No upset this time as Querrey falls to Murray

Sam Querrey, shown in 2014, lost to Andy Murray
in the third round of the Australian Open after stun-
ning Novak Djokovic in the same round at Wimble-
don last year. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Sam Querrey couldn't pull off another Grand Slam shocker.
   The 29-year-old San Francisco native, seeded 31st, lost to top-ranked Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday (California time) in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Querrey ousted then-No. 1 and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the same round at Wimbledon last July.
   Murray had 40 winners and 22 errors as he improved to 7-1 against Querrey.
   Murray, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, seeks his first Australian Open. He has five runner-up finishes, falling short the last two years and in three of the last four. All five losses have come against the top-ranked player, Roger Federer in 2010 and Djokovic the subsequent four times.
   Djokovic, seeded second in Melbourne, lost to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the second round.
   Murray went undefeated in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, winning the title at 18 in 2006 and repeating the following year.
   Also Thursday:
   --Liezel Huber, a 40-year-old U.S. citizen from South Africa, and Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product, lost to third-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of women's doubles.
   Huber, formerly ranked No. 1, was playing in her third tournament since retiring after Wimbledon in 2014.
   Makarova and Vesnina won the 2013 French Open and 2014 U.S. Open and reached the final of the 2014 Australian Open, losing to Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
   --Top-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) of Wesley Chapel, Fla., edged Arina Rodionova and John-Patrick Smith of Australia 6-4, 4-6 [10-6] in the first round of mixed doubles.
   Mattek-Sands and Bryan won the 2015 French Open title.

Federer, Azarenka overcome adversity for BNP titles

   Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka overcame everything but alien invaders in the past two weeks to win the BNP Paribas Open.
  Adversity? You name it -- Federer and Azarenka faced it in Indian Wells.
  In the middle of the tournament, Federer, his wife and two young daughters felt the effects of the virus that devastated many players and fans. Federer also lost the first set against two first-time opponents, dangerous Milos Raonic and Thomaz Bellucci.
  In the semifinals, Federer waited out a three-hour rain delay, then coped with the wind in a straight-set victory over rival Rafael Nadal. Finally, the Swiss star tamed the huge serve of 6-foot-9 John Isner, coming off a victory over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, to win 7-6 (7), 6-3 Sunday for his record fourth title at Indian Wells.
   "When it all pays off after a bit of a scare early on in the week and you get the title and the emotions are going, it's a wonderful feeling," Federer told reporters. "I remember the days when I won three years in a row here, and I enjoyed myself over here." 
   Federer, 30, has won 15 straight matches (three titles) and 39 of 41 since losing in the U.S. Open semifinals last September. He avenged both losses, to Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals and to Isner in the first round of the Davis Cup in Switzerland, in the BNP Paribas Open. Federer also won the Indian Wells trophy for the first time since 2006, when he capped a three-year title run.
   Azarenka, ranked No. 1, apparently avoided the virus but trailed 4-1 in the third set and was two points from losing against Mona Barthel of Germany in the second round. From then on, Azarenka lost only 21 games in five matches, culminating in her 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Maria Sharapova, for her first Indian Wells singles crown (she won the 2009 doubles title with Vera Zvonareva).
   It was the first women's final between No. 1 and No. 2 in the world since 2008. Azarenka improved to 23-0 this year, the best start since Martina Hingis went 37-0 in 1997.
   "Last year was a learning experience for me," said Azarenka, who also beat Sharapova handily to win the Australian Open in January and the 2010 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. "Every loss I analyzed, and step by step (I) just built on everything -- just daily hard work. I had a lot of tough losses last year, and so now I'm really trying to turn it around in my own favor. I have just been trying to be consistent and professional every day. I never dreamed this would happen."
   Both Indian Wells champions received $1 million.
   Marc Lopez and Nadal won their second Indian Wells doubles title, beating Isner and San Francisco native Sam Querrey 6-2, 7-6 (3) in a matchup of unseeded teams. Lopez and Nadal, close friends from Spain, also won the 2010 championship.
   Top-seeded Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond extended their winning streak to 16 matches and four tournaments Saturday, coasting to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over defending champions Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina. It was Raymond's seventh Indian Wells doubles title (three with Lindsay Davenport, two with Samantha Stosur and one each with Rennae Stubbs and Huber) and Huber's first.
   Huber, 35, and Raymond, 38, each have won the Bank of the West Classic doubles title twice but never together. Huber triumphed in 2008 with Cara Black and in 2010 with Davenport, and Raymond prevailed in 2002 with Stubbs and in 2003 with Black.
   Mirza won the Bank of the West doubles crown in 2007 with Shahar Peer.
   Men's Challengers -- Two top-seeded players with Northern California ties, Scott Lipsky and John Paul Fruttero, won Challenger doubles titles.
   Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Lipsky, a former Stanford All-American living in Huntington Beach, defeated unseeded Americans Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell 6-4, 6-3 in the $125,000 Dallas Tennis Classic.
   John Paul Fruttero, an ex-Cal All-American living in San Jose, topped unseeded Australians Colin Ebelthite and Samuel Groth 6-2, 6-4 in the $50,000 ATP Challenger Pingguo in Pingguo, China.
   Colleges -- The No. 88 Sacramento State women (9-8) lost 6-1 to No. 28 Saint Mary's (8-5) in a nonconference match in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River. The Hornets' Maria Meliuk, a senior, edged Carla Lindlar 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 10-5 tiebreak at No. 5 singles. ...
   The rebuilding Sac State men (3-9) also lost a nonconference contest 6-1, to host Texas-Arlington (4-8). The Hornets' point came from freshman Marek Marksoo, an Estonian who beat Nicolas Moreno 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4 singles.

Liezel, Lisa loom large after rare feat; new rankings

   Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond completed another of their patented hot streaks Sunday.
   Four times in this century, a women's doubles team has won three titles in three weeks. In each case, either Huber or Raymond has been involved.
   The American veterans accomplished the feat together for the first time, winning in Paris, Doha and Dubai in the past three weeks. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Venus and Serena Williams haven't played doubles since, what, the Clinton administration? Huber and Raymond did not enter either of this week's WTA tournaments (Acapulco and Kuala Lumpur).
   Huber pulled off a trifecta with Cara Black of Zimbabwe in 2007, and Raymond managed a three-peat with Australians Samantha Stosur in 2006 and Rennae Stubbs in 2002.
   Raymond, 38, has won 77 women's doubles titles, sixth in the Open Era (since 1968). Huber, 35, has captured 51. Each has won two crowns in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, but they have never done so together.
   Injury report -- Several players with Northern California ties have battled health problems this year.
   Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis has missed the last two weeks because of a hip injury. Sacramento-area resident Dmitry Tursunov, a right-hander with a two-handed backhand, has been out since last month's Australian Open because of a left wrist injury, according to his manager. Former Sacramento State star Kiryl Harbatsiuk has been out all year with a bad case of the flu.
  And Andy Roddick, who has won the SAP Open in San Jose three times, has been plagued by hamstring and ankle injuries. Seeded fourth in the Delray Beach (Fla.) International, he's scheduled to play Philipp Petzschner of Germany tonight in the first round.
   Harbatsiuk, arguably the greatest player in Sac State history, hopes to return to the Futures circuit next month. King, ranked sixth in the world in doubles and 58th in singles, and Tursunov, a former top-20 singles player who's 0-3 this year, have not announced their plans.
   Men's pro results -- Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish of Los Angeles routed Andreas Beck of Germany 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Duty Free Tennis Championships.
   Fish, the top-ranked American man or woman at No. 8 in the world, is scheduled to play two matches, both at home, for the Capitals in July.
   Jimmy Wang, a Taiwan native based in Folsom, and countryman Tsung-Hua Yang beat wild cards Yuki Bhambri of India and Liang-Chi Huang of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round of doubles in the Singapore Challenger.  
   New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 8 in singles (no change), No. 103 in doubles (no change).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 105 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 765 in singles (-1), No. 1,248 in doubles (-4).
   Mark Knowles, Capitals (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 61 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 33 in doubles (-5), unranked in singles.
   David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 157 in doubles (+4), No. 757 in singles (no change).
   Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 310 in singles (-1), unranked in doubles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 87 in singles (+12), No. 34 in doubles (+6).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 60 in singles (+3), No. 212 in doubles (-2).
   Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 650 in doubles (-6), No. 1,499 in singles (-1).
   Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 228 in singles (-4), No. 491 in doubles (-5).

Women

   Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 6 in doubles (no change), No. 58 in singles (-1).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- Career-high No. 29 in doubles (+1), No. 715 in singles (-1).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- Career-high No. 191 in doubles (+24), career-high No. 484 in singles (+116).

   Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Capitals (2011) -- Career-high No. 170 in doubles (+12), No. 377 in singles (-1).

Serena tops ailing Bartoli for title

   STANFORD -- It was all so ironic.
   Serena Williams, who returned to the circuit in June after enduring serious health problems, benefited from Marion Bartoli's injury Sunday in the final of the Bank of the West Classic. Bartoli, in turn, had played only one set in the quarterfinals and semifinals combined because of her opponents' injuries.
   The unseeded Williams, playing in only the third tournament of her comeback, defeated
the third-seeded Bartoli of France 7-5, 6-1 for her first title since Wimbledon last year. It was also Williams' first crown at Stanford, first in a non-Grand Slam or season-ending tournament in more than three years and first on the U.S. summer circuit since 2000.
   After delivering a 113-mph service winner on her first match point, Williams joyously dropped her racket, put her head in her hands and raised her fists in triumph.
   "I'm really happy because I put a lot of work into this week," said the former world No. 1, who will rise from No. 169 to the top 80. "It was a relief because Marion is always coming back."
   Not this time. Pounding her serve and dominating rallies with her two-handed forehand and backhand, Bartoli led 4-2 in the first set. In the sixth game, however, the right-hander apparently jammed her right hand with her racket and bruised a bone. Williams won 10 of the next 11 games, including eight in a row after Bartoli served for the first set at 5-4.
   "I was not able to grip the racket on my serve and forehand," said Bartoli, who lost five straight service games, double-faulting six times in the first four, after the injury.
   Bartoli, ranked a career-high ninth, didn't want to use the injury as an excuse but admitted that it "disturbed me. I can still walk away saying I played some great tennis in the first seven games." She said she plans to practice this week and play in Toronto next week.
   Williams, meanwhile, reduced her errors and dominated on her serve, reputedly the best in the history of women's tennis, when the sun wasn't in her eyes. She finished with 11 aces.
   "(Bartoli) was playing really aggressively and well," Williams said of her early deficit. "I was not doing what I could have done. I had to bring up the level of my game. She's clearly a brilliant player."
   Bartoli appeared in the Bank of the West final for the third time in four years. Her only title came in 2009, when she upset Venus Williams in the final. Last month, Bartoli defeated Serena in straight sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon for her first career victory over the American star after two losses.
   Serena has improved since Wimbledon, Bartoli said.
   "Absolutely. I said it even before the match. She has improved from Monday to today, so you can imagine how much she has improved in one month," Bartoli said.    
   Shortly after winning Wimbledon last year for her 13th Grand Slam singles title, Williams stepped on broken glass at a restaurant and twice had surgery. Then she suffered life-threatening blood clots, extending her layoff to 11 months.
   "I love winning majors, obviously, but I feel so blessed to be out here," Williams said. "You never know what tomorrow brings."
   In the doubles final, second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Maria Kirilenko of Russia routed top-seeded Liezel Huber of Houston and Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa., 6-1, 6-3.
   Raymond, 37, leads active players with 70 career doubles titles. Huber, a 34-year-old American citizen originally from South Africa, ranks fourth with 44.

Capitals ousted from WTT playoffs

   The Sacramento Capitals have a strong mixed doubles team.
   But the St. Louis Aces have a better one.
   Liezel Huber and Jean-Julien Rojer beat Vania King and Mark Knowles 5-3 in the final set Saturday to give St. Louis a 20-19 victory in the Western Conference finals of World TeamTennis in Charleston, S.C.
   The Aces (9-6) will meet the Washington Kastles (15-0) today for the WTT title. Washington will try to become the first team in the league's 36-year history to complete an undefeated season.
   St. Louis and Sacramento finished second and third, respectively, in mixed doubles in the regular season.
   Huber was named the WTT Female MVP this season and Rojer the Male Rookie of the Year. Knowles has won three WTT Male MVP awards (2001, 2005 and 2007), and King was named the league's Female MVP in 2009 as a member of the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers.
   The Capitals (8-7) won three of the five sets (men's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles), but St. Louis' Tamira Paszek dominated King 5-1 in women's doubles.
   Paszek, a 20-year-old Austrian who reached the Wimbledon singles quarterfinals early this month, did not play for St. Louis during the regular season. The Aces' Lindsay Davenport, the WTT Female MVP in 2010, missed the season because she is pregnant with her third child.
   Mark Philippoussis, who played part-time for St. Louis during the regular season, was not available Saturday. The powerful Australian, 34, reached two Grand Slam singles finals and a career-high No. 8 in the world before retiring from the circuit with bad knees in 2006.
   St. Louis 20, Capitals 19

   Men's singles -- Dusan Vemic, Capitals, def. Roman Borvanov, Aces, 5-3.

   Women's singles -- Tamira Paszek, Stl., def. Vania King, Capitals, 5-1.

   Men's doubles -- Mark Knowles and Vemic, Capitals, def. Borvanov and Jean-Julien Rojer, Stl., 5-3.

   Women's doubles -- Yasmin Schnack and King, Capitals, def. Liezel Huber and Paszek, Stl., 5-4.

   Mixed doubles -- Rojer and Huber, Stl., def. King and Knowles, Capitals, 5-3.

Capitals' playoff opponent has plenty of Aces

   Now that the Sacramento Capitals have reached the World TeamTennis playoffs for the first time since 2008, they face a daunting challenge.
   Sacramento faces the star-studded St. Louis Aces in the Western Conference finals today at 2 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.
   Both teams finished the regular season 8-6, but St. Louis will have part-time marquee player Mark Philippoussis and new addition Tamira Paszek, according to Capitals coach Wayne Bryan.
   Philippoussis, a 34-year-old Australian, reached two Grand Slam singles finals and a career-high No. 8 in the world before retiring five years ago with bad knees. Paszek, a 20-year-old Austrian, advanced to her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal at Wimbledon this month.
   St. Louis also features this year's WTT Female MVP, Liezel Huber, and Male Rookie of the Year, Jean-Julien Rojer. The awards were announced Friday.
   The Aces lost Lindsay Davenport, last year's WTT Female MVP, just before their season opener because she's pregnant with her third child. Her doctor told her to skip the 2011 campaign.
   Leading the Capitals is Vania King, who ranked third among nine WTT regulars in women's singles and third among 19 in women's doubles. She was named the 2009 WTT Female MVP for Springfield (Mo.) and won two Grand Slam women's doubles titles last year.
   Awaiting the winner of today's match is the Washington Kastles, who improved to 15-0 with a 25-13 victory over the Boston Lobsters on Friday in the Eastern Conference final in Charleston. In Sunday's WTT Finals, the Kastles will try to become the first undefeated team in WTT's 36-year history.
   Washington swept the other three WTT awards this season. Leander Paes was named the Male MVP for the second time in three years, Arina Rodionova was chosen as the league's Female Rookie of the Year, and Murphy Jensen received Coach of the Year honors.
   Rodionova is the younger sister of ex-Capital Anastasia Rodionova.
  
  
 

Junior champions span West Coast

   The USTA West Coast Junior Championships lived up to its name in boys and girls 18 singles.
   Emmett Egger of Issaquah, Wash., near Seattle, and Christina Makarova of San Diego, took the titles Tuesday at the Rio del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento. Both players were seeded No. 1.
   Egger, ranked fourth nationally in the 18s, wore down his good friend, second-seeded Connor Farren of Hillsborough, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final. Farren is No. 2 in the United States in the boys 16s.
   Egger and Farren recently returned to the United States after traveling to European tournaments together for seven weeks.
   In the first set of the final, "there was a little nervous tension after spending that much time together," said Egger, 18. "I hit some key serves at good times (in the match), which helped me because Connor has such good returns."
   Makarova, ranked second nationally in the girls 16s, outsteadied unseeded Alison Ho, a left-hander from Thousand Oaks, 6-4, 6-3 for the title.
   "She gave me a lot of free points by hitting too hard," said Makarova, 15.
   Like Egger, Makarova admitted to being nervous in the first set, which had been tied 4-4. She resorted to hitting moonballs.
   "I was trying to be aggressive, but I guess I got tight because it was a final and fell into that," she said.
   Egger's parents, recreational players, introduced him to tennis when he was 7. He said growing up in the rainy Pacific Northwest did not hurt his tennis development because he has spent most of his time at academies in Florida, Texas and California since he was 14.
   Egger, who studied at an online high school, will play on scholarship at the University of Washington in Seattle beginning in the fall.
   "I liked the coach, Matt Anger," Egger said of the former touring pro who reached a career-high No. 23 in the world in 1986. "That's what sold me. I like the way he coaches and what he thought about my game. He changes (his style according) to the player. He's definitely not 'one size fits all.' He (talked about) mixing it up and keeping it deep, and he's helping me with my volley."
   If Egger becomes a successful pro player, as he hopes, he will not be the first from Washington.
   Tom Gorman of Seattle reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open in the early 1970s and coached the U.S. Davis Cup team to titles in 1990 and 1992.             
   Patrick Galbraith of Tacoma reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in 1993, and Jan-Michael Gambill of the Spokane area in eastern Washington climbed to No. 14 in singles 10 years ago.
   Makarova was born in Montreal to Russian parents and moved with her family to San Diego when she was 4 because of her father's job. Michael Popkov is a scientist. Christina's mother and coach, Luda, was once the highest-ranked woman in the Soviet Union.
   Makarova, who will be a sophomore at an online high school in the fall, will either turn pro in the next few years or attend college.            
   "It depends on how things go," she said.
   Champions from Northern California in the West Coast Junior Championships were:
   --Eighth-seeded Sarah Hu of Oakland in girls 16 singles.
   --Unseeded Katya Tabachnik of San Francisco in girls 14 singles.
   --Second-seeded Richard Pham of Saratoga and Brandon Sutter of El Dorado Hills in boys 18 doubles.
   --Unseeded Kristy Jorgensen of San Carlos and Christi Tain of Milpitas in girls 16 doubles.
   --Top-seeded Grace Lin of South San Francisco and Karina Vyrlan of Sacramento in girls 14 doubles.