Jovana Jaksic, a 25-year-old Serb living in Sacramento, beat Julia Grabher of Austria 6-2, 6-4.
   Jaksic has tumbled from a career-high No. 102 in 2014 to No. 244 because of injuries. She is set to play fifth-seeded Kirsten Flipkens, 33, of Belgium for the first time on Thursday. Flipkens, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2013, eliminated Irina Bara of Romania 6-3, 6-4.
   Anisimova withdraws – Amanda Anisimova, a 17-year-old American ranked No. 24, withdrew from the U.S. Open after the death of her father and coach, Konstantin Anisimov.
   In June, Anisimova shocked defending champion Simona Halep to become the youngest American to reach the French Open semifinals since 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati in 1990.
   At 15 in 2017, Anisimova claimed her first professional title in a $60,000 tournament in Sacramento and won the U.S. Open girls singles crown.

Klahn wins Winnetka title; Gibbs routed in Hawaii final

Bradley Klahn, a Stanford graduate, celebrates during the $150,000 Newport
Beach Challenger in January 2018. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   Top-seeded Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, beat 12th-seeded Jason Kubler of Australia 6-2, 7-5 today to win the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Klahn, who's based in Los Angeles, did not lose a set in singles or doubles during the week. He received a first-round bye in singles and played only two doubles matches with countryman JC Aragone. They received walkovers in the first round and semifinals.
   Klahn improved three spots to No. 84 in the world with his eighth Challenger singles title. He earned $7,200 in singles and $1,550 in doubles.
   Gibbs routed – Fifth-seeded Usue (pronounced OO-sway) Arconada of Naples, Fla., clobbered Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) 6-0, 6-2 in 70 minutes to win the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Arconada, a 20-year-old Buenos Aires native, won the first 11 games in the 85-degree heat (29.4 Celsius) and 55 percent humidity. She claimed her fourth and biggest title in a professional tournament; three have come this year.
   The 26-year-old Gibbs, playing in her first tournament since undergoing surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17, had needed 2 hours, 41 minutes on Saturday to overcome fellow American Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
   Berkeley Women's Challenge – Here are the qualifying draw and Monday's schedule for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Women's Challenge. The main draw starts Tuesday.

Ex-Stanford stars Gibbs, Klahn advance to singles finals

Nicole Gibbs, playing in Berkeley last July, is
competing in her first tournament since having
cancer surgery in May. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs and Bradley Klahn have much in common.
   Both are from Southern California. Both won NCAA singles titles at Stanford. Both have had major surgeries. And both reached singles finals on the USTA Pro Circuit today.
   The second-seeded Gibbs, playing her first tournament since having surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth in May, outlasted unseeded American Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu. The match lasted 2 hours, 41 minutes in 86-degree (30 Celsius) heat and 56 percent humidity.
   In the January/February issue of Tennis Magazine, International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin wrote of the 20-year-old Dolehide: "Her kick serve is already one of the best on tour. She's got so much power but also has all-court abilities, including net coverage. She's still maturing."
   The top-seeded Klahn, who underwent operations for a herniated disc in his back in 2011 and 2015, dispatched fourth-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3 in the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Istomin reached the fourth round of the 2017 Australian Open, stunning six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. Istomin also reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, falling to Milos Raonic, and climbed to a career-high No. 33 later that year.

Bradley Klahn, playing in San Francisco early last year,
reached the singles final and won the doubles title in Win-
netka, Ill. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Klahn and JC Aragone won the Winnetka doubles crown, beating Christopher Eubanks and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 7-5, 6-4 in a matchup of unseeded American teams. Aragone and Kwiatkowski helped Virginia with three consecutive NCAA titles (2015-17).
   The 26-year-old Gibbs, ranked No. 129, is scheduled to play fifth-seeded Usue (pronounced OO-sway) Arconada, 20, of Naples, Fla., for the first time on Sunday.
   Arconada, ranked No. 214, beat unseeded Jamie Loeb, a 24-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York, 6-2, 6-4.
   Gibbs reached the final of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge last July, losing to Sofia Kenin. Arconada teamed with Kenin to win the doubles title in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger in 2017.
   Klahn, a 28-year-old left-hander ranked No. 87, is set to play 12th-seeded Jason Kubler of Australia on Sunday at noon (Tennis Channel). Kubler, ranked No. 188, beat 13th-seeded Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia by walkover.
   Klahn won his only previous match against Kubler 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals of the $75,000 Gatineau (Canada) Challenger last July en route to the title.
   Gibbs captured two NCAA titles in singles (2012 and 2013) and one in doubles (2012) before giving up her senior year and turning pro. Klahn won the 2010 NCAA singles crown as a sophomore and graduated in 2012.

Gibbs reaches Honolulu semis in cancer comeback

Nicole Gibbs, serving in the Berkeley Tennis Club
Challenge last July, routed Quinn Gleason today in
the Honolulu quarterfinals. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13), playing in her first tournament since undergoing cancer surgery, routed unseeded fellow American Quinn Gleason 6-3, 6-1 in 75 minutes today in the quarterfinals of the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Gibbs, a 26-year-old Southern Californian, had surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles.
   Gleason, a former Notre Dame star from Mendon, N.Y., reached the doubles final in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October with Luisa Stefani of Brazil. They narrowly lost to Americans Hayley Carter and Ena Shibahara.
   Gibbs will meet unseeded Caroline Dolehide, a 20-year-old native of Hinsdale, Ill., for the first time on Saturday. Dolehide beat Kayla Day, a 19-year-old left-hander originally from Santa Barbara, Calif., 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
   In the other semifinal, fifth-seeded Usue Arconada of Naples, Fla., will play unseeded Jamie Loeb, a 24-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York.
   Loeb, who turned pro after winning the 2015 NCAA singles title as a North Carolina sophomore, eliminated top-seeded Whitney Osuigwe, a 17-year-old phenom from Bradenton, Fla., 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
   In a late doubles semifinal, Carter and Loeb edged third-seeded Gleason and former Cal standout Maegan Manasse 3-6, 6-1 [11-9].
   Carter and Loeb beat 16-year-old wild cards Allura Zamarripa and Maribella Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa area 6-1, 7-5 in the quarters.

Gibbs, back from cancer surgery, reaches quarters

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13), playing in her first tournament since undergoing cancer surgery, beat qualifier Alycia Parks, an 18-year-old professional Port St. Lucie, Fla., 6-2, 6-2 today to reach the quarterfinals of the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Gibbs, who had surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles, is scheduled to play unseeded Quinn Gleason, a former Notre Dame star from Mendon, N.Y., on Friday.
   Gleason, the doubles runner-up in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October with Luisa Stefani of Brazil, surprised eighth-seeded Deniz Khazaniuk of Israel 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
   Seven of the quarterfinalists are American. The other is Mayo Hibi, a longtime Southern California resident who plays for her native Japan. She won the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger at 17 in 2013.
   Altamirano loses -- Collin Altamirano, a 23-year-old Sacramentan, lost to fourth-seeded Denis Istomin, 32, of Uzbekistan 6-3, 6-0 in the third round of the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Altamirano, a semifinalist last year in Winnetka as a qualifier, was coming off a victory over former University of Virginia teammate Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, the 2017 NCAA singles champion, by the same score.
   Istomin reached the fourth round of the 2017 Australian Open, stunning six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round.
   Istomin also reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, falling to Milos Raonic, and climbed to a career-high No. 33 later that year.

Gibbs triumphs in return from cancer surgery

Nicole Gibbs, playing in the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge
last July, beat qualifier Sophia Whittle today in the first round of the
$60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu. Photo by Paul Bauman

   In her first match since undergoing cancer surgery, second-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) beat qualifier Sophia Whittle 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3 today in the first round of the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   The match lasted 2 hours, 15 minutes in 80-degree (26.7 Celsius) heat and 67 percent humidity.
   Gibbs, 26, played for the first time since losing in the first round of a $100,000 clay-court tournament in Bonita Springs, Fla., in early May. She had surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles.
   Whittle, from Nipomo, Calif., (near San Luis Obispo), ended her Gonzaga career in May ranked ninth nationally in singles. She received a wild card into qualifying and edged fourth-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area 5-7, 6-1 [10-7] on Tuesday to advance to the main draw.
   Gibbs, who won three NCAA titles (two in singles and one in doubles) in her three years at Stanford, is scheduled to play another qualifier, Alycia Parks of Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Thursday. Parks, an 18-year-old professional, defeated yet another qualifier, former Oklahoma State star Vladica Babic of Montenegro, 6-3, 6-4.
   Babic and Sofia Blanco of Argentina reached the NCAA doubles final in 2018, losing to Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson of LSU in Winston-Salem, N.C.
   Gibbs advanced to the final of last year's $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge, falling to Sofia Kenin, now ranked 28th in the world. The main draw of this year's Berkeley tournament is set to begin Tuesday.
   Altamirano scores upset – Collin Altamirano, a 23-year-old Sacramentan, routed former University of Virginia teammate Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, the 2017 NCAA singles champion, 6-3, 6-0 in the second round of the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Altamirano, who broke through to reach his first Challenger semifinal last year in Winnetka as a qualifier, is scheduled play fourth-seeded Denis Istomin, 32, of Uzbekistan on Thursday.
   Istomin advanced to the fourth round of the 2017 Australian Open, stunning six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. Istomin also reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, falling to Milos Raonic, and climbed to a career-high No. 33 later that year.