Kratzer suspended; McDonald falls; Bellis wins twice

Ashley Kratzer, playing in Berkeley, Calif., in 2018, tested
positive for a growth hormone. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Ashley Kratzer, who has excelled in Northern California Challengers, was suspended for four years after failing a drug test in January, the International Tennis Federation announced Thursday.

   Kratzer, the Stockton runner-up to Sofia Kenin in 2017 and a Berkeley semifinalist in 2018, provided a urine sample on Jan. 27 during a $125,000 hardcourt tournament in her hometown of Newport Beach, Calif., and tested positive for a growth hormone.

   The 21-year-old left-hander has immense talent but is highly volatile on the court. After Nicole Gibbs beat Kratzer in the Berkeley semifinals in 2018, the former Stanford star was asked if the upstart needs to work on her attitude the most.

   "Absolutely," Gibbs asserted. "She's one of the most talented players out here. If she can pull it together a little bit more consistently mentally, I think she's going to be a really big threat on tour — top 50 for sure, if not top 20, soon."

   Kratzer began playing pro tournaments at 14, skipping the juniors and then college. She turned pro at 17 in 2016, won the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego in 2017 and reached a career-high No. 200 in the world in August 2018. 

   Kratzer, who hasn't played since losing in the first round of qualifying in Newport Beach in January, can appeal her suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

   ATP Tour — Third-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France beat Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

   McDonald, who returned in January from hamstring surgery, is projected to rise 18 places to No. 191 on Monday. Only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters), he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018 and climbed to a career-high No. 57 in April last year. 

   In the doubles quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14), a New Zealand product who plays for his mother's native Japan, and Franko Skugor of Croatia eliminated Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Artem Sitak, a Russia native who plays for New Zealand, 6-3, 7-6 (4). 

   McLachlan, 28, won the Cologne title last week with Raven Klaasen, 38, of South Africa in their first tournament together.

   USTA Pro Circuit — Unseeded CiCi Bellis, a 21-year-old Bay Area product, extended her winning streak to eight matches with two victories in the rain-delayed $80,000 Bellatorum Resources Pro Classic on hardcourts in Tyler, Texas. 

   Bellis defeated qualifier Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round and fourth-seeded Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov of Spain 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.

   Loeb, a 25-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York, won the 2015 NCAA singles title as a North Carolina sophomore and promptly turned pro. Bolsova Zadoinov reached the fourth round of last year's French Open as a qualifier.

   Bellis is scheduled to face eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk, 18, of Ukraine on Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT in a rematch of last week's final in the $80,000 Mercer Tennis Classic on hardcourts in Macon, Ga. Bellis prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (4), 0-0, retired (leg cramps).

   In Saturday's second semifinal, seventh-seeded Ann Li, a 20-year-old native of King of Prussia, Pa., will play unseeded Greet Minnen of Belgium. Both semis will be streamed live.

   Clara Tauson, a 17-year-old qualifier from Denmark, ousted top-seeded Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in 3 hours, 7 minutes in the second round. Tauson, formerly the top-ranked junior in the world, then lost to Li 6-3, 7-5.

   Tauson qualified for the recent French Open and knocked off 21st-seeded Jennifer Brady, a U.S. Open semifinalist, in the first round before losing to American Danielle Collins.

   Rogers, ranked No. 58, stunned Serena Williams in Lexington, Ky., in August and reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal last month in the U.S. Open.

   In the Tyler doubles quarterfinals, alternates Allura and Maribella Zamarripa, 18-year-old identical twins from St. Helena, Calif., in the Napa area, stunned top-seeded Caroline Dolehide, a 22-year-old native of Hinsdale, Ill., and Caty McNally, an 18-year-old Cincinnati native, 6-4, 4-6 [10-4]. 

   Dolehide and countrywoman Vania King, a former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis, reached the doubles semifinals in last year's U.S. Open. McNally and compatriot Coco Gauff, then 15, advanced to the doubles quarterfinals in this year's Australian Open.

   Kateryna Bondarenko, a 34-year-old mother of two from Ukraine, and Olga Govortsova of Belarus routed Kristie Ahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and Naomi Broady of Great Britain 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes in a clash of unseeded teams. 

U.S. prospect Kratzer provisionally suspended

Ashley Kratzer argues a call during her loss to former
Stanford star Nicole Gibbs in the semifinals of the 2018
Berkeley (Calif.) Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   On July 23, 2017, Ashley Kratzer faced Sofia Kenin in the final of the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger.
   Kenin, seeded fourth, needed only 65 minutes to demolish Kratzer, a wild card, 6-0, 6-1 in a matchup of 18-year-old Americans.
   Since then, their careers have gone in opposite directions.
   Kenin, who compensates for her relatively small size (5-foot-7 or 1.70 meters) with tenacity, has vaulted to No. 4 in the world and No. 1 in the United States. She marched to the Australian Open title as the 14th seed in January for her first Grand Slam title.
   Kratzer, who's 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and left-handed but volatile on the court, is ranked No. 498. She was charged with an anti-doping violation on March 18 and provisionally suspended on March 27.
   Kratzer tested positive for a growth hormone at a $125,000 WTA tournament in her hometown of Newport Beach, Calif., in late January. She can appeal but had not as of March 27.
   The length of the suspension has not been announced.
   Kenin and Kratzer won the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

Top seed survives as upsets continue in $25K Redding

   Only two seeds reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's Open on another blistering day in Redding, Calif.
   Joining top-seeded Katherine Sebov and third-seeded Gabriela Talaba in the quarters were qualifier Elysia Bolton, wild card Jada Hart and lucky loser Ellie Douglas.
   Sebov, a 20-year-old Canadian, prevailed in three sets for the second consecutive match, beating Paige Hourigan, a former Georgia Tech All-American from New Zealand, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 on Thursday in 2 hours, 15 minutes on a 100-degree (37.8 Celsius) day at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness.
   Talaba, a 24-year-old Romanian left-hander who starred at Texas Tech, dispatched qualifier Peyton Stearns, a high school senior from Mason, Ohio, 6-2, 6-2.
   Bolton, the Pacific-12 Conference Freshman/Newcomer of the Year last spring from UCLA, eliminated fourth-seeded Hanna Chang of Fontana in the Los Angeles area 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-0 in 2 hours, 35 minutes.
   Hart, a 21-year-old resident of Colton (east of Los Angeles), routed fifth-seeded Bianca Turati of Italy 6-2, 6-1.
   Hart won the 2016 U.S. Open girls doubles title with UCLA teammate Ena Shibahara. Turati, a senior at the University of Texas, is ranked No. 1 nationally in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
   Pamela Montez, a 28-year-old former UCLA All-American from La Quinta in the Palm Springs area, outlasted Ashley Kratzer of Newport Beach, Calif., 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in 3 hours, 2 minutes.
   Kratzer, a 20-year-old left-hander, knocked off second-seeded Catherine Harrison of Germantown, Tenn., in the Memphis region in the first round.
   Here are the Redding singles and doubles draws and today's schedule.

Kratzer ousts No. 2 seed Harrison in $25K Redding

Ashley Kratzer, playing in Berkeley, Calif., last year,
ousted second-seeded Catherine Harrison today in the
first round of the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's
Open in Redding, Calif. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Ashley Kratzer, a 20-year-old left-hander from Newport Beach, Calif., toppled second-seeded Catherine Harrison from Germantown, Tenn., in the Memphis area 7-6 (4), 6-3 today in the first round of the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's Open in Redding, Calif.

   Kratzer won the USTA Girls 18 National Championships in 2017, reached the final of the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger in 2017 and advanced to the semifinals of the $60,000 Berkeley (Calif.) Challenger last year. But she has tumbled from a career-high No. 200 last summer to No. 439.
   After defeating Kratzer in Berkeley, Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) predicted that Kratzer would climb to the "top 50 for sure, if not top 20, soon."

   Also losing today at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness were sixth-seeded Grace Min of Lake Nona, Fla., seventh-seeded Quinn Gleason from Mendon, N.Y., and eighth-seeded Chieh-Yu Hsu of Chinese Taipei.
   Qualifier Maria Mateas, a 20-year-old American, outlasted Min, the runner-up in the 2016 Sacramento Challenger, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours, 54 minutes. Min, 25, has plunged from a career-high No. 97 in 2015 to No. 366.
   Lucky loser Ellie Douglas, a Texas Christian sophomore from McKinney, Texas, defeated Gleason, a 24-year-old former Notre Dame star, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Also, qualifier Kimmi Hance, a high school junior from Torrance in the Los Angeles area, topped Hsu 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.
   The only singles seed in action today who won was No. 5 Bianca Turati of Italy. A University of Texas senior ranked No. 1 nationally, Turati beat qualifier Lauren Proctor of Bradenton, Fla., 6-4, 6-4. Proctor completed her eligibility at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., in the spring.
   Here are the Redding singles and doubles draws and Thursday's schedule.
   ATP Challenger Tour – Second-seeded Andre Goransson (Cal, 2014-17) of Sweden and Sem Verbeek (Pacific, 2013-16),  a Dutch left-hander, edged top-seeded Sander Arends and David Pel of the Netherlands 7-6 (6), 4-6 [11-9] last weekend to win the doubles title in the $51,311 Cassis (France) Open Provence.
   Goransson, 25, earned his third Challenger doubles title of the year and fifth overall. Verbeek, also 25, won his second Challenger doubles crown of 2019, both with Goransson, and third overall. 

Gauff, 14, upsets promising Kratzer in $100K Midland

Ashley Kratzer, a semifinalist in Berkeley last July,
lost to 14-year-old Cori (Coco) Gauff on Tuesday in
the first round of the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic
in Midland, Mich. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Cori (Coco) Gauff, a 14-year-old phenom, upset fellow American wild card Ashley Kratzer 7-6 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, Mich.
   Gauff, at 13 in 2017, became the youngest player to reach the U.S. Open girls final and, at 14 last year, the youngest to capture the French Open girls title since Martina Hingis won her second crown there in 1994 and the fifth-youngest all time.
   Kratzer, a 19-year-old left-hander, won the USTA girls 18 national title in 2017. She is ranked 244th to Gauff's 684th.
   After beating Kratzer in the semifinals of the inaugural $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge last July, Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) predicted that her opponent would crack the "top 50 for sure, if not top 20, soon."
   Gauff, playing in a tournament above $25,000 for the first time, is scheduled to face top-seeded Rebecca Peterson of Sweden today. Peterson, 23, is ranked 57th.
   Also today, Kristie Ahn, a 26-year-old Stanford graduate who recently moved back to her home state of New Jersey from Boca Raton, Fla., will meet fifth-seeded Marie Bouzkova, 20, of the Czech Republic.
   Third-seeded Madison Brengle, the champion of the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October, will play fellow American Jamie Loeb in a rematch of last year's final, won by Brengle 6-1, 6-2.
   The seventh-seeded Gibbs, Ahn's teammate on Stanford's 2013 NCAA championship team, lost to 17-year-old fellow Cincinnati native Caty McNally 6-0, 7-5.
   Jovana Jaksic, a 25-year-old Serb living in Sacramento, succumbed to fellow qualifier Ann Li, 18, of Devon, Pa., 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Li reached the Stockton quarterfinals last fall.
   Jaksic and Lu Jia-Jing of China advanced to the doubles quarterfinals, eliminating fourth-seeded Quinn Gleason of Mendon, N.Y., and Luisa Stefani of Brazil 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). Gleason and Stefani gained the Stockton final.
   Fed Cup -- Madison Keys, Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin and Nicole Melichar were named to the U.S. team that will play Australia in Asheville, N.C., on Feb. 9-10 in the first round of the Fed Cup.
   Keys won the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2017. Collins reached the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, which replaced the Bank of the West Classic, in San Jose last year. Kenin won a Northern California Challenger for the third consecutive year in Berkeley in 2018.
   College rankings -- Defending champion Stanford remained No. 1 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association women's rankings, and the Cardinal men rose one spot to No. 9.

U.S. teens Liu, Kratzer receive San Jose wild cards

Ashley Kratzer reached the semifinals in last week's $60,000
Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two of the United States' top prospects, Southern California teenagers Claire Liu and Ashley Kratzer, received main-draw wild cards for next week's Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State, tournament officials announced today.
   Liu (pronounced Loo), 18, of Thousand Oaks and Kratzer, a 19-year-old left-hander from Newport Beach, join former world No. 1s Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza as the tournament's wild cards.
   The draw for the Silicon Valley Classic, which replaces the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, will be held Friday at 6 p.m. Qualifying will begin Saturday and the main draw on Monday. Both sessions will start at 10 a.m.
   The field also includes Bank of the West champions Serena Williams (2011, 2012 and 2014), Victoria Azarenka (2010), Johanna Konta (2016) and Madison Keys (2017).
   Liu, ranked No. 153, has qualified for three tour-level events and played in the main draw of two others this year. She reached the second round at Wimbledon this month and was the only player to win a set there against eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
   Last year, Liu became the first American to win the Wimbledon girls title since Chanda Rubin in 1992, reached the French Open girls final and  climbed to No. 1 in the world junior rankings.
   Kratzer, ranked No. 249, has advanced to the semifinals or better at four ITF (minor-league) events in 2018, including the final of a $25,000 event in Naples, Fla. in early June and the semifinals of last week's $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge.
   Last summer, Kratzer reached the final of the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger and won the USTA Girls' 18s National Championships in San Diego to earn a wild card in the main draw of the U.S. Open. She lost in the opening round at Flushing Meadows to Germany's Tatjana Maria, then ranked 61st, 6-1, 6-1.
   For more information on the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, visit mubadalasvc.com.

California dreamin': Gibbs, Kenin to play for title

Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs attended high school and
lives in the Los Angeles area. She starred at Stanford.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   BERKELEY, Calif. -- Nicole Gibbs will have the home-court advantage when she faces Sofia Kenin for the first time today in the final of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge.
   But not by much.
   Gibbs attended high school and lives in the Los Angeles area. She starred at Stanford, across San Francisco Bay from Berkeley.
   "Anytime I play in California, I feel like it's home for me," Gibbs, 25, said Saturday. "I'm just enjoying my time here and trying to savor it."
   Kenin was born in Moscow and grew up in Pembroke Pines, Fla. But the 19-year-old American will try to win a Northern California Challenger for the third consecutive year.
   Kenin captured the title in $50,000 Sacramento in 2016 and $60,000 Stockton last year. Her only other singles crown came in $25,000 Wesley Chapel, Fla., on clay in 2016.
   "I love California," said Kenin, who speaks Russian with her father and coach, Alex. "I love the atmosphere (at the tournaments), and the weather is great. I want to live somewhere in California after New York."
   Gibbs, seeded No. 2, beat another 19-year-old American, unseeded Ashley Kratzer, 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a hard-court loss to her. After Saturday's match, Gibbs said the Newport Beach resident has top-20 potential.
   Gibbs later won the doubles title with Asia Muhammad of Las Vegas. The unseeded team outclassed top-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles 6-4, 6-1 to split $3,344. Gibbs has not lost a set in eight singles and doubles matches in the tournament.

Top-seeded Sofia Kenin, 19, hopes to win a Northern
California Challenger for the third consecutive year.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kenin, seeded No. 1, downed No. 3 Nao Hibino 7-6 (6), 6-2 to snap the 23-year-old Japanese player's winning streak at eight matches.
   The 5-foot-4 (1.63-meter) Hibino, who won last week's $60,000 Honolulu Challenger, had two set points in the tiebreaker and took a medical timeout for strained groin and abdominal muscles at 1-4 in the second set.
   Today's singles final will be streamed live beginning at noon. Admission is free.
   On Saturday, Gibbs won six straight games from 4-4 in the opening set. That helped her reverse a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 loss to Kratzer in the second round of an $80,000 hard-court tournament in Tyler, Texas, last November in their first meeting. Gibbs also beat Kratzer 6-4, 6-4 in the final of a $25,000 clay-court event in Naples, Fla., in early June.
    "I'm a much more confident player right now than I was last fall," proclaimed the 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) Gibbs, who has dropped from a career-high No. 68 two years ago to No. 116. "I was in the middle of some stuff in terms of my career. There was some turnover. I had just stopped with my old coach (Roger Smith), so I was in a little bit of limbo. Now I feel like I have a really good direction.
   "I came out today not just hoping she would miss but also planning to take offense when I could, and I think that shows in the result."
   Gibbs began working with Chris Tontz of the USTA three months ago. Tontz also coaches 18-year-old sensation Claire Liu of Thousand Oaks, Sam Querrey's hometown, in the Los Angeles area.
   When Tontz took over in February 2017, Liu's confidence was shattered. Five months later, Liu became the first American in 25 years to win the Wimbledon girls title.

Unseeded Ashley Kratzer, 19, argues a line call during
her loss to Nicole Gibbs on Saturday in Berkeley, Calif.
Photo by Paul Bauman 

   Also, Liu reached the second round of the women's draw at Wimbledon this year, beating Gibbs in the final round of qualifying, and was the only player to win a set against champion Angelique Kerber.
   Tontz was not at Gibbs' match on Saturday, but her father was.
   "Chris Tontz is doing a really good job with Nicole," said Paul Gibbs, a high school English teacher who played at Ball State and was his daughter's first coach. "He knows the game really well, particularly the women's game. He's an excellent hitter of the ball, but he keeps it light. He's goofy and silly sometimes in addition to deadly serious.
   "He's got her moving up and back better, looking for chances to come in and also knowing when to drop back. That's one part of it. Then he's got her opening the court better and going to the open court."
   The 231st-ranked Kratzer, meanwhile, has all the physical tools for stardom. Not only is she 5-foot-11 (1.8 meters), she's left-handed. She can hammer her serve up the middle or slice it out wide. She has laser groundstrokes and, unlike the vast majority of male or female singles players, has an exquisite volley.
   Mentally, it's a different story. Kratzer argues seemingly every other line call. She was assessed a point penalty, for an audible obscenity, that nearly cost her the match in the quarterfinals. She was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct in the semifinals. All it takes is one unforced error for her to pound the bottom of her shoe with her racket frame in disgust.
   "She shows it on her sleeve as soon as she's frustrated, for sure," Gibbs said. "She's an emotional player. She definitely got frustrated. I just did my best to keep blinders on and not engage with that."

   Kratzer began playing pro tournaments at 14, bypassing the juniors and then college. She lost to Kenin in last year's Stockton final.

Third-seeded Nao Hibino's winning streak
ended at eight matches. Photo by Paul Bauman

   When asked if attitude is what Kratzer needs to work on the most, Gibbs blurted: "Absolutely. She's one of the most talented players out here. If she can pull it together a little bit more consistently mentally, I think she's going to be a really big threat on tour -- top 50 for sure, if not top 20, soon."
   Kenin could crack the top 50 this summer. She is ranked a career-high No. 64 after reaching the third round at the U.S. Open last summer, her first WTA tour semifinal at Mallorca on grass last month as a qualifier and the second round at Wimbledon. At Mallorca, Kenin stunned sixth-ranked Caroline Garcia for her first victory over a top-10 player.
   Hibino, 23, is ranked No. 113 after ascending to a career-high No. 56 in January 2016. She led 6-4 in the first-set tiebreaker on Saturday, but Kenin won the next four points on a service winner, two consecutive backhand winners and an unforced error.
   "(I was) just fighting," Kenin, who turned pro at the U.S. Open so she could pocket $144,000, said after facing Hibino for the first time. "She a tough player, and I knew I had to just play every point. She has a lot of experience and was a (highly ranked) player. I knew it was going to be tough. Obviously, that (tiebreaker) made the difference later. I started off well in the second (set)."
   Sort of. Kenin lost her serve to open the set but won the next four games to take control. Then Hibino, who won the inaugural $50,000 Stockton Challenger in 2015, took the medical timeout.
   "Since two days ago, I feel little bit pain in legs and abs, and it's getting worse," said Hibino, who nonetheless insisted she will play in next week's $60,000 Ashland (Ky.) Challenger and WTA tournaments the following two weeks in Washington, D.C., and Montreal.
   Here are the Berkeley singles and doubles draws.

Kratzer, 19, prevents all-Stanford semi in $60K Berkeley

Unseeded Ashley Kratzer won the last six games
to beat fourth-seeded Kristie Ahn 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
Photo by Paul Bauman  

   BERKELEY, Calif. -- There will be no all-Stanford semifinal.
   Nor will there be an all-Japanese semifinal.
   Two 19-year-old Americans, one right-handed and one left-handed, saw to that.
   But not to worry. The semis in the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge remain plenty enticing.
   Unseeded Ashley Kratzer, the lefty, ousted fourth-seeded Kristie Ahn, a 26-year-old Stanford graduate, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in Friday's quarterfinals.
   In a matchup of former Sacramento Challenger champions, top-seeded Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., beat eighth-seeded Mayo Hibi of Japan 6-1, 6-4.
   Hibi, 22, was born in Japan but lived in Foster City in the San Francisco Bay Area as a young child and grew up in Irvine in the Los Angeles area.
   Kratzer will take on second seed and fellow Southern Californian Nicole Gibbs today at 11. Gibbs and Ahn led Stanford to the 2013 NCAA championship.
   "I'm disappointed for Kristie," said Gibbs, 25. "However, I'm always glad not to have to play her. It's never fun playing a really good friend."
   Kenin, who was born in Moscow but moved to the United States as a young child, will meet another Japanese player, third-seeded Nao Hibino, following the Gibbs-Kratzer match.
   After Kratzer double-faulted to lose her serve in the opening game of the third set against Ahn, she reeled off six straight games for the match.
   "I kind of dug deep and remembered back to yesterday, how much energy and my whole self I put into it," Kratzer said, referring to her 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over little Danielle Lao in 3 hours, 9 minutes. Kratzer escaped a match point at 6-7 in the tiebreaker. "I knew I had the match under control. I just needed to settle down and figure out what was working."

Kristie Ahn couldn't raise her level to match Ashley Krat-
zer's in the third set. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The turning point came with Ahn serving at 1-2, 40-0 in the third set. Kratzer won the next five points to break and then overwhelmed Ahn with a barrage of passing shots.
   "She hit some really good returns," said the 5-foot-5 (1.68-meter) Ahn, who's based in Boca Raton, Fla. "Maybe I wasn't aggressive enough, but I didn't play badly. I needed to raise my level a little bit more because obviously she did, and she took advantage of it, and obviously it changed the tone of the match."
   Ahn took a medical timeout early in the second set to have her lower back massaged. Asked if her back bothered her in the third set, Ahn said, "It wasn't great, but it's something you have to play through," before adding sheepishly, "It's from period cramps. I don't like to ... the timing is just unfortunate."
   Gibbs dismissed fifth-seeded Jamie Loeb, a 23-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York, 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes in a clash of ex-NCAA singles champions.
   Gibbs turned pro after winning her second consecutive NCAA singles title in 2013 as a junior (in addition to capturing the 2012 doubles crown with Mallory Burdette). Loeb made the leap after taking the 2015 title as a North Carolina sophomore.

Top-seeded Sofia Kenin winds up on a back-
hand during her 6-1, 6-4 victory over eighth-
seeded Mayo Hibi. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gibbs, ranked No. 116 after reaching a career-high No. 68 two years ago, and Kratzer, ranked No. 231, have split two career matches.
   Kratzer won 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of an $80,000 hard-court tournament in Tyler, Texas, last fall, and Gibbs triumphed 6-4, 6-4 in the final of a $25,000 clay-court event in Naples, Fla., in early June.
   "She's explosive, she's extremely talented, she's an athlete," said Gibbs, who has reached the third round of a Grand Slam twice and extended then-No. 1 Karolina Pliskova to 6-4 in the third set in the second round of the U.S. Open last September. "I'm definitely looking forward to the contest tomorrow."
   Kratzer, who last summer reached the final of the $60,000 Stockton Challenger (losing to Kenin) and won the USTA girls 18 hardcourt title, said Gibbs "definitely is looking to move forward and trying to attack off the first ball. It's definitely going to be who can make the most balls tomorrow but also staying super offensive."
   Ahn said she could not stay for Gibbs' match but would watch the live stream.
   "I'm curious about that match as well," said Ahn, who is scheduled to play in a $60,000 tournament in Ashland, Ky., next week. "I'm sure it will be a really good match."
   Kenin's athleticism and flat groundstrokes proved to be too much for the slightly built Hibi, but Kenin was frustrated at times by Hibi's unorthodox game. Hibi gives opponents little pace, slices every backhand, chases down almost everything and has a good drop shot and volley.
   "She has good hands and a good slice, and she comes to the net really well," said the 64th-ranked Kenin, who reached the third round of the U.S. Open last year and the second round at Wimbledon this month. "It's really tough to play someone like her.
   "I had to try to somehow (produce) my own pace. Against players like that, people overhit and miss everything. I tried to be patient."

Mayo Hibi, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area as a
young child, follows through on her trademark slice backhand.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Hibino, the champion of last week's $60,000 Honolulu Challenger, extended her winning streak to eight matches with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over seventh-seeded Francesca Di Lorenzo, a 20-year-old left-hander from New Albany, Ohio.
   Kenin and Hibino, ranked No. 113 after climbing to a career-high No. 56 in 2016, will meet for the first time in a matchup of past Stockton Challenger champions.
   "I didn't really watch her before my match because I didn't want to look ahead," Kenin said. "From what I saw, she hits flat, moves well and fights for every point."
   Gibbs also will play for the doubles title after today's second singles semifinal. She and Asia Muhammad of the United States will face top-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Sabrina Santamaria of the United States.
   Gibbs and Muhammad beat Di Lorenzo and Jovana Jaksic, a Serbian living in Sacramento, 6-4, 6-3.
   Here are the Berkeley singles and doubles draws and today's schedule.

Kratzer wins national 18s for spot in U.S. Open

Ashley Kratzer defeated Kelly Chen 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to win the USTA
Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego. Kratzer, an 18-year-
old left-hander from Newport Beach, was the runner-up in last
month's $50,000 Stockton Challenger. Photo courtesy of USTA

   No Northern Californians won titles in last week's USTA National Championships for juniors at various sites around the country.
   But Ashley Kratzer, the runner-up in last month's $50,000 Stockton Challenger, captured the Girls 18s in San Diego to earn a wild card in the U.S. Open. The year's last Grand Slam tournament is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 10.
   No. 3 seed Kratzer, an 18-year-old left-hander from Newport Beach, defeated No. 33 Kelly Chen of Cerritos 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the final. Newport Beach and Cerritos are in the Los Angeles area.
   Kratzer eliminated No. 6 Michaela Gordon of Saratoga, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, 7-5, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. Kratzer turned pro late last year. Gordon will enroll at Stanford next month.
   No. 8 seed Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., defeated No. 17 Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek, Calif., 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the round of 16 in a battle of decorated 15-year-olds.
   Osuigwe won the French Open junior title in June. Volynets last December became the first girl to win the 16s in the Eddie Herr International Championships and Orange Bowl in the same year. The tournaments were held in consecutive weeks in Bradenton, Fla., on hardcourts and Plantation, Fla., on clay, respectively.
   In the Boys 18s in Kalamazoo, Mich., No. 1 seed Sam Riffice, who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, lost to No. 5 JJ Wolf of Cincinnati 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Riffice, now based at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., has verbally committed to the University of Florida for next year.
   In the Girls 14s in Rome, Ga., No. 1 seed Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose lost to No. 16 Bridget Stammel of Dallas 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the round of 16. Ovrootsky swept the 12s singles and doubles titles at the USTA Winter Nationals in Tucson, Ariz., in January. She turned 13 on July 15.
   Other results of NorCal players who reached the later rounds:

BOYS

In Kalamazoo, Mich.

18-and-under

Doubles quarterfinals

   Nathan Perrone, Moorestown, N.J., and Jake Van Emburgh, Belleair Beach, Fla., def. Sam Riffice and Gianni Ross (4), Orlando, Fla., 6-4, 7-5.

   Oliver Crawford, Spartanburg, S.C., and Patrick Kypson (2), Greenville, N.C., def. Austen Huang, Elk Grove, Calif., and Sean Sculley (12), Hilton Head Island, S.C., 6-4, 6-4.

16-and-under

Doubles semifinals

   Will Grant, Boca Raton, Fla., and Tyler Zink (3), Bradenton, Fla., def. Robert Cash, New Albany, Ohio, and Ryder Jackson (1), Nicasio, Calif., 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

In Mobile, Ala.

14-and-under

Singles quarterfinals

   Andrew Chang (17), Trophy Club, Texas, def. Luke Neal, Mill Valley, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
   Ben Shelton (17), Gainesville, Fla., def. Luke Casper (10), Santa Cruz, Calif., 6-4, 6-4.

Singles semifinals

   Saud Alhogbani (4), Alexandria, Va., def. Hugo Hashimoto (17), San Jose, Calif., 6-4, 6-0.

Doubles semifinals

   Connor Krug and Jake Krug (1), Lakewood Ranch, Fla., def. Alex Han, Tulsa, Okla., and Hugo Hashimoto (6), San Jose, Calif., 7-5, 7-6 (6).

12-and-under

Singles quarterfinals

   Aidan Kim (1), Milford, Mich., def. Kurt Miller, Los Gatos, Calif., 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles semifinals

   Lucas Brown, Plano, Texas, and Learner Tien (1), Irvine, Calif., def. Kurt Miller, Los Gatos, Calif., and Andrew Salu (3), Sarasota, Fla., 7-5, 6-3.

GIRLS

In San Diego

16-and-under

Singles semifinals

   Angelica Blake (9), Boca Raton, Fla., def. Connie Ma, Dublin, Calif., 6-2, 6-3.

In Rome, Ga.

14-and-under

Doubles quarterfinals

   Hibah Shaikh, Teaneck, N.J., and Madison Sieg (2), Greenwich, Conn., def. Kimberly Hance, Torrance, Calif., and Yuu Ishikawa (5), Los Altos, Calif., 7-6 (5), 6-2.  

Stockton runner-up Kratzer falls in 60K Sacramento

   Ashley Kratzer, the runner-up in Stockton last week as an 18-year-old wild card, lost to Danielle Lao, only 5-foot-3 (1.61 meters), 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday in a first-round matchup of Americans in the $60,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area.
   Lao, a quarterfinalist in the 2014 Gold River Challenger, will face seventh-seeded Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, Fla., today at about 2 p.m. on the Stadium Court at the Gold River Racquet Club.
   Two seeds fell on Wednesday. No. 4 Sachia Vickery of Miramar, Fla., lost to former top-50 player Ajla Tomljanovic, a Croatian based in Boca Raton, Fla., 6-3, 6-1. Also, No. 5 Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., succumbed to qualifier Chanel Simmonds 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Both Tomljanovic and Loeb reached the Stockton semifinals.
   Top-seeded Jennifer Brady, who advanced to the round of 16 in the Australian Open in January as a qualifier, outlasted 17-year-old American Claire Liu, the reigning Wimbledon girls champion who's ranked No. 1 in the world in the juniors, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
   Defending champion and eighth seed Sofia Kenin, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., routed Jillian Taggart, a 16-year-old wild card from the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks, 6-1, 6-2. Kenin is coming off the Stockton title.
   U.S. qualifier Victoria Duval, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014, edged Jovana Jaksic of Serbia 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in 3 hours, 5 minutes.
   Emina Bektas, a 24-year-old wild card from Indianapolis, defeated 46-year-old Japanese marvel Kimiko Date 3-6, 6-2, 2-0, retired.
   Here are the Sacramento singles and doubles draws and today's schedule.

Prodigy Kenin routs upstart for 60K Stockton title

Sofia Kenin, left, overwhelmed Ashley Kratzer in a matchup
of 18-year-old Americans. Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. — Sofia Kenin is a tennis prodigy ranked No. 160 in the world at 18 years old.
   Ashley Kratzer is a late bloomer — if there's such a thing at the same age — ranked No. 415.
   Both are American.
   Guess which one skipped college to turn pro and which is an amateur still considering college.
   Wrong.
   "I'm still deciding college or pro," Kenin, seeded fourth, said after demolishing Kratzer, a wild card, 6-0, 6-1 in 65 minutes today to win the $60,000 University of the Pacific Stockton Challenger at Pacific's Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.
   Wait a minute. Let's get this straight. Kenin:
   —Won the USTA Girls' 18s national title at 16 in 2015 to earn an automatic wild card into the women's main draw of the U.S. Open, in which she lost to Colombian veteran Mariana Duque-Marino 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.
   —Returned to the women's main draw at Flushing Meadows last year by winning the USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge and lost to eventual runner-up Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round.
   —Reached the junior singles final at 16 in the 2015 U.S. Open, junior semifinals in the 2016 U.S. Open and junior quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2016.
   —Climbed to No. 2 in the world junior rankings two weeks after her 17th birthday in November 2015.
   —Has won three singles titles on the USTA Pro Circuit, equivalent to Triple A in baseball. She will defend her title in the $60,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area next week.
   —Took the lead in this year's U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge by winning Stockton, which opened the three-week competition. Kenin could earn another U.S. Open berth with more strong results in the Challenge, by receiving a separate wild card, by cracking the top 100 for direct entry or by qualifying. As an amateur, she already forfeited $39,500 (except expenses) at the 2015 U.S. Open and $43,313 there last year. First-round losers in singles at Flushing Meadows this year will pocket $50,000.
   —Forfeited $10,791 for sweeping this week's Stockton titles ($9,119 in singles and $1,672 in doubles).

Sofia Kenin, ranked No. 160, might go to college in January. "I have
to be like top 100 to turn pro," she insisted. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Despite all this, Kenin might enroll at the University of Miami, near her home in Pembroke Pines, Fla., or idyllic Pepperdine, overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Los Angeles area, in January?
   Really?
   "I have to be like top 100 to turn pro," Kenin insisted before adding with a laugh, "I'm getting there slowly."

   Actually, Kenin is getting there quickly. She skyrocketed from No. 620 at the end of 2015 to No. 212 and the end of last year.
   Kenin will remain at about No. 160 in Monday's new rankings because her computer points from Stockton will replace those from Sacramento, which was played this week last year, in the revolving 52-week system.
   But Kenin will rise in the rankings with a good showing next week because she lost in the first round in the $50,000 Lexington (Ky.) Challenger during the corresponding week last year.
   Kenin is using CiCi Bellis' method of deciding when to turn pro. The San Francisco Bay Area product verbally committed to Stanford shortly after reaching the Stockton semifinals last year (losing to eventual champion Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium) but made the leap after cracking the top 100 last September. Bellis, now 18, is the youngest player in the top 50 at No. 40.
   Kenin, by the way, was 2-3 against Bellis in ITF junior tournaments. They have not met in a professional tournament.
   One reason for Kenin's hesitance is her size in an era of power. She is only 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters). Then again, Bellis is only an inch (2.54 centimeters) taller.
   Kratzer, a resident of Newport Beach in Southern California who turned pro at 17 late last year, has no such concerns at 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters). Plus she's left-handed, a distinct advantage because it's a different look for opponents and she can spin the ball out wide on her serve on the ad side to open up the court on key points. Plus Kratzer had no interest in attending college.
   Kenin, playing in the Stockton Challenger for the first time, became the first American in the tournament's three-year history to win the singles championship. She was born in Moscow, moved to the United States as a baby and also goes by Sonya.
   Nao Hibino of Japan took the inaugural Stockton title at age 20 at the old courts of the Pacific men's and women's teams before the $4 million Zimmerman complex opened in March last year. A 5,500-foot clubhouse and an electronic scoreboard are scheduled to be completed in about three weeks.

Ashley Kratzer was playing in only her second
final in a professional tournament and by far her
biggest. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kenin lost only one set in five matches during the week. That came in the quarterfinals against American Francesca Di Lorenzo, a 19-year-old left-hander who was the top-ranked college player all spring as an Ohio State sophomore.
   Kenin did not face a seed in the tournament. But she had her hands full in a 7-6 (3), 7-5 semifinal victory over Ajla Tomljanovic, a 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Croatian. Tomljanovic, who reached No. 47 in the world in February 2015, is rebounding from shoulder surgery.
   Kenin beat Kratzer even more easily than in their only previous meeting, a 6-2, 6-1 decision in the first round of a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Surprise, Ariz., in February.
   Kratzer was done in this time by nerves and Kenin's impressive game. While Kratzer made numerous unforced errors, Kenin displayed good pop on her serve, tremendous groundstrokes and excellent touch.
   Kenin frustrated Kratzer with several deft drop shots and a perfectly placed backhand lob to convert her first match point as Kratzer watched helplessly at the net.
   Kratzer won only 38.2 percent of the points when making her first serve (13 of 34).
   "It was only my second final, so I was for sure nervous," said Kratzer, who lost to Marcela Zacarias of Mexico 7-5, 6-4 in the title match of a $10,000 hardcourt tournament in Austin, Texas, in July 2016. "But she definitely played well. She played some of her best that I've seen.

   "She can just get a bunch of balls back, and she knows how to place it very well. She kept me running and on my toes. I just couldn't find my timing today."

   Kratzer tried to exploit Kenin's forehand, which she said is not as strong as her two-handed backhand. 

   "I just wasn't able to execute my shots very well today," Kratzer lamented.

   Still, Kratzer had a breakthrough week.
   "It was one of my best weeks and the best tennis that I have played, ever, so it was definitely a great week for me," crowed Kratzer, who had won only one main-draw match in 13 career $50,000 tournaments or above.
   Kratzer will jump to about No. 326 in the rankings. She earned $4,863 for her runner-up finish in singles, plus $152 for her first-round loss in doubles, for a total of $5,015.
   And unlike Kenin, Kratzer can keep the money.
   Here are the complete Stockton singles and doubles draws, the Sacramento qualifying draw and Monday's schedule.  

Wild card, 18, stuns No. 2 seed in Stockton semis

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- She's the mystery woman of pro tennis.
   Ashley Kratzer began playing at the late age of 7 and bounced around academies in Florida. She has never had a coach for as long as three years.
   Kratzer skipped the juniors, started playing in pro tournaments at 14 and turned pro late last year at 17. She had no interest in going to college.
   Suddenly, though, Kratzer is making a name for herself. The 18-year-old wild card from Newport Beach in Southern California stunned second-seeded Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the $60,000 University of the Pacific Stockton Challenger.
   Kratzer admitted she had no thoughts of reaching the final before the tournament.
   "Not at all," she said. "I was hoping just to get to the quarters. That was my goal. It's great; it's awesome. So now I get a special exempt into next week (the $60,000 Sacramento Challenger) because I'm supposed to be in qualies. That's what I'm most excited for, as well. The thought of having to play qualies tomorrow, it was gong to be a grind."
   Kratzer had won only one main-draw match in 13 $50,000 tournaments or above, losing in qualifying in 10 of those. She fell in the first round of the main draw in last year's Stockton Challenger, also as a wild card.
   Kratzer will meet another 18-year-old American, Sofia Kenin, for the title on today at 10 a.m. Kenin, the fourth seed and last year's Sacramento champion, defeated Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic, a former top-50 player rebounding from shoulder surgery, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
   Kenin later won the doubles title with yet another 18-year-old American, Usue Maitane Arconada. Unseeded, they edged third-seeded Tammi Patterson of Australia and Chanel Simmonds of South Africa 4-6, 6-1 [10-5].
   Kenin overwhelmed Kratzer 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Surprise, Ariz., in February in their only previous meeting.
   "She's definitely going to get balls back, and she's definitely going to stay in it and not give up," said Kratzer, who will soar from No. 415 in the world to approximately No. 292 with the title or about No. 326 with a loss in the final. "She's a great fighter."
   Kratzer said she avoided junior tournaments, as Venus and Serena Williams did, because "I didn't grow until I was 15. I was really tiny. We were more concerned about injury and me getting burned out playing so many tournaments. My parents let me grow up, be a kid, have fun on the tennis court and not have the pressure. I think it was my advantage."
   Kratzer was recruited by Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU and TCU, but she shunned them.
   "College isn't for me," Kratzer asserted. "I always knew I wanted to go pro, and school is not my favorite thing in the world."    
   Kratzer compensates for her inexperience with two major physical advantages. She's 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and left-handed. Her serve and forehand are weapons.
   "Definitely my serve and forehand won the match for me today," declared Kratzer, who eliminated Anna Tatishvili, another former top-50 player, in the second round and has not lost a set in four tournament matches.
   Kratzer's return of serve helped, too. She broke the 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) Loeb's serve all four times in the first set and the first time in the second set.
   Asked if she had ever broken serve five consecutive times in a match, Kratzer said, "I don't think ever, not against a good player."
   Loeb, who turned pro after winning the 2015 NCAA singles titles as a North Carolina sophomore, had a low first-serve percentage for the second consecutive match. She put in only 40.7 percent (24 of 59), had no aces and committed four double faults.
   Still, Kratzer said the 154th-ranked Loeb "was serving well. I just happened to be returning really well today. I had great timing."
   In contrast to Kratzer, Kenin is a highly decorated junior. She won the 2015 USTA Girls' 18s national title to earn a wild card into the U.S. Open women's singles draw, in which she lost to Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia in the first round.
   Kenin also won the 2016 USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge to earn a wild card into the U.S. Open, losing to eventual runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the opening round.
   Kenin reached the girls singles final in the 2015 U.S. Open and climbed as high as No. 2 in the world junior rankings.
   Tomljanovic, 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), led 4-1 in the second set. Kenin, 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters), rallied to serve for the match at 5-4 but was broken. Kenin broke right back, giving herself another chance to serve for the match.
   In the final game, Kenin overcame a 0-40 deficit, one more break point and a double fault on her first match point. Tomljanovic followed with two consecutive unforced errors to end it.
   "I was just fighting out there," said the 160th-ranked Kenin, who had lost to Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of a $60,000 clay-court tournament in Charlottesville, Va., in April in their only previous meeting. "I know she's a really good player and she's really tough to play. I just came mentally and physically prepared, and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I was playing aggressive and taking more chances and trying not to get as down on myself as last time."
   Kenin won't be fazed by playing a left-hander in the final. She defeated another one, 19-year-old American Francesca Di Lorenzo, in three sets in the quarterfinals.
   As for Kratzer, "I'm finally starting to have a breakthrough and figure out who I am on the court," she said. "(I learned) that I'm able to hang with a player of (Loeb's) ranking and who she is. And just being confident and trusting myself that I can beat these players and that I'm just as good as they are."
   Here are the Stockton singles and doubles draws and today's schedule. Live streaming is available.
   Here are the qualifying draw and today's schedule for the $60,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area.

Loeb beats 15-year-old phenom in Stockton quarters

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- Amanda Anisimova brought the hype, but Jamie Loeb brought the game.
   Despite giving up four inches (10.2 centimeters) to the 15-year-old phenom, the second-seeded Loeb outslugged Anisimova 6-4, 6-2 today in an all-American quarterfinal in the $60,000 University of the Pacific Stockton Challenger.
   In May, the 5-foot-10 (1.83-meter) Anisimova became the youngest player to compete in the main draw of the French Open since Alize Cornet of France in 2005. Before the tournament, USTA general manager for player development Martin Blackman called Anisimova "a very special player" in a New York Times profile of her.
   After dispatching sixth-seeded Grace Min 6-1, 6-2 in the second round on Thursday, Anisimova said her long-term goal is "to become No. 1 and win every Grand Slam." 
   But Loeb, a 22-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York, is surprisingly powerful for someone her size.
   "You're not the first person to say that," Loeb, who turned pro after winning the 2015 NCAA singles title as a North Carolina sophomore, said with a laugh. "Some people are like, 'How do you get your power?' I'm like, 'I don't know.' I've always been pretty powerful and aggressive. I'm just trying to be more versatile on the court, but aggressiveness definitely is my strength."
   Loeb, ranked 154th, played outstanding offense and defense and repeatedly put Anisimova on the defensive with deep returns of serve. Loeb, however, put in only 43.4 percent of her first serves (23 of 53).
   "Obviously I can still improve on my serve, but I'm still pleased with how I'm playing and constructing points from the baseline," observed Loeb, a singles quarterfinalist in Stockton last year and the doubles champion in the 2015 (inaugural) tournament.
   Loeb said her game plan against Anisimova was to "keep the rally going because I knew once I got into the rally I had a good chance of winning. She has a big game and likes to go for her shots. I wanted to keep moving the ball around."
   The fast courts at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center should have favored the bigger Anisimova, but it didn't work out that way.
   "I didn't have enough time to prepare for them," lamented a subdued Anisimova, who was born in Freehold Township, N.J., to Russian parents.
   At the same time, Anisimova complimented Loeb.
   "She played really well," said Anisimova, ranked 257th. "I think her style of game really helps her here. She plays really quick and fast -- she prepares her return early and has a compact swing -- and moves around the court really well."
   Loeb, who has not lost more than four games in a set in three tournament matches, will play 18-year-old wild card Ashley Kratzer of Newport Beach in Southern California for the first time in Saturday's second semifinal. Kratzer, a left-hander who turned pro late last year, defeated Xu Shilin, a 19-year-old right-hander from China who uses two hands on both sides, 6-4, 6-2.
   "My expectations were to get to the quarters. I did that yesterday, so today, I said, 'Let's just play, have fun and do what you can do,' and it worked," said the 415th-ranked Kratzer, who skipped the juniors, like the Williams sisters, to work on her game and avoid injuries. "Anything from here on, I'm proud of."
   In the first semifinal at 9 a.m., fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin, 18, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., will face Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia.
   Kenin, 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters), downed Francesca Di Lorenzo, a 19-year-old left-hander from New Albany, Ohio, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
   Kenin, who won last year's Sacramento Challenger, is ranked 160th. Di Lorenzo won the NCAA doubles title and lost in the first round of singles as the top seed as an Ohio State sophomore in May. She said she will decide at the end of the summer whether to turn pro.
   Tomljanovic, 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and lean, used her laser groundstrokes to subdue former Irina Falconi, only 5-foot-4 (1.63 meters) of Orlando, Fla., 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 in a matchup of former top-70 players rebounding from surgery. That prevented an all-U.S. semifinals.
   "I thought she played pretty good in the first set," Tomljanovic, who's based in Boca Raton, Fla., and speaks English with no accent, said after her second consecutive three-set victory in the blazing heat of the San Joaquin Valley. "I had a good start but kind of lost my concentration and let it slip away for a couple games. I just started fresh after the first set and tried to stay calm and win some more games. I got on the board 6-2 and came out and started picking up from there."
   Tomljanovic reached the Australian Open doubles quarterfinals and the fourth round of singles in the French Open in 2014. She had shoulder surgery in February 2016 and missed one year. Ranked a career-high No. 47 in February 2015, Tomljanovic has tumbled to No. 297.
   Tomljanovic is 1-0 against Kenin, having won 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of a $60,000 clay-court tournament in Charlottesville, Va., in April en route to the semifinals.
   Here are the Stockton singles and doubles draws and Saturday's schedule. Live streaming is available.