Stephens loses to qualifier in U.S. Open

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

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

Bellis beats another top-10 player

   CiCi Bellis racked up another big win on Wednesday, upsetting No. 8 seed and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 7-5 to reach the round of 16 in the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
   "I think I played really well today," Bellis, an 18-year-old product of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, said on wtatennis.com. "Obviously I told myself I had to because she's unbelievable, so I'm really happy with it."
   Bellis recorded her second victory over a top-10 player. She knocked off then-No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round at Dubai in February.
   The 36th-ranked Bellis will face Caroline Garcia, a 23-year-old Frenchwoman ranked 21st, for the first time today at 8 a.m. PDT. The winner likely will play second-ranked Simona Halep.
   A victory over Garcia could ensure a U.S. Open seeding for Bellis, the youngest player in the top 40 and one of four teenagers in the top 100. She reached the third round at Flushing Meadows last year as a qualifier, then turned pro.
   This year's U.S. Open is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 10.

Federer ties record; Vesnina earns biggest title

Roger Federer matched Novak Djokovic with five Indian Wells titles.
Elena Vesnina, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles,
is making a name for herself in singles. Photos by Mal Taam

   Roger Federer tied Novak Djokovic's record of five Indian Wells titles, and Elena Vesnina earned the biggest singles crown of her career.
   Federer, seeded No. 9, improved to 20-3 (15-0 on hardcourts) against Swiss countryman Stan Warwinka, seeded No. 3, with a 6-4, 7-5 victory today in the BNP Paribas Open.
   Earlier, No. 14 Vesnina outlasted No. 8 and fellow Russian Kuznetsova 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 in 3 hours, 1 minute in 95-degree (35.0 Celsius) heat. It was the longest Indian Wells women's final in games (35).
   Federer continued his strong comeback after missing last year's BNP Paribas Open with a knee injury. He won the Australian Open, beating Wawrinka in five sets in the semifinals, in January for his ongoing-record 18th Grand Slam singles title.   
   “It’s been just a fairytale week once again,” said Federer, who did not lose a set in the tournament. “I’m still on the comeback. I hope my body is going to allow me to keep on playing. I was very sad when I couldn’t come here last year.
   "Just being here is a beautiful feeling. It’s one of my favorite tournaments. I came here for the first time 17 years ago. So to be here again as the champion is an amazing feeling.”
   At 35, Federer became the oldest champion in a Masters 1000 tournament, the highest level besides the Grand Slams. He surpassed Andre Agassi, who was 34 when he won Cincinnati in 2004.
   Federer, who will improve four spots to No. 6 in the world on Monday, and Vesnina each earned $1,175,505.
   Kuznetsova, 31, led 4-1 in second set and 4-2 in third. Although she won the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open, she has had issues with nerves.
   "She got tight, and I saw that," Vesnina, 30, admitted in an on-court interview after the first Indian Wells final between women in their 30s.
   In fact, all four singles finalists are at least 30. Wawrinka is 31.
   Vesnina, who lost in the first round of qualifying last year at Indian Wells, will rise two notches to a career-high No. 13.
   In women's doubles, Vesnina owns two Grand Slam titles (2013 French Open and 2014 U.S. Open with compatriot Ekaterina Makarova) and three Indian Wells crowns (2008, 2011 and 2013 with three different partners).

French Open Day 5 recap: Wozniacki joins exodus

Julia Goerges of Germany beat fifth-seeded Carolina Woz-
niacki in the second round. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- Fifth-seeded "Sweet" Caroline Wozniacki's struggles in the French Open continued as the former world No. 1 fell to Julia Goerges of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the second round in the latest women's upset.
   Wozniacki has advanced past the third round at Roland Garros only once in nine appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2010.
   After two rounds, three of the top six women's singles seeds and 12 of the 32 have been eliminated. Heading the list are No. 3 and 2014 runner-up Simona "I Need Some" Halep, No. 5 Wozniacki and No. 6 Eugenie "In A Bottle" Bouchard.
   Match of the day -- In a battle of past French Open champions, 34-year-old Francesca Schiavone saved a match point in her 6-7 (11), 7-5, 10-8 victory over 18th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. At 3 hours, 50 minutes, it was the third-longest women's singles match at Roland Garros in the Open era, which began in 1968.
   Schiavone also beat Kuznetsova in the longest Grand Slam women's match in history, 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in the round of 16 at the 2011 Australian Open.   
   Notable -- Both No. 1 seeds had physical problems in their victories.
   Novak Djokovic was treated for a hip injury during his straight-set win over Gilles Muller. "It's nothing serious, really," Djokovic said.
   Serena Williams' right elbow, which led her to withdraw from her second-round match in the Italian Open this month, bothered her during her 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany. Williams next plays 27th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion.
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 1 Djokovic, No. 3 Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori (walkover), No. 6 Rafael Nadal (nine-time champion, including last five years), No. 7 David Ferrer, No. 9 Marin "County" Cilic, No. 15 Kevin Anderson, No. 17 David Goffin, No. 23 Leonardo "Da Vinci" Mayer, No. 29 Nick Kyrgios (walkover).
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 16 John Isner, No. 18 Tommy Robredo, No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 27 Bernard "A." Tomic, No. 31 Viktor Troicki.
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 1 Williams (2002, 2013 champion), No. 4 Petra Kvitova, No. 10 Andrea Petkovic, No. 16 Madison "Avenue" Keys, No. 17 Sara Errani, No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky, No. 27 Azarenka, No. 30 Irina-Camelia "Ain't Too Proud To" Begu.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 5 Wozniacki, No. 12 Karolina Pliskova, No. 18 Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009 champion), No. 32 Zarina "Williams" Diyas.
   Stars and stripes -- After two rounds of singles, only two of seven U.S. men remain (Jack Sock and Steve Johnson), and four of 17 American women are left (No. 1 Williams, No. 16 Keys, Sloane "Ranger" Stephens and Irina "Atlanta" Falconi -- all in the top half of the draw).
   Advancing to the second round in women's doubles were No. 7 seeds and reigning Australian Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
   Fast fact -- Two teenagers, Borna Coric (18) of Croatia and Thanasi Kokkinakis (19) of Australia, reached the third round of men's singles. There hadn't been one since 2008. 
   Northern California connection -- Sixth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a San Jose resident and ex-Cal star, and Abigail Spears bowed out of women's doubles in the first round with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia.
   Also losing in women's doubles were Jarmila Gajdosova of the new California Dream in World TeamTennis and fellow naturalized Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. 
   Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in WTT, and Johnson of Redondo Beach lost to fifth-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-4, 6-0 in the second round of men's doubles.
   Winning in the opening round of mixed doubles were second-seeded Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan (Stanford, Dream), and Anastasia Rodionova and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Dream). 
   Quotes -- Djokovic on accidentally letting a long shot by Muller touch his racket before hitting the ground: "Never, never, ever happened. And it should never happen again."
   Schiavone on Kuznetsova's game: "It's like playing in a mirror."

Teen Duval, with harrowing past, shocks Stosur

Victoria Duval lost to fellow 17-year-old
and eventual champion Mayo Hibi in the
first round of the Gold River Challenger
last month. Photo by Paul Bauman

   After everything that Victoria Duval has endured in her short life, she was unlikely to be fazed by playing No. 11 seed and 2011 champion Samantha Stosur in Louis Armstrong Stadium in the first round of the U.S. Open.
   And she wasn't.
   Not that there weren't some tense moments.
   Duval, a 17-year-old qualifier from Bradenton, Fla., shocked Stosur 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 today in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Duval saved three break points while serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set and converted her fourth match point with a forehand passing shot.
   Afterward, Duval jumped for joy like the teenager she is.
   "It's the best I've played in my career," Duval, last year's USTA girls 18 national champion, gushed in an on-court interview. "I'm really excited."
   The stunner came one day after the No. 11 men's seed, Kei Nishikori of Japan, lost to qualifier Daniel Evans of Great Britain. Evans, only 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), reached the final of this month's $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos.
   Stosur and Nishikori are the highest seeds to lose so far in the U.S. Open.  
   Both Duval and Stosur fell early in Northern California tournaments last month.
   Duval, seeded eighth in the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area, lost to another 17-year-old, Mayo Hibi, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in the first round. Hibi, an Irvine resident who plays for her native Japan, went on to win the title.
   Whereas Duval breezed through three qualifying matches to advance to the main draw of the U.S. Open, Hibi lost in the second round of qualifying to 13th-seeded Anastasia Rodionova, a 31-year-old Australian citizen from Russia.
   Stosur, seeded second in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, was upset by Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-2, 6-4 in the second round after drawing a first-round bye. Wanting more matches, Stosur accepted a wild card in the Southern California Open in the San Diego suburb of Carlsbad the following week and won the title.    
   Duval, with her cherubic face and high-pitched voice, looks and sounds even younger than she is. However, she is mature beyond her years. It isn't difficult to understand why -- she has had to grow up fast. Victoria and her father almost lost their lives in separate incidents.
   Duval, whose parents are Haitian physicians, was born in Miami but lived in Haiti as a young child. When Duval was 7, she and her cousins were held hostage for hours by armed robbers at her aunt's house in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
   "Generally in Haiti, this is a death sentence for the occupants," Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News wrote in 2011. "In this instance, the children were freed."
   Victoria's mother, Nadine, promptly gave up her neonatal practice and moved back to South Florida with her daughter and two sons. Her husband, Jean-Maurice, stayed in Haiti to continue his gynecology and obstetrics practice.
    In January 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti and killed an estimated 158,000 people. Jean-Maurice was pinned by collapsing walls outside his house and suffered broken legs, a shattered left arm, seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. With the help of a large donation from an American family, he was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He eventually recovered except for paralysis in the arm.
   "I don't take anything for granted," Victoria said of her background after beating Stosur. "Everything can change in a minute. Life is short."
   Also falling today was No. 17 seed Dominika Cibulkova, the Bank of the West champion. The 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) Slovakian was ousted by Elina Svitolina, 18, of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3. Svitolina won the 2010 French Open junior girls title.    
   All three women with strong Northern California ties in action today lost in straight sets.
   Unseeded Mallory Burdette, a former Stanford star, fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 27th seed and 2004 champion, 6-3, 7-5. The 22-year-old Burdette, who turned pro after reaching the third round of last year's U.S. Open, will drop from No. 96 to about No. 127.
   Burdette's former Stanford teammate, 20-year-old wild card Nicole Gibbs, lost to Flavia Pennetta of Italy  6-0, 6-2. Pennetta, 31, advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
   Wild card Maria Sanchez, who was born and raised in Modesto, succumbed to Daniela Hantuchova, 30, of Slovakia, 7-5, 6-2. Sanchez, 23, made her U.S. Open singles main-draw debut.
   Hantuchova, a quarterfinalist in the 2002 U.S. Open, is playing in the tournament for the 13th straight time. She climbed to a career-high No. 5 in singles in 2003 and No. 5 in doubles in 2002.
   On the men's side, No. 26 seed Sam Querrey stayed on track for a possible third-round match against five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer, who's seeded seventh at age 32.
   Querrey, a 25-year-old San Francisco native who has played part-time for the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis for the past two years, defeated Guido Pella 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
    Pella, a left-hander from Argentina, was seeded first in Aptos and lost to Evans in the quarterfinals.