Osaka withdraws; Andreescu ousted in marathon

Naomi Osaka said she "never wanted to be a distrac-
tion." 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   No. 2 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan withdrew from the French Open today in the wake of her announcement last week that she would skip her mandatory post-match news conferences.

   "I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," Osaka said on social media. "I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and message could have been clearer."

   Osaka, who has won four Grand Slam singles titles but never advanced past the third round of the French Open, added that she will "take some time away from the court."

   Meanwhile, Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia outlasted No. 6 seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (2), 9-7 in 3 hours, 20 minutes. Andreescu was two points from victory serving at 5-4 in the third set, 

   Zidansek, 23, recorded her first main-draw victory at Roland Garros and first top-10 win. Andreescu, who missed last year because of a knee injury and the five-month tour shutdown, has not advanced past the second round of a major since winning the 2019 U.S. Open at 19.

   Also falling were former French Open champions Garbine Muguruza, seeded 12th, and Jelena Ostapenko. 

   Eighth-seeded Roger Federer, who will turn 40 on Aug. 8, dismissed Denis Istomin, a 34-year-old qualifier from Uzbekistan, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. 

   Federer, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee twice last year, played in his first Grand Slam tournament since the Australian Open in January 2020 and his second match on clay in two years. Istomin shocked Novak Djokovic in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open. 

   Both Federer and Istomin have played at the SAP Center in San Jose. Federer defeated Jack Sock in a 2018 exhibition, and Istomin lost to Milos Raonic in the final of the 2012 SAP Open.

   Federer is scheduled to meet Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, on Wednesday. The 32-year-old Croat eliminated wild card Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6 (6), 6-1. 

   Federer is 9-1 against Cilic. They will meet for the first time since Federer won in five sets in the 2018 Australian Open final for his 20th Grand Slam singles title, a record he shares with Rafael Nadal, and second time on clay. Federer triumphed 6-4, 6-3 in the third round in Monte Carlo 10 years ago.

   In another matchup of players in their 30s, No. 31 seed John Isner, 36, beat Davis Cup teammate Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

   The 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Isner hammered 22 aces to the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey's nine and improved to 4-5 in the head-to-head series.

   Querrey fell to 0-4 since early February. The 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist has won one match in the French Open in the last seven years.

   Isner and Querrey reached their career-high rankings of No. 8 and 11, respectively, in 2018. 

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, 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.

Istomin shocks Djokovic; Gibbs to face Serena

Denis Istomin lines up a backhand in the
final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose.
Istomin lost to Milos Raonic. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   ESPN2 commentator Brad Gilbert called it one of the biggest men's upsets in history.
   Denis Istomin, a 30-year-old wild card from Uzbekistan ranked No. 117, shocked second seed and six-time champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Wednesday (PST) in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   It was Djokovic's earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since he fell to Marat Safin in the second round at Wimbledon in 2008 and only his second loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 in the past seven years. He fell to No. 145 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the first round of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last August.
   Del Potro, a right-hander with a two-handed backhand, has had three operations on his left wrist and one on his right wrist since beating Roger Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open.
   Djokovic also lost to Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, in the third round at Wimbledon last year amid what he called "private issues," believed to be with his wife, Jelena.
   Gilbert said Istomin's victory ranks with losses by seven-time champions Roger Federer and Pete Sampras in the second round at Wimbledon. Federer fell to No. 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in 2013, and Sampras lost to No. 145 George Bastl of Switzerland in 2002.
   Veteran San Francisco Bay Area fans know Istomin well. In the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, he reached the 2012 final (losing to Milos Raonic), 2010 semifinals and 2013 quarterfinals. In the latter matches, Istomin fell to eventual champion Fernando Verdasco and Raonic, respectively.
   Istomin will face 30th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the third round of the Australian Open. Raonic, seeded third, becomes the favorite to reach the final in the bottom half of the draw. 
   There were also big upsets in women's singles and men's doubles on Wednesday.
   Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, a Croat who will turn 35 in March, ousted No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to Dominika Cibulkova in the 2013 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, 6-3, 6-2.
   Querrey and Donald Young of Atlanta surprised second seeds and defending champions Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil 6-3, 7-6 (5). Querrey, seeded 31st in singles, is scheduled to play Murray's younger brother, top-ranked Andy, in the third round today not before 7 p.m. PST (ESPN2).

Nicole Gibbs serves in the fourth round at Indian
Wells last March. Gibbs lost to Petra Kvitova.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Meanwhile, Nicole Gibbs (Stanford 2011-13) equaled her best Grand Slam singles result as she advanced to the third round. Her reward is a matchup with No. 2 seed and six-time champion Serena Williams.

   Gibbs, who also reached the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open, improved to 4-0 against fellow American Irina Falconi with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

   Gibbs, a resident of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, converted six of a whopping 18 break-point opportunities. Falconi, 26, put in only 46 percent of her first serves and committed six double faults. She had one ace.
   Williams dismissed Lucie Safarova, the 2015 French Open runner-up, 6-3, 6-4. It was Williams' 10th victory in as many matches against the Czech left-hander, who will turn 30 on Feb. 4.

   Williams needed three match points to subdue Safarova, who survived nine of them against Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in the first round.

   Safarova battled a bacterial infection, reactive arthritis, a torn abdominal muscle, a left wrist injury and food poisoning from August 2015 to May 2016.

   Gibbs and Williams have met once. Williams won 6-2, 6-1 in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic in 2012, between Gibbs' sophomore and junior year at Stanford. She turned pro in 2013 after winning her second straight NCAA singles title.

   Gibbs ousted No. 25 seed Timea Babos of Hungary in the first round of the Australian Open in a matchup of 23-year-olds. 

   Babos, at No. 28, is the third-highest-ranked player Gibbs has beaten. She toppled No. 24 Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla., in the second round at Indian Wells last year and No. 25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the second round of the 2014 U.S. Open. Gibbs also upset No. 29 Kristina Mladenovic of France in the second round at Miami last year.

   In other first-round doubles matches on Wednesday:

   --No. 11 seeds Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones) and Xu Yifan of China defeated Jessica Moore and Storm Sanders of Australia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
   --Jonathan Erlich, 39, of Israel and Scott Lipsky (Stanford, 2000-03), 35, of Irvine in the Los Angeles area lost to Karen Khachanov and Andrey Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 6-4. Erlich won the 2008 Australian Open with countryman Andy Ram.

Tursunov to play -- who else? -- Istomin at Wimbledon

Dmitry Tursunov, practicing in
Indian Wells in March, will meet
Denis Istomin for the fifth time
this year. Photo by Paul Bauman

Denis Istomin, playing in San
Jose in 2013, has beaten Dmitry
Tursunov three straight times.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Dmitry Tursunov and Denis Istomin are getting to know each other better than Simon and Garfunkel.
   Tursunov, seeded 32nd, is scheduled to play Istomin for the fifth time this year in the first round at Wimbledon.
   The winner could meet fifth-seeded Stan Warwinka of Switzerland in the third round. Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open in January but lost in the opening round of the French Open last month.
   The Wimbledon draw was conducted on Friday, and play is scheduled for Monday through July 6.
   Istomin, 27, of Uzbekistan has won his last three meetings with Tursunov, a 31-year-old Russian based in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, to even the career head-to-head series at 3-3.
   But Tursunov is ranked 32nd in the world and Istomin 49th.
   Both players' best results at Wimbledon are fourth-round appearances, Istomin in 2012 and Tursunov in 2005 and 2006, and both have residences in Moscow.
   Tursunov defaulted his second-round match in Hertogenbosch, where he won the 2011 title, on Wednesday with a left foot injury. He has a long history of physical problems but might have been cautious this time to ensure he'll be ready for Wimbledon.
   In another first-round match at Wimbledon, San Francisco native Sam Querrey will face ex-Stanford star Bradley Klahn. The survivor probably will face 14th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a two-time Wimbledon semifinalist from France, in the second round.
   Querrey is 1-0 against Klahn, winning in four sets in the opening round of the 2010 U.S. Open. Klahn had received a wild card for winning the NCAA singles title as a sophomore.

   Klahn and Querrey are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in the United States. Klahn, a 23-year-old left-hander, is No. 73. Querrey, 26, is No. 77 after climbing to a career-high No. 17 in 2011.
   Querrey is 34-22 lifetime on grass, including a semifinal showing at Eastbourne this week, while Klahn in 0-2 after losing to Tursunov on Monday in the first round at Hertogenbosch. Querrey will be making his seventh main-draw appearance at Wimbledon, having reached the fourth round in 2010, and Klahn his first.   
   Querrey, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), turned pro out of high school in 2006. Klahn, 6 feet (1.83 meters), joined the pro ranks in 2012 after graduating from Stanford in economics.
   Futures circuit -- Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area upset second-seeded Dimitar Kutrovsky of Bulgaria 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the $15,000 Tulsa (Okla.) Pro Championships.
   McDonald, who earned All-America honors two weeks ago as a UCLA freshman, will meet seventh-seeded Jared Donaldson of Cumberland, R.I.
   Donaldson was the runner-up to Sacramento-based Collin Altamirano in the USTA Boys 18 National Championships last summer in Kalamazoo, Mich.
   Altamirano lost in the second round in Tulsa to fifth-seeded Dennis Nevolo, a former Illinois All-American from Gurnee, Ill.

Tursunov loses to nemesis; Gibbs reaches final

Denis Istomin rallied to beat Dmitry
Tursunov for the third straight time.
2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Denis Istomin is giving Dmitry Tursunov fits.
   After the 29th-seeded Tursunov pulled out the first set on Saturday, Istomin reeled off nine consecutive games in a 6-7 (8), 6-0, 6-3 victory in the second round of the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.
   Istomin converted 71 percent of his first serves, fired 19 aces and committed only two double faults. Tursunov, meanwhile, put in only 50 percent of his first serves and had eight aces against 14 double faults.
   It was the fourth meeting between the Moscow natives this year and sixth overall. Istomin, who plays for Uzbekistan, has won the last three encounters after losing the first three against Tursunov, who plays for Russia but trains in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay.
   Istomin will face top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who dismissed former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-3.
   USTA Pro Circuit -- Unseeded Nicole Gibbs, a former Stanford star from Santa Monica, defeated qualifier Louisa Chirico of Harrison, N.Y., 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to reach the final of the $25,000 Innisbrook (Fla.) Women's Open.
   Gibbs, the 2012 and 2013 NCAA singles champion, will meet Grace Min of Boca Raton, Fla., today for the title. Min, who won the Innisbrook title in 2012, beat qualifier Gioia Barbieri of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-2.  

COLLEGE RESULTS

Women

   No. 36 Pepperdine 4, No. 72 Santa Clara 2: http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/w-tennis/2013-14/releases/20140323hb8prh
   Sacramento State 7, Eastern Washington 0; Sac State 7, Portland State 0: www.hornetsports.com/sports/wten/2013-14/releases/201403223mnez1
   BYU 5, Saint Mary's 2: http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=101598&SPID=12531&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209441619&DB_OEM_ID=21400  

Men

   Saint Mary's 4, BYU 3: http://www.smcgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=101589&SPID=12530&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209441675&DB_OEM_ID=21400 
   Loyola Marymount 5, USF 2: http://usfdons.com/news/2014/3/22/MTEN_0322145222.aspx 

2012 SAP finalists to meet in quarters

   In a rematch of last year’s final, Milos Raonic and Denis Istomin will meet in Friday’s quarterfinals at the SAP Open in San Jose.

   Raonic, the top seed and two-time defending champion from Canada, improved his SAP Open record to 10-0 with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 34-year-old American Michael Russell in the second round Thursday at HP Pavilion.

   Istomin, the sixth seed from Uzbekistan, outlasted 2007 semifinalist Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2.

   Raonic, 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters), defeated Istomin 7-6 (3), 6-2 for the 2012 title.
   “I’m definitely comfortable here,” Raonic, who drew a first-round bye this year, told reporters. “I made a big emphasis on starting aggressive today, especially being the first match of the tournament and his second match of the tournament. I was able to play well.”
   Meanwhile, it appears Bob and Mike Bryan will never win the doubles title in San Jose, 20 miles down the freeway from their alma mater, Stanford. The world's No. 1 team, which won its record 13th Grand Slam title last month in the Australian Open, fell to Aussie wild cards Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-7 tiebreak in the quarterfinals.
   The Bryans made their 10th appearance in the tournament, which will be replaced on the calendar by Rio de Janeiro beginning in 2014 after 125 years in Northern California. The 34-year-old identical twins reached the final once, losing to fellow Stanford alumni Scott Lipsky and David Martin in 2008.  
   Lipsky, who also won the 2011 SAP Open doubles title with Rajeev Ram, joined the Bryans on the sideline Thursday. The third-seeded team of Lipsky and Mexico's Santiago Gonzalez lost to unseeded Mikhail Elgin of Russia and Istomin 6-4, 6-4.

   No. 3 singles seed Sam Querrey, who had a bye in the first round, narrowly avoided his third straight opening-round loss in the SAP Open. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) native of nearby San Francisco edged the 31-year-old Hewitt, formerly ranked No. 1 in the world and the 2002 SAP Open champion, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-6 (4).
   Hewitt double-faulted twice in the third-set tiebreaker, including on match point. Querrey pounded 20 aces in the match.

   In 2010, Querrey came within a third-set tiebreaker against Andy Roddick of reaching the SAP Open singles final and won the doubles title with Mardy Fish.

   Querrey will play Colombian veteran Alejandro Falla in the quarterfinals. Falla, the SAP Open doubles runner-up with Xavier Malisse in 2011, upset the seventh-seeded Matosevic 6-4, 6-4.  

  Two players in their 30s reached the quarterfinals in the bottom half of the draw. Fourth-seeded Tommy Haas, 34, of Germany will meet American wild card Steve Johnson, and the eighth-seeded Malisse, 32, of Belgium will face second-seeded John Isner of Tampa, Fla.

   Haas reached No. 2 in the world in 2002, advanced to the SAP Open semifinals in 2005 and won the 2009 doubles title in San Jose with Radek Stepanek.
   Johnson, who turned pro last summer after leading USC to four straight NCAA team titles and winning the last two NCAA singles crowns, dispatched fellow American Tim Smyczek 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal.

   Malisse gained the San Jose singles semis in 2001, won the French Open men’s doubles title in 2004 with countryman Olivier Rochus and took last year’s SAP Open doubles crown with since-retired Mark Knowles. 

SAP OPEN

In San Jose

Second-round singles

   Milos Raonic (1), Canada, def. Michael Russell, United States, 6-2, 7-5.
   Denis Istomin (6), Uzbekistan, def. Benjamin Becker, Germany, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
   Sam Querrey (3), United States, def. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-6 (4).
   Alejandro Falla, Colombia, def. Marinko Matosevic (7), Australia, 6-4, 6-4.
   Steve Johnson, United States, def. Tim Smyczek, United States, 6-3, 6-3.
   Xavier Malisse (8), Belgium, def. Matthew Ebden, Australia, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (1).

Doubles quarterfinals

   Mikhail Elgin, Russia, and Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, def. Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, and Scott Lipsky (3), United States, 6-4, 6-4.
   Alejandro Falla and Robert Farah, Colombia, def. Rik de Voest, South Africa, and Tommy Haas, Germany, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 10-6 tiebreak.
   Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic, Australia, def. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (1), United States, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-7 tiebreak.
   Xavier Malisse, Belgium, and Frank Moser (4), Germany, def. Matthew Ebden, Australia, and Michael Russell, United States, 6-3, 6-3.

Friday's schedule

Center Court

   (Beginning at 11:30 a.m. PST)

   Tommy Haas (4), Germany, vs. Steve Johnson, United States. 

   (Not before 2 p.m.)

   John Isner (2), United States, vs. Xavier Malisse (8), Belgium.

(Not before 7 p.m.)

   Milos Raonic (2), Canada, vs. Denis Istomin (6), Uzbekistan.
   Sam Querrey (3), United States, vs. Alejandro Falla, Colombia.
   Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic, Australia, vs. Mikhail Elgin, Russia, and Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan.

Serving sensationally, Raonic repeats in SAP Open

   SAN JOSE — Don't be deceived by Milos Raonic's modest seven aces and 62 percent conversion rate on first serves.
   The 21-year-old Canadian star put on the most dominant serving display in memory Sunday.
   Dropping only four points on his serve, the third-seeded Raonic wore down unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (3), 6-2 at HP Pavilion for his second straight SAP Open title.
   Raonic won 28 of 31 points, including 17 straight, on his serve in the first set and 16 of 17 in the second set. He never surrendered more than one point in a service game. 
   Asked if he could serve any better, Raonic said: "I don't think so. I hope so. I served pretty flawlessly all week but sometimes lost focus on the next shot."  
   Raonic, who won his first career ATP World Tour title last year in San Jose, became the seventh player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win back-to-back championships in the Bay Area tournament. All the others — Andy Murray (2006-07), Andy Roddick (2004-05), Mark Philippoussis (1999-2000), Pete Sampras (1996-97), John McEnroe (1978-79) and Stan Smith (1968-69) — are multiple Grand Slam singles champions or finalists.
   There is no reason — other than injuries — to think Raonic won't wind up in Grand Slam finals, too. He missed two months after undergoing hip surgery last July and withdrew from a Davis Cup singles match eight days ago with knee pain. Raonic said it was "a big sigh of relief" that he would be able to defend his SAP Open crown.
   Largely because of the hip operation, it took Raonic 11 months to win his second ATP title (Chennai, India, in the first week of this year). It took him only six weeks to win his third.
   "I'm a much better tennis player this year," said Raonic, who's 11-1 this season and the first two-time winner of 2012 on the ATP circuit. "I'm hitting well from the baseline and constructing points. My tennis sense is better. I understand my game and my opponent's game better."
   Raonic, ranked 35th, improved to 9-0 in the SAP Open without losing a set. He held his serve 42 of 43 times last year and 41 of 42 times this year.   
   Istomin, a 25-year-old Russia native who fell to 0-2 in ATP finals, said the 6-foot-5 Raonic's serve is the best he has faced.
   "It's harder, he's taller, and the ball is jumping high. Five times I saw 145 (on the radar gun). It's really difficult to face this kind of serve," said Istomin, an SAP Open semifinalist in 2010 and quarterfinalist last year.
   In the middle of the first set, Raonic uncorked a 150-mph ace that Istomin challenged for the heck of it.
   "I didn't see it at all," Istomin, who rose 12 spots to No. 49 in the world with his runner-up finish, admitted with a chuckle. "That's why I challenged, to be sure it was in or no."
   But Raonic is hardly a one-dimensional player. Like a cagey veteran pitcher, he changes speeds on  his serve, often slicing the ball wide in the deuce court. He moves surprisingly well for his size, has a powerful baseline game and can volley deftly. He says his return of serve needs the most work. 
   Not that Raonic needed any help during the week, but he had plenty.
   Gael Monfils, seeded second last year and first this year, withdrew with an injury in Raonic's half of the draw for the second consecutive year. Second seeded Andy Roddick, a three-time SAP Open champion, struggled with hamstring and ankle injuries and lost to Istomin in the quarterfinals.
   Raonic also was fresher for Sunday's 3 p.m. final than Istomin. Raonic beat U.S. teenager Ryan Harrison in straight sets in 1 hour, 18 minutes Saturday afternoon, whereas Istomin labored for 2 hours, 20 minutes to beat fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau on Saturday night.  
   In the final, Istomin held his serve throughout the first set to force a tiebreaker. Raonic bolted to a 6-1 lead and held on to improve his career tiebreaker record in the tournament to 8-0. After drawing a first-round bye this year, he won one tiebreaker in each of his four matches.
   Errors crept into Istomin's game in the second set, when he was broken at 1-2 and 2-5.
   "The first set I was playing really good on my serve," he said. "In the second set, I was a little tired. I had a long match (Saturday night)."
   In doubles, Mark Knowles became the first player 40 years or older to win an ATP title since McEnroe, at 47, captured the 2006 SAP Open doubles crown with Jonas Bjorkman.
   The fourth-seeded team of Knowles, a 40-year-old Bahamian and Sacramento Capitals veteran in World TeamTennis, and Belgium's Xavier Malisse outlasted unseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Frank Moser of Germany 6-4, 1-6, 10-5 tiebreak. 
   "To be in a sentence with John McEnroe is pretty cool," said Knowles, who won his 55th career ATP doubles title (tied for 15th in the Open Era and fourth among active players). "I’ll take that. I didn’t realize that. To win a title at 40 years old is far beyond anything I could have dreamed of. When you first turn pro, you never really dream of playing 20-plus years on tour.
   "I’ve been fortunate enough to stay fairly healthy and have had some great partners who have helped me win a lot of titles over the years. It’s helped me to have a family. I spend a lot of time with my wife and three kids. I really enjoy tennis a lot more than I did in the beginning when it was just myself."
   Knowles has won a doubles crown for 13 straight years, including 2001 in San Jose (with former Capitals teammate Brian MacPhie), and every year since 1993 except 1999.
  "It’s amazing," he said. "You don’t really keep track of that until somebody points it out. Now I’m a little bit bummed I didn’t win that one title."
   Malisse, a relative youngster at 31, played in his fourth straight doubles final in California. He was the runner-up in last year's SAP Open (with Alejandro Falla of Colombia, beating top-seeded Knowles and Michal Mertinak of Slovakia in the semifinals) and won titles at Indian Wells last March (with Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine) and Los Angeles (with Knowles) last July.
   "Maybe I should move to California," Malisse joked.   
   WTA Tour — Top-seeded Liezel Huber of Houston and Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa., breezed past unseeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego 6-3, 6-1 to win the $2,168,400 Qatar Total Open in Doha.
   Huber, 35, became the 15th player in the Open Era to win at least 50 WTA doubles titles. Raymond, 38, tied Jana Novotna for sixth place on that list with 76 crowns.
   Huber and Raymond reached the final of last year's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, falling to Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko.
   Women's Challenger —  Fourth-seeded Maria Sanchez of Modesto and Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area won their second doubles title of the year, beating third-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania and Valeria Solovieva of Russia 6-4, 6-3 in the $25,000 City of Surprise (Ariz.) Women's Tennis Classic. Schnack also won a doubles crown this year with Whitney Jones of St. Louis.
   Fifth-seeded Michelle Larcher de Brito, a former Capital from Portugal, won the Surprise singles title with a 6-1 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Claire Feuerstein of France.
   College — Cal freshman Zsofi Susanyi was named to the all-tournament team at No. 2 singles after helping the Bears reach the semifinals of the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville. Susanyi, from Hungary, also was chosen as the Pacific-12 Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 6-12.

Hard-serving Raonic eyes a repeat in SAP Open

   There are some things players on the ATP World Tour just don't want to do.
   They don't want to fly economy to Australia. They don't want to answer stupid questions at post-match news conferences. And they don't want to face Milos Raonic's blistering serve indoors (outdoors is no picnic, either).
   Hammering deliveries at up to 150 mph, the 6-foot-5 Canadian defeated promising U.S. teenager Ryan Harrison 7-6 (4), 6-2 Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the $531,000 SAP Open at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
   Raonic, 21, pounded 20 aces and evened his professional record against Harrison, 19, at 1-1.
   "If he served like that against anybody, it’s going to be a nightmare to break,” Harrison told reporters. “It doesn’t matter who he plays. Whenever he’s serving like that, it’s going to be a tough match for any of the top guys – Roger, Rafa, Novak – all the guys that are the best in the game."
   Harrison beat Raonic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in a third-round thriller at Indian Wells last March. But that was outdoors. At HP Pavilion, the home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, Raonic doesn't have to contend with wind or the sun.
   Raonic, who won his first ATP title in last year's SAP Open, is 8-0 (including a walkover) in the tournament.
  “It was all really new to me last year," said Raonic, who underwent hip surgery in July and missed two months. "I felt it all flew by really quickly. "Whereas now, going through all these things again and playing well and everything, I feel like I know how to deal with it all. There’s not stress around it.”
   Raonic, seeded third at No. 32 in the world rankings, will try for a repeat, his second title of the year and the third of his career when he meets unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan today at 3 p.m. (Comcast SportsNet California, CSN Plus in Sacramento and Tennis Channel).
   Istomin, ranked No. 61, outlasted fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in 2 hours, 20 minutes Saturday night to reach his second ATP final. Istomin lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine at New Haven in 2010.
   In the doubles final at 1 p.m., fourth-seeded Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Xavier Malisse of Belgium will face unseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Frank Moser of Germany.
   The 40-year-old Knowles, who played his 10th season with the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis last July, and Malisse eliminated unseeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg and Olivier Rochus of Belgium 7-6 (4), 6-3. Malisse and Rochus won the 2004 French Open men's doubles title.
   Anderson, 6-8, and Moser, 6-5, upset second seeds and defending champions Scott Lipsky of Huntington Beach and Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., 7-6 (5), 6-4. Lipsky and former Stanford teammate David Martin reached the NCAA doubles final in 2002 and won the SAP Open doubles crown in 2008.
   WTA tour -- Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego edged fifth-seeded Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain and Anastasia Rodionova, a Russian-born Australian and former Capital, 3-6, 6-1, 10-8 tiebreak in the doubles semifinals of the $2,168,400 Qatar Total Open in Doha.
   Kops-Jones and Spears will face top-seeded Liezel Huber, an American citizen orginally from South Africa, and Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa., for the title. Huber and Raymond coasted past Germany's Kristina Barrois and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2, 6-3.  
   Women's Challenger -- Qualifier Maria Sanchez of Modesto lost to eighth-seeded Claire Feuerstein of France 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 in the semifinals of the $25,000 City of Surprise (Ariz.) Women's Tennis Classic.
   Feuerstein will meet fifth-seeded Michelle Larcher de Brito, a former Capital from Portugal, in today's final.
   College men -- Ninth-ranked Stanford (7-4) lost 4-1 to No. 2 Virginia (7-0) in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at Charlottesville, Va. No. 13 Cal (5-3) beat No. 12 Pepperdine (3-6) in the consolation quarterfinals.

Hobbling Roddick falls to Istomin in SAP quarterfinals

   He could have withdrawn before the SAP Open like Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and James Blake.
   He could have quit Wednesday night like Gael Monfils.
   And he could have pulled out before his quarterfinal on Friday night.
   But second-seeded Andy Roddick, battered like an NFL player, soldiered on and predictably lost to unseeded Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-4 at HP Pavilion.
   As usual, Roddick didn't exactly go down gracefully. The Associated Press reported that he "slammed one racket, broke another, argued with the chair umpire and shouted back at his own box. At one point, he smacked a ball high into the black curtains behind the far baseline grandstand."
   The three-time SAP Open champion, still recovering from a partially torn tendon in his right hamstring suffered during the Australian Open last month, twisted his right ankle during his second-round victory Wednesday night.
   "It would be abnormal if you weren't frustrated," Roddick, who still plans to defend his title next week in Memphis, told reporters after losing to Istomin. "The question is, how do you figure your way through it?"
   Istomin, a 25-year-old Russia native who plays for Uzbekistan, reached the SAP Open semifinals for the second time in three years. Also a quarterfinalist last year, he will meet fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France at 7:30 tonight (Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Tennis Channel) for a berth in the final.
   Benneteau, a 30-year-old veteran playing in the SAP Open for the first time this year, eliminated unseeded Steve Darcis of Belgium 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
   Benneteau is 2-0 against Istomin, winning all five of their sets 6-4. That includes a three-set triumph in the second round of last year's U.S. Open.
   In today's 1 p.m. semifinal (Comcast SportsNet California and Tennis Channel), third seed and defending champion Milos Raonic, 21, of Canada will face unseeded Ryan Harrison, 19, of Bradenton, Fla.
   Raonic, 6-foot-5, edged sixth-seeded Kevin Anderson, a 6-8 South African, 7-5, 7-6 (3). Raonic pounded 16 aces to Anderson's 14 and never faced a break point.
   Harrison downed qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-1, 6-4 to become the first teenager to reach the SAP Open semifinals since Andy Murray won the 2006 and 2007 titles at 18 and 19, respectively.    
   Harrison beat Raonic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4 in the third round at Indian Wells last year in their only previous meeting.
   Sanchez stays hot -- Maria Sanchez of Modesto reached the singles semifinals and doubles final at the $25,000 City of Surprise (Ariz.) Women's Tennis Classic.
   Sanchez, a singles qualifier, beat unseeded Olga Puchkova of Russia 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 to advance to a meeting with eighth-seeded Claire Feuerstein of France.
   In doubles, fourth-seeded Sanchez and Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area dominated top-seeded Wan-Ting Liu and Shuai Zhang of China 6-2, 6-0. Sanchez and Schnack -- former rivals at USC and UCLA, respectively -- will take on third-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania and Valeria Solovieva of Russia in Sunday's final.
   Stanford men advance -- No. 9 Stanford beat No. 7 Baylor 4-2 in the first round of the National Men's Team Indoor Championship at Charlottesville, Va.
   Bradley Klahn, the 2010 NCAA singles champion who had missed Stanford's first nine matches with an undisclosed injury, defeated Marko Krickovic 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 singles and teamed with Ryan Thacher to beat Roberto Maytin and Mate Zsiga 8-6 at No. 1 doubles. Klahn and Thacher reached the NCAA doubles final at Stanford last May, losing to Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek of Texas A&M.
   No. 13 Cal (4-3) lost 4-0 to No. 4 Georgia (7-0). Stanford (7-3) will face host Virginia today in the quarterfinals.
   Other colleges -- The Sacramento State women defeated visiting Portland State 7-0 in a Big Sky Conference match and host UC Davis 5-2. The Hornets improved to 4-3 (1-0 in the Big Sky), and the Aggies fell to 3-7.
   The UC Davis men (3-4) routed visiting Weber State 6-0.