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.

Struggling Kenin, Andreescu upset at Wimbledon

Madison Brengle ousted No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin today in the
second round at Wimbledon. 2019 photo by Paul Bauman

   Two of the top five women's seeds, both Grand Slam champions who have struggled this year, lost at Wimbledon today.

   In an all-American matchup, Madison Brengle ousted No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-4 in the second round. Kenin has won three Challenger singles titles in Northern California and Brengle two.

   Also, Alize Cornet of France routed No. 5 seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada 6-2, 6-1 in the first round. Cornet, who stunned Serena Williams in the third round at Wimbledon in 2014, ended a three-match losing streak at the All England Club.

   Neither Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open at 21, nor Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion at 19, has reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament this year. In fact, Andreescu hasn't survived the second round in a 2021 major. The last Grand Slam tourney of the year, the U.S. Open, is scheduled for Aug. 30 to Sept. 12.

   Another major champion, 28-year-old Fresno, Calif., product Sloane Stephens, defeated Kristie Ahn, a 29-year-old Stanford graduate from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 7-5, 6-3 in the second round.

   In a rematch of the 2018 Wimbledon men's final, top-ranked Novak Djokovic dismissed Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round. The 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson, 35, had right knee surgery in September 2019 and February 2020.

   Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, eliminated No. 11 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5.

   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017 and quarterfinalist in 2016 and 2019, clubbed 22 aces and won 90 percent of the points on his first serve (56 of 62). Carreno Busta, a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist, fell to 0-6 at Wimbledon.

   Wild card Andy Murray, the Wimbledon champion in 2013 and 2016, outlasted qualifier Oscar Otte of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.

   Murray won the first of his 46 tour-level singles titles in San Jose in 2006 at 18 and repeated the following year. He also won the Challenger in Aptos, Calif., a 45-minute drive south of San Jose, in 2005 at 18.

Women set mark for first-time major quarterfinalists

Maria Sakkari, the runner-up in San Jose, Calif., in 2018, upset Sofia Kenin
today in Paris to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. 2018 photo by Mal Taam 

   Grand Slam women's tournaments have been wide open for years, but never like this.

   Six French Open quarterfinalists have reached the last eight in a major for the first time. That's unprecedented in the Open Era, which began in 1968.

   No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece drubbed No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-1, 6-3 in 68 minutes today in Paris, leaving 20-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland as the heavy favorite to win the title for the second consecutive year. 

   The eighth-seeded Swiatek dispatched unseeded Marta Kostyuk, 18, of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4 to extend her Roland Garros winning streaks to 11 matches and 22 sets. She beat an ailing Kenin in last year's final. 

   Sakkari reached the final of the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. Kenin won Northern California Challenger singles titles as a teenager in 2016, 2017 and 2018, laying the foundation for her Australian Open crown last year.

   Swiatek and Sakkari, 25, are scheduled to meet for the first time on Wednesday.

   Also in the top half of the draw, No. 24 seed Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., is set to play unseeded Barbora Krejcikova, a 25-year-old Czech. 

   Gauff dismissed No. 25 seed Ons Jabeur, a 26-year-old Tunisian who won the French Open girls singles title 10 years ago, 6-3, 6-1 in 53 minutes. Krejcikova coasted to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over unseeded Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., and reached the 2018 French Open final, in 67 minutes.

   Krejcikova, the women's doubles champion at Roland Garros in 2018 with countrywoman Katerina Siniakova, also has advanced to the quarterfinals in that event. But top seeds Krejcikova and Filip Polasek of Slovakia fell to unseeded Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia 6-2, 5-7 [12-10] in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.

   In the bottom half of the draw, No. 21 seed Elena Rybakina, a Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, is slated to face No. 31 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. Also, No. 33 seed Paula Badosa, a New York-born Spaniard, will take on unseeded Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.

   Neither Gauff nor Rybakina, who ousted Serena Williams in the third round, has lost a set in the tournament. Pavlyuchenkova, who played for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis at age 15 in 2006, is 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals.

   The men's singles draw has been much more predictable. The quarterfinal matchups, with seedings in parentheses: Novak Djokovic (1) against Matteo Berrettini (9), Rafael Nadal (3) versus Diego Schwartzman (10), Alexander Zverev (6) against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (none), and Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5).

   Nadal, 35, seeks his mind-boggling 14th French Open singles title and fifth in a row.

   In other matches today:

   —Unseeded Petra Martic of Croatia and Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., defeated No. 9 seeds Sharon Fichman of Canada and Olmos 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of women's doubles. Fichman and Olmos won last month's Italian Open for the biggest title of their careers.

   —Elena Vesnina, who ended a three-year maternity leave in March, and Aslan Karatsev of Russia nipped No. 2 seeds Nicole Melichar, a Czech-born American, and Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., 6-7 (3), 6-2 [10-8] in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.

   In women's doubles at Roland Garros, Vesnina has one title (2013) and three runner-up finishes (2009, 2011 and 2016).

   —No. 13 seed Luca Van Assche of France beat Aidan Mayo of Roseville, Calif., in the Sacramento area 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of boys singles.

   —Ethan Quinn of Fresno and Chak Lam Coleman Wong of Hong Kong topped French wild cards Paul Inchauspe and Théo Papamalamis 6-7 (4), 6-4 [12-10] in the first round of boys doubles.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Sacramento-area products Jenson Brooksby and Sam Riffice won their first-round matches in the $52,080 Orlando (Fla.) Open.

   The 20-year-old Brooksby, seeded third, eliminated Darian King of Barbados 7-6 (5), 6-3. King won the 2016 Tiburon Challenger and advanced to the final of the 2017 Stockton Challenger in Northern California.

   Riffice, a 22-year-old wild card playing in his adopted hometown, ousted fourth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi, a 39-year-old Italian, 6-2, 6-4. In last month's NCAA Championships in Orlando, Riffice helped Florida win its first men's team title and added the singles crown. 

   In the €132,280 ($161,250) Nottingham (England) Open on grass, Evgeny Donskoy of Russia surprised fifth-seeded Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the Bay Area, 6-3, 7-5 in the opening round. 

   McDonald reached the second round of the French Open for the second consecutive year last week. As a qualifier, he twice came within a point of ousting No. 22 seed Cristian Garin of Chile in straight sets before losing 8-6 in the fifth set.

Czech it out: Stephens reaches round of 16 in Paris

Unseeded Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., defeated No. 18 seed
Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 today in the third round of the French Open. 2019
photo by Mal Taam

   Resurgent Sloane Stephens is set to face her third consecutive Czech on Monday in the fourth round of the French Open.

   The unseeded Stephens, the 2018 runner-up at Roland Garros who grew up in Fresno, Calif., defeated No. 18 seed Karolina Muchova, an Australian Open semifinalist in February and Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2019, 6-3, 7-5 today in Paris. 

   Stephens, who eliminated No. 9 seed Karolina Pliskova in the second round, is scheduled to meet unseeded Barbora Krejcikova for the first time.

   Krejcikova, who won her first WTA title in Strasbourg last week and reached the Dubai final in March, ousted fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina, a three-time French Open quarterfinalist from Ukraine, 6-3, 6-2. 

   Of the top six seeds, the only one remaining is No. 4 Sofia Kenin, the Australian Open champion and French Open runner-up last year.

   Krejcikova, 25, also remains alive in women's doubles, in which she won the 2018 title with compatriot Katerina Siniakova, and mixed doubles.

   On the men's side, No. 8 seed Roger Federer, playing in the French Open for only the second time since 2015, topped German left-hander Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-5. Koepfer, the runner-up in the 2019 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger, led 4-2 in the third set.

   Next for Federer, who will turn 40 on Aug. 8, is No. 9 seed Matteo Berrettini. The 25-year-old Italian beat Kwon Soonwoo of South Korea 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time.

   Federer is 2-0 against Berrettini, a 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist. They will meet on clay for the first time. 

   In the second round of women's doubles, unseeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania and Nadia Podoroska of Argentina surprised No. 4 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Shibahara was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA.

   In the first round of mixed doubles:

   —No. 2 seeds Nicole Melichar, a Czech-born American, and Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., defeated French wild cards Caroline Garcia and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-4.

   —Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, and Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia edged Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother, of Great Britain 7-6 (4) 6-7 (3) [10-6].

   ATP Challenger Tour — In a late doubles semifinal in the rain-delayed $52,080 Little Rock (Ark.) Open, unseeded Christopher Eubanks of Atlanta and Roberto Quiroz of Ecuador outplayed No. 2 seeds Dennis Novikov of San Jose, Calif., and Goncalo Oliveira of Portugal 6-3, 6-3.

McDonald squanders two match points, falls in French

Qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old San Francisco Bay Area
product, lost to No. 22 seed Cristian Garin of Chile today in a marathon
in the second round of the French Open. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Qualifier Mackenzie McDonald twice was within a point of beating a seed in straight sets today and reaching the third round of the French Open for the first time.

   But No. 22 seed Cristian Garin of Chile survived 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 8-6 in 4 hours, 14 minutes to reach the third round at Roland Garros in Paris for the second consecutive year.

   McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area who advanced to the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2018 and in the Australian Open in February, escaped a match point at 5-6 in the fifth set. 

   Garin, who won his fifth career singles title (all on clay) in his hometown of Santiago in March, saved 14 of 18 break points against him as he equaled his best result in a Grand Slam tournament.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., continues to fight his way back up the world rankings after undergoing right hamstring surgery in June 2019. He will rise six spots to No. 113 after reaching a career-high No. 57 in April 2019.

   Another Bay Area product, Giuliana Olmos, won in the first round of women's doubles with Sharon Fichman of Canada. The No. 9 seeds, coming off the biggest title of their careers three weeks ago in the Italian Open, dispatched Anna Blinkova of Russia and Heather Watson of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2. 

   Olmos was born in Austria and represents Mexico. 

   In the opening round of men's doubles, No. 15 seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan defeated French wild cards Mathias Bourgue and Lucas Pouille 6-3, 6-2.  

   WTA Tour — Grand Slam singles champions Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens and runner-up Madison Keys have entered the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, Aug. 2-8 at San Jose State University.

   Kenin won Northern California Challengers as a teenager in 2016, 2017 and 2018, laying the foundation for her shocking 2020 Australian Open title.

   Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., routed Keys for the 2017 U.S. Open crown one month after Keys won the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

   The full player field for the Silicon Valley Classic, which was canceled last year because of the pandemic, will be announced on June 22. This year's tournament will mark 50 years of women's tour tennis in the Bay Area.

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.

Defending champ Kenin exits; McDonald upsets Coric

Defending champion Sofia Kenin lost to Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-2 in the
second round of the Australian Open. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Sofia Kenin not only lost today in the Australian Open, the defending champion went down meekly.

   Kaia Kanepi of Estonia dismissed the fourth-seeded Kenin, from Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes in the second round in Melbourne.

   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Kanepi, 35, clubbed 10 aces, committed only two double faults and won 80 percent of the points on her first serve (28 of 35). The 5-foot-7 (1.70-meter) Kenin, 22, had 10 winners and 22 unforced errors.

   Kanepi has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open twice each but has never advanced past the third round of the Australian Open. Kenin won Northern California Challengers in 2016 at age 17, 2017 and 2018.

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, surprised 22nd-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Coric, 24, reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in the U.S. Open last September.

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., is scheduled to play Lloyd Harris, 23, of South Africa on Friday (PST). Harris, who won the 2018 Stockton, Calif., Challenger, topped wild card Alexei Popyrin, a 21-year-old Australian, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

   McDonald defeated Harris 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Seoul Challenger en route to the title in their only previous meeting.

   On the women's side, Kaja Juvan, a 20-year-old Slovenian, defeated fellow qualifier Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Sherif became the first woman from her country to win a main-draw match in a Grand Slam tournament when she beat qualifier Chloe Paquet of France 7-5, 7-5 in the opening round.

   In the first round of men's doubles, fifth seeds and defending champions Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat Jonny O'Mara of Great Britain and Artem Sitak, a Russia native who plays for New Zealand, 6-4, 6-4.

   In a women's doubles opener, Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, ousted fifth-seeded Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan of Chinese Taipei 1-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2.

   ATP Challenger Tour — Top-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2011-14) of Sweden and David Pel of the Netherlands eliminated Sadio Doumbia and Hugo Gaston of France 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the first round of the €88,520 ($107,357) Cherbourg, France, Challenger.

   ITF Women's Circuit — Zoe Kruger of South Africa outlasted Carol Zhao (Stanford, 2014-16) of Canada 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in the opening round of the $25,000 Ilana Kloss International in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Osaka, Kenin earn prestigious honors

2020 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPORTSPERSONS OF THE YEAR

   Naomi Osaka, WTA

   Patrick Mahomes, NFL

   Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, NFL

   LeBron James, NBA

   Breanna Stewart, WNBA

   2020 WTA AWARDS

   Singles Player — Sofia Kenin

   Doubles Team — Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic

   Most Improved — Iga Swiatek

   Newcomer — Nadia Podoroska

   Comeback — Victoria Azarenka

   Sportsmanship — Marie Bouzkova

Sensational Swiatek, 19, drubs ailing Kenin to win crown

American Sofia Kenin confers with her Russian father and coach, Alex,
during the 2018 Berkeley (Calif.) Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman 

   Iga Swiatek has a long way to go to match her idol Rafael Nadal's dominance in the French Open.

   That's probably impossible, but she's off to an impressive start.

   Not only did the unseeded Swiatek (pronounced Shvee-ON-tek) win the title at 19, she did so in the most convincing fashion in memory in women's Grand Slams, capping her stunning march with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over ailing Sofia Kenin today in Paris.

   Swiatek did not lose a set in seven matches, surrendering only 28 games (2.0 per set) and never more than five in a set. She dismissed 15th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova, a Czech left-hander who reached last year's final at Roland Garros before undergoing left-wrist surgery, 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes in the opening round and thrashed top-seeded Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, by the same score in 68 minutes in the fourth round.  

   Swiatek became the first Polish player, male or female, to capture a major title, the youngest woman to win the French Open since Croatia's Iva Majoli at 19 in 1997 and the first woman to take the crown without losing a set since Justine Henin earned the last of her four Roland Garros titles in 2007.

   Henin twice won the French Open without dropping a set, losing 38 games in 2007 and 39 games in 2006. 

   Nadal, a 12-time French Open champion playing best-of-five-set matches, will try to win the title without losing a set for the fourth time when he faces top-ranked Novak Djokovic, the 2016 champion, on Sunday.

   Nadal has dropped an average of 2.6 games per set, winning two tiebreakers. Twice, he has lost fewer than 2.0 games per set en route to the title, 1.84 games (also never more than four) in 2017 and 1.95 in 2008.

   Both Nadal and Swiatek won their first Roland Garros crown shortly after turning 19, Nadal in his first appearance in 2005 and Swiatek in her second.

   Swiatek had struggled since the pro tours resumed in August after a five-month, pandemic-induced hiatus. In her three tournaments before the French Open, she lost in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on hardcourts in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., to qualifier Christina McHale, the third round of the U.S. Open to eventual runner-up Victoria Azarenka, and the first round of the Italian Open on clay to qualifier Arantxa Rus. 

   In the French Open, though, Swiatek took advantage of the absences of world No. 1 and defending champion Ashleigh Barty (coronavirus concerns) and three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka (hamstring injury). Also, three-time Roland Garros winner Serena Williams, 39, withdrew before her second-round match because of an Achilles tendon injury suffered in her semifinal loss to Azarenka in the U.S. Open.

   Because of the pandemic, the French Open was postponed from late May and early June, and only 1,000 fans were allowed daily. That's 1,000 more than were admitted each day at the U.S. Open. Spectators bundled up in parkas, and many players wore long sleeves and tights. 

   Swiatek, who will soar 37 places to a career-high No. 17 on Monday, conceded in an NBC interview that winning the French Open "was a surprise. It's really funny because after preseason and during the COVID break, I was playing so well that I thought I may actually win a Grand Slam right now because the top players aren't here and it's a big opportunity for underdogs. But when I started the U.S. swing, I realized that maybe this is not the best way to approach tournaments and my expectations were too high. So right now I just focused on playing tennis, and actually I made it. It's amazing what a proper mindset can do."

   Sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who celebrated her birthday today, has helped Swiatek with that. 

   "I always wanted to work with a psychologist because I had this belief that it's like a big part of the game," Swiatek said this week. "But my parents weren't as open to that as I was."

   Swiatek, whose father was an Olympic rower, graduated from high school in the spring and gave herself a "gap year" to play professional tennis. If she didn't succeed, she would go to college. Swiatek will probably stick with tennis for a while. By winning the French Open, she added $1.88 million to her career prize money of $1.1 million. It beats working at McDonald's. 

   Kenin, a 21-year-old American born in Moscow, seemed to lack her trademark competitiveness from the outset of the final, possibly because of a left-thigh problem. She failed to chase a cross-court backhand and weak drop shot early in the match and rarely used her own sensational drop shot. In the second set, Kenin had her left thigh retaped twice.

   The fourth-seeded Kenin, who will rise two spots to equal her career high of No. 4, said Swiatek "obviously played a really good match. She's really hot right now, playing some really great tennis. I'm not going to use this as an excuse, but my leg obviously was not the best. It's obviously disappointing."

   Swiatek's title was no fluke, according to NBC commentators John McEnroe and Mary Carillo.

   "I'll be amazed if she doesn't win a lot more majors," said McEnroe, an International Tennis Hall of Famer who lost the 1984 French Open final to Ivan Lendl after leading two sets to none. "I'd like to see her play on hardcourts and see what adjustments she makes on grass — unfortunately Wimbledon wasn't played this year — but she's got all the goods."

   Added Carillo, who won the French Open mixed doubles title with McEnroe in 1977: "She's going to be hosting trophies for a while now." 

   Swiatek, who also reached the doubles semifinals with Czech-born American Nicole Melichar, became the third surprising women's champion in the last four Grand Slam tournaments. Bianca Andreescu of Canada won last year's U.S. Open at 19, and Kenin captured the Australian Open early this year at 20. But at least they were seeded — Andreescu 15th and Kenin 14th.

   Swiatek's title was reminiscent of unseeded Jelena Ostapenko's in the 2017 French Open two days after the Latvian turned 20. Ostapenko, however, survived five three-set matches, including in the last four rounds.

   Swiatek wore all white during the French Open as if playing at Wimbledon, where she won the girls singles title 2018. Swiatek met Kenin for the first time professionally but defeated her 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the French Open girls event in 2016. Kenin then won Northern California Challengers in Sacramento that year at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018.

   Swiatek reached the final in Lugano, Switzerland, on clay on the WTA Tour and the round of 16 of the French Open last year and the fourth round of the Australian Open this year.

   Kenin, meanwhile, had never advanced to the quarterfinals of a tour-level clay-court tournament before this year's French Open, although she did stun Williams in the third round at Roland Garros last year. 

   Like Swiatek, Kenin lost her first match in her only French Open tuneup. Kenin, however, fell 6-0, 6-0 to Azarenka in the Italian Open. In a tribute to Kenin's mental toughness, she rebounded in Paris, surviving four three-set matches and eliminating seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, 6-4, 7-5 in the semifinals.

   The 5-foot-9 (1.76-meter) Swiatek showed no sign of nerves in her first Grand Slam final, bolting to a 3-0 lead with her powerful, compact groundstrokes. Kenin rallied for 3-3, but Swiatek won nine of the last 11 games. 

   Swiatek had 25 winners and 17 unforced errors overall versus 10 and 23, respectively, for Kenin.

   Nadal would be proud.

   Men's singles final — Nadal will try to tie Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles on Sunday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC). Djokovic, meanwhile, can pull within one Slam of Nadal. 

   Djokovic, 33, is 29-26 against Nadal, 34, but the Spaniard owns advantages of 17-7 on clay (8-7 in the last 15 encounters), 6-1 in the French Open and 2-0 in Roland Garros finals (both in four sets).

   Nadal is 99-2 (not counting a walkover loss) in the French Open, falling to Djokovic in the 2015 quarterfinals and Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.

   Nadal seeks his fourth consecutive French Open title. Djokovic has won Roland Garros once in four finals, completing a career Grand Slam there in 2016. 

   Men's doubles final — Eighth-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany won their second consecutive French Open title, beating seventh-seeded Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil 6-3, 7-5. Pavic and Soares won the U.S. Open last month.

Nadal, Djokovic set up showdown for French Open title

Rafael Nadal, practicing at Indian Wells last year, will play for
his 13th French Open crown. Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal struggled to put away gritty opponents today but survived to set up a dream French Open final.

   The top-ranked Djokovic had the tougher battle, subduing fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 in 3 hours, 54 minutes in Paris.

   Djokovic, who held a match point serving at 5-4 in the third set, improved to 37-1 (including his U.S. Open default) this year. He reached the French Open final for the first time since completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2016 and the fifth time overall.

   "Novak showed once again what an incredible athlete he is and his ability on the courts," Tsitsipas, 22, said on atptennis.com. "It was difficult, for sure, playing him. He is one of the most difficult opponents I've faced in my entire life. I have huge respect for that. He gave me a really difficult time on the court.

   "Unfortunately, toward to end of the match, an injury that I had during my match in Rome came back. It was difficult to close the match in a fighting way, in a fighting spirit. But I tried my best despite all of this. I'm happy that I came back from two-sets-to-love down and tried to stay in the match as long as possible."

   Nadal, ranked second, eliminated 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0) in 3 hours, 9 minutes after leading 3-1 in the third set.

   Schwartzman was coming off a 5-hour, 8-minute victory over third-seeded Dominic Thiem, who won his first Grand Slam title in the U.S. Open last month.

   The 28-year-old Schwartzman, who's listed at 5-foot-7 (1.70 meters) and 141 pounds (64 kilograms), will crack the top 10 for the first time on Monday, rising six places to No. 8.

   Nadal improved to 10-1 against Schwartzman, who shocked the Spanish star 6-2, 7-5 three weeks ago in the Italian Open quarterfinals. 

   Djokovic, 33, and Nadal, 34, will meet for the 56th time on Sunday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC). Either Nadal will tie 39-year-old Roger Federer's men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, or Djokovic will pull within one of Nadal.

Novak Djokovic, practicing at Indian Wells last year, is one
of two players to beat Rafael Nadal in the French Open.
Photo copyright by Harjanto Sumali

   Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 29-26, but Nadal owns advantages of 17-7 on clay (8-7 in the last 15 encounters), 6-1 in the French Open and 2-0 in Roland Garros finals (both in four sets). Djokovic and Robin Soderling are the only players to beat Nadal in the French Open.

   Most notably, Nadal has won 12 French Open singles titles, including the last three, to Djokovic's one. 

   "To play against Novak, I need to play my best," said Nadal, who has not lost a set in the tournament. "Without playing my best tennis the situation is very difficult. I know this is a court that I have been playing well on for such a long time, so that helps. At the same time, he has an amazing record here, too, being in the final rounds almost every single time. 

   "He is one of the toughest opponents possible. But I am here to keep trying my best. I like to play in this scenario. I know I have to make a step forward. I think I did one today. But for Sunday, it is not enough. I need to make another one. That's what I'm looking for. I am going to work hard to try to make that happen."

   Djokovic acknowledged that Nadal "has lost twice in his entire career on this court. Obviously, the conditions are different than the ones that we are used to playing in May and June. That could be better for me, obviously the ball not bouncing as high over the shoulder as he likes it usually.

   "Regardless of the conditions, he's still there, he's Rafa, he's in the final, and we're playing on clay. Best-of-five playing him in the final at Roland Garros, I know that feeling."

   Women's final — Fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin, 21, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., and unseeded Iga Swiatek, 19, of Poland will meet for the first time as professionals on Saturday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC).

   Kenin, who won her first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open early this year, and Swiatek, the 2018 Wimbledon girls singles champion, took contrasting routes to the final. 

   Four of Kenin's six matches have gone to three sets. Swiatek, meanwhile, has not lost more than five games in a match, including a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep in the fourth round. 

   Swiatek defeated Kenin, who was born in Moscow and moved to the United States as a young child, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the French Open girls event in 2016. Kenin proceeded to win Northern California Challengers in Sacramento that year at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018.

Swiatek, Kenin to meet in unlikely French Open final

Sofia Kenin, playing in the 2018 Berkeley (Calif.)
Challenger, reached her second Grand Slam final
of the year. She won the Australian Open as the
14th seed. Photo by Paul Bauman

   When the French Open began, there was little reason to think that Iga Swiatek or Sofia Kenin would reach the final.

   The 19-year-old Swiatek was unseeded at No. 54 in the world, and Kenin had never reached the quarterfinals in a clay-court tournament. Both lost their first match in their only tuneup tournament, the Italian Open, Swiatek to qualifier Arantxa Rus and Kenin 6-0, 6-0 to Victoria Azarenka. 

   But Swiatek (pronounced Shvee-ON-tek) and the fourth-seeded Kenin, 21, will meet for the first time as professionals on Saturday at 6 a.m. PDT (NBC). 

   Poland's Swiatek continued to roll through the draw, routing Nadia Podoroska of Argentina 6-2, 6-1 in 70 minutes. Podoroska, 23, was bidding to become the first qualifier to reach a major final.

   "I'm kind of surprised," Swiatek admitted on wtatennis.com. "I never thought before the tournament I would play so well. But I always knew that if I was going to make a final of a Grand Slam, it would be the French Open."

   Swiatek has not lost more than five games in a set in the tournament, surrendering an average of only 3.8 games in her six matches. That includes a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of top-seeded Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, in the fourth round.

   Kenin, a Moscow-born American, topped seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and a French Open semifinalist eight years ago, 6-4, 7-5 to reach her second Grand Slam final of the year.

   Kenin, who won the Australian Open as the 14th seed, narrowly avoided her fifth three-set match of the tournament. She prevailed with her steady groundstrokes, devastating drop shot and mental toughness, converting four of five break points and saving 10 of 12 against her. 

   "I'm just really fierce," Kenin, who had been 0-2 against Kvitova, explained on Tennis Channel. "I'm just fighting for every point. They're not going to give it to me; I really have to go after it and fight for it. I feel like in the past I've always expected them to make a mistake. Now I've got a mindset that I've got to take it, take the chance, take a risk."

   Kvitova, a 30-year-old left-hander, was seeking her second Grand Slam final since suffering career-threatening cuts to her left hand in a December 2016 knife attack at her home in the Czech Republic and sitting out for more than four months. She lost to Naomi Osaka in the 2019 Australian Open title match.

   Swiatek, who will jump to a career high of at least No. 24 after the French Open, hasn't exactly come out of nowhere. After winning the 2018 Wimbledon girls singles title, she reached the fourth round of last year's French Open and this year's Australian Open and the third round of the recent U.S. Open.

   Swiatek defeated Kenin 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the French Open girls event in 2016. Kenin proceeded to win Northern California Challengers in Sacramento that year at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018. 

   In the men's doubles semifinals, seventh-seeded Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil beat top-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia 7-6 (4), 7-5.

   Farah won the 2008 NCAA doubles title with USC teammate Kaes Van't Hof and reached the singles final of the 2012 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger, losing to ex-Trojans teammate Steve Johnson.

   Pavic and Soares, seeking their second consecutive Grand Slam title, will meet eighth-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany on Saturday. Krawietz and Mies, the defending champions, outplayed ninth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia 6-3, 7-5. 

   Pavic and Soares defeated Koolhof and Mektic in the U.S. Open final last month.

   In today's boys doubles quarterfinals, eighth-seeded Bruno Oliveira and Natan Rodrigues of Brazil beat unseeded Arthur Fery, a Stanford freshman, and Felix Gill of Great Britain 6-4, 3-6 [10-3].

Kenin, Tsitsipas avenge losses to reach semis in Paris

Sofia Kenin, playing in the 2018 Berkeley (Calif.) Challenger, beat
fellow American Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 today in the French
Open. Kenin had been 0-3 against Collins. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Sofia Kenin and Stefanos Tsitsipas gained revenge today to reach the French Open semifinals.

   The fourth-seeded Kenin beat unseeded Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in an all-American matchup in Paris. Collins, an Australian Open semifinalist last year, suffered from an apparent stomach ailment in the third set.

   Kenin, who won her first Grand Slam title in this year's Australian Open, had never won a set against Collins in three career meetings. 

   The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas, from Greece, outclassed 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in a clash of 22-year-old rising stars. Rublev defeated Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 10 days ago in the Hamburg final.

   Both Kenin, 21, and Collins, 26, have excelled in Northern California. Kenin won Challengers in Sacramento in 2016 at 17, Stockton in 2017 and Berkeley in 2018. Collins reached the final of the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., on the WTA Tour.

   Rublev also is no stranger to NorCal. He lost to former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round of the 2015 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger at 17.

   Kenin will face seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic on Thursday after the 6 a.m. (PDT) semifinal between unseeded Iga Swiatek, 19, of Poland and qualifier Nadia Podoroska of Argentina (Tennis Channel).

   Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and a French Open semifinalist in 2012, dismissed unseeded Laura Siegemund, who won the U.S. Open doubles crown with Vera Zvonareva last month, 6-3, 6-3. 

   Kvitova, a 30-year-old left-hander, is 2-0 (1-0 on clay) against Kenin. Kvitova suffered career-threatening cuts to her left hand in a December 2016 attack at her home in the Czech Republic and missed more than four months.

   Tsitsipas, a semifinalist in last year's Australian Open, will take on top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won the 2016 French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, on Friday. 

   Djokovic defeated 17th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in a rematch of their infamous fourth-round encounter in the U.S. Open last month. Djokovic was defaulted after losing his serve to trail 5-6 in the first set and accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball in anger. It's the 33-year-old Serb's only loss in 37 matches this year.

   Djokovic, who's right-handed with a two-handed backhand, played today with tape on his neck to address a nagging problem and took a medical timeout for a left-arm issue after losing the first set.

   "I definitely didn't feel great coming onto the court today," Djokovic said on atptour.com. "I don't want to take away anything from his good performance. Especially for a set and a half, he was the better player, dictating play. I was very neutral.

   "I didn't have much energy really ... in my legs or movement or game itself. It took me about a set and a half to really get comfortable and start really playing the way I should."

   Countered Carreno Busta: "Every time the (match) gets complicated, he asks for medical assistance. He has been doing this for a long time. I knew what would happen at the U.S. Open, what would happen here and what will continue to happen."

   Djokovic is 3-2 (1-0 on clay) against Tsitsipas with straight-set victories in their last two meetings, both on hardcourts.

   In the women's doubles quarterfinals, 14th-seeded Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States eliminated seventh-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-4.

   Each player except Aoyama was born in the U.S. and played in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Shibahara, 22, was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA. 

   Guarachi and Krawczyk — former standouts at Alabama and Arizona State, respectively — were coming off a straight-set victory over top-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic.

   Krawczyk won the doubles title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger with Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico.

   In the third round of boys singles, seventh-seeded Dominic Stephan Stricker of Switzerland beat ninth-seeded Arthur Fery, a Stanford freshman from Great Britain, 6-4, 6-3.

   Fery and compatriot Felix Gill outplayed Dev Javia of India and Li Hanwen of China 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of doubles.