17-year-olds Bellis, Kenin fall to seeds in 50K Kentucky

CiCi Bellis, shown at last week's Bank of the West Classic,
lost to Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck, a French Open
quarterfinalist last year, for the second time in three weeks.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two 17-year-old Americans who starred in Northern California pro tournaments last week drew tough opponents in the $50,000 Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships and paid the price today.
   CiCi Bellis, who reached her first WTA tour quarterfinal in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, fell to top-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium 4-6, 7-5 6-1 in Lexington, Ky. Bellis lives in Atherton, a five-minute drive from Stanford.
   Van Uytvanck, a French Open quarterfinalist last year who's rebounding from ankle surgery, also defeated Bellis in the semifinals of the $50,000 Stockton Challenger two weeks ago en route to the title.
   Sofia Kenin, who won last week's $50,000 Sacramento Challenger, lost to fifth-seeded Hiroko Kuwata of Japan 5-7, 6-4, 6-0.
   Also falling in the first round in Lexington were sixth-seeded Grace Min of Boca Raton, Fla., and eighth-seeded Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia -- the runners-up in Sacramento and Stockton, respectively -- and Modesto product Maria Sanchez.
   However, former Stanford standout Kristie Ahn beat Stockton semifinalist Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 5-7, 6-3, 6-3. Larcher de Brito reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013, beating Maria Sharapova, and 2014 and underwent wrist surgery last year.
   In the first round of doubles in Lexington, Bellis and Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., ousted second-seeded Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey of the United States 6-4, 0-6 [10-7]. Weinhold and Whoriskey won their second straight Sacramento Challenger title on Sunday, beating Loeb and Chanel Simmonds of South Africa.
   Top-seeded An-Sophie Mestach of Belgium and Sanchez beat Freya Christie and Laura Robson of Great Britain 7-6 (3), 6-3. Mestach advanced to the singles final of last year's Stockton and Sacramento Challengers.

Local favorites Bellis, Larcher de Brito fall in Stockton

No. 3 seed Alison Van Uytvanck edged 17-year-old
CiCi Bellis of Atherton 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals
of the Stockton Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- Alison Van Uytvanck and Anastasia Pivovarova knocked out the last two local favorites on Saturday in the University of the Pacific $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger.
   But fans at the new $4 million Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center shouldn't be too disappointed. Van Uytvanck and Pivovarova (pronounced Pee-vo-VAR-oh-va) have big games and compelling stories.
   Van Uytvanck, seeded third, used her versatility and dominating serve to edge 17-year-old CiCi Bellis of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the first semifinal.
   Then Pivovarova overcame a slow start to defeat Michelle Larcher de Brito, who helped the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the 2007 World TeamTennis title at 14 years old, 6-4, 6-4 in a matchup of unseeded players.
   Van Uytvanck, a 22-year-old Belgian, and Pivovarova, a 26-year-old Russian, will meet for the first time today at 1 p.m. in a clash of tall, powerful players.
   It's the second straight year that a Belgian has reached the Stockton final. An-Sophie Mestach, the world's top junior in 2011, lost to Nao Hibino of Japan in last year's inaugural tournament. Neither returned this year.

   And coincidentally, a Belgian (Justine Henin) and a Russian (Marat Safin) were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., on Saturday.
   Playing with an ankle injury that eventually would require surgery, the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Van Uytvanck somehow reached the French Open quarterfinals last year.

CiCi Bellis "has a lot of potential," according to Alison Van Uytvanck.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   After qualifying in Nuremberg the week before Roland Garros, Van Uytvanck hurt her right ankle in a first-round loss to Carina Witthoeft of Germany.
   "I was playing one day, and the next day I couldn't walk even," said the red-headed Van Uytvanck, who has plunged from a career-high No. 41 last October to No. 125. "I did pretty well with this (in the French Open), but I had one day in between (matches) always, and that's why I recovered really well."
   Van Uytvanck finally had surgery this past spring and missed two months.
   "I had a pain for like one year already, and we decided to make the surgery because it was getting worse and worse and I couldn't play anymore," she said. "So it was a tough moment for me, but now it's done, I feel good, and the ankle is good. I need matches, and I'm doing pretty well here, so I'm happy."
   The 6-foot (1.82-meter) Pivovarova, meanwhile, has had more physical problems than a UFC fighter.
   "Pretty much every year I was not playing for five or six months," she lamented.
   Pivovarova, who's ranked No. 213 after climbing as high as No. 93 in 2011, even retired in 2012 after contracting mononucleosis and took a government job renting and selling properties in Moscow. However, she recovered after 18 months and returned to the circuit.

Anastasia Pivovarova, who has a long history of physical
problems, defeated Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-4, 6-4.
Photo by Paul Bauman 

   "It was difficult to sit in an office for hours after you've been traveling for years and never in one place for more than a month," Pivovarova said. "So to stay half a year at the same place was a challenge."
   Pivovarova also suffered back, shoulder and elbow injuries, tore an abdominal muscle and broke a wrist.
   Van Uytvanck kept the 5-foot-7 (1.68-meter), 110-pound (50-kilogram) Bellis guessing with her punishing serve and groundstrokes, a fiendish backhand slice and a wicked drop shot.
   Van Uytvanck served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but played a loose game and was broken. She quickly recovered, however, to break Bellis at 15 and advance.
   "She's playing well," Van Uytvanck said. "She's pretty young. She has a lot of potential. It was tough for me sometimes, but I was able to vary my game a lot. I think that made quite a difference, and the serve also made a difference."
   Van Uytvanck blasted nine aces and won 84.2 percent of the points on her first serve (32 of 38). She was even better on her second serve, winning 86.2 percent of the points (25 of 29).
   "It was so frustrating," moaned Bellis, who had no aces and eight double faults. "She has an unbelievable serve. I couldn't really do anything about it."
   A victory in the singles final would give Van Uytvanck a sweep of the Stockton titles. The fourth-seeded team of Van Uytvanck and Kristyna Pliskova beat unseeded Americans Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, a Cal star, 6-2, 6-3 for the doubles crown.
   Pliskova, a 6-foot (1.84-meter) Czech, is the 24-year-old twin of Karolina Pliskova, who's ranked 16th in singles.

Michelle Larcher de Brito, now 23, helped the now-defunct
Sacramento Capitals win the 2007 World TeamTennis title
at 14 years old. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Larcher de Brito, a 23-year-old Portugal native who lives in Bradenton, Fla., bolted to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Pivovarova reeled off five straight games for the set.
   "At the beginning of the match, it was really tough to play," said Pivovarova, who has a strong serve and hard, flat groundstrokes. "I couldn't get the rhythm, but I just tried to keep going, and then finally I found it. When I found my game, it was difficult for her to play against me."
   What the 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter), 125-pound (57-kilogram) Larcher de Brito lacks in size, she makes up for with heart. She has beaten former No. 1s Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, all on grass.
  Larcher de Brito saved three match points against Pivovarova while holding serve for 4-5 in the second set, but Pivovarova held at 30 to end it.
   "She's a big competitor," Pivovarova said. "I know her since a long time ago. We played juniors at the same time. I know she beat a lot of good players.
   "She's a tough opponent, and her strength is fighting spirit. She's quite famous for being down and then winning, so it was quite a challenge for me to close the match."

Bay Area's Bellis, 17, reaches 50K Stockton semis

CiCi Bellis, 17, of Atherton dismissed Arina Rodionova 6-2, 6-3
to reach the semifinals of the $50,000 Stockton Challenger.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- Arina Rodionova ousted one local favorite, but she couldn't do it two days in a row.
   Less than 24 hours after eliminating top seed and former Stanford standout Nicole Gibbs in a grueling match in 98-degree (36.7 Celsius) heat, an error-prone Rodionova fell to 17-year-old CiCi Bellis of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-2, 6-3 today in the quarterfinals of the University of the Pacific $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger.
   Atherton, located near Stanford University, is 85 miles (136.8 kilometers) southwest of Stockton.
   "The tournament director, Ryan (Redondo), I've known since I was way little, and he was my Maze Cup coach when I was younger." Bellis said. "He's a really good friend of mine, and I'm so happy to see him."
   Bellis plans to attend Stanford, pending her SAT results, in the fall of 2017 unless she reaches the top 100 before then. In that case, she said she will turn pro instead.
   By reaching the Stockton semifinals, Bellis will rise from No. 220 to about No. 199. She would jump to approximately No. 185 by advancing to the final and to about No. 169 by winning the title. Bellis climbed to a career-high No. 152 last July.
   As the only American in the semis, Bellis also took the lead in the U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge. The U.S. player who earns the most points in two of the three participating tournaments -- Stockton, Sacramento and Lexington in consecutive weeks -- will receive a wild card into the U.S. Open, Aug. 29-Sept. 11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Arina Rodionova struggled today after winning a tough
match against top-seeded Nicole Gibbs on Thursday.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Rodionova, a 26-year-old Australian citizen from Russia, looked nothing like the player who ran down ball after ball in her 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) victory over Gibbs in Thursday's 2-hour, 24-minute battle.
   This time, Rodionova lasted only 1 hour, 18 minutes in a match that began at 10:10 a.m., when the temperature was already 80 degrees (26.7 Celsius). After leading 2-1 in the first set, she dropped seven straight games. Overall, Rodionova lost her serve seven of nine times.
   "I didn't have enough time to recover and didn't feel 100 percent today," admitted Rodionova, the younger sister of top-50 doubles player Anastasia Rodionova. "I was just physically fatigued, normal stuff, when you play a long match and you don't have the proper recovery here. There's no facility, there's no ice, there's no massage. Yeah, it's tough. Probably not the ideal place to play, but anyway ... "
   Rodionova was exaggerating. Although the men's and women's clubhouses at the new $4 million Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center have not been built yet, there is a trainer's room in a small trailer, and there is ice.
   Bellis will face third-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck, who reached the French Open quarterfinals last year while playing with an impingement in her right ankle, for the first time Saturday at 10 a.m. Van Uytvanck finally had surgery in March and missed two months.
   "It will be tough because she has nothing to lose against me," said the red-headed Van Uytvanck, who defeated 2015 NCAA singles champion Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. "She will be pumped. Let's make it a good match. I'm looking forward to it."
   Bellis has beaten a more accomplished player than Van Uytvanck. At 15, Bellis stunned 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the 2014 U.S. Open. Cibulkova had reached the Australian Open final that year, losing to Li Na.
   Then again, Cibulkova is only 5-foot-3 (1.61 meters). Van Uytvanck is a powerful 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters).
   "You cannot play the person," asserted Bellis, 5-foot-7 (1.68 meters) and only 110 pounds (50 kilograms). "It doesn't matter who's across the net, whether you're playing (Van Uytvanck) or some girl with no name."
   Two unseeded players, 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter) Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal and 6-foot (1.82-meter) Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia, will meet in the second semifinal. They also will play each other for the first time.
   Larcher de Brito, 23, beat fourth-seeded Urszula Radwanska, the younger sister of fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3, 7-5. Both are WTA tour veterans coming back from surgery, Larcher De Brito on her right (playing) wrist last year and Radwanska on her left ankle in March.
    Larcher de Brito reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013, beating Maria Sharapova, and 2014. Larcher de Brito also helped the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the 2007 World TeamTennis title at 14 years old.
   Pivovarova, who has had numerous injuries over the past four years, defeated 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) American Robin Anderson 6-4, 7-5.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC

$50,000 USTA PRO CIRCUIT CHALLENGER

In Stockton, Calif.

Singles

Quarterfinals

   CiCi Bellis, Atherton, def. Arina Rodionova, Australia, 6-2, 6-3.
   Alison Van Uytvanck (3), Belgium, def. Jamie Loeb, United States, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.
   Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal, def. Urszula Radwanska (4), Poland, 6-3, 7-5.

   Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia, def. Robin Anderson, United States, 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles

Semifinals

   Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, United States, def. Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend (1), United States, walkover.
   Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, and Alison Van Uytvanck (4), Belgium, def. Priscilla Hon and Storm Sanders, Australia, 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Saturday's schedule

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

Court 1

   CiCi Bellis, Atherton, vs. Alison Van Uytvanck (3), Belgium.
   Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal, vs. Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia.
   Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, United States, vs. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, and Alison Van Uytvanck (4), Belgium.

Top seed Gibbs ousted in grueling Stockton battle

Unseeded Arina Rodionova edged former Stanford star
Nicole Gibbs 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) today in the second round
of the Stockton Challenger. Rodionova saved four set
points in the first set. Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- On and on the points went in the stifling heat.
   Top-seeded Nicole Gibbs and unseeded Arina Rodionova ran each other around the court with penetrating groundstrokes and diabolical drop shots. Rodionova played superb defense, and Gibbs wasn't far behind.
   Neither could put the other away. One player would break serve, and the other would break right back. Rodionova saved four set points in the first set, and Gibbs survived four match points in the second set.
   Gibbs converted all eight of her break-point opportunities and Rodionova eight of 16.
   Finally, Gibbs cracked, and Rodionova pulled out a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) victory in the second round of the University of the Pacific $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger.
   The grueling first meeting between Gibbs, 23, and Rodionova, 26, lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes as the temperature soared to 98 degrees (36.7 Celsius). On the court at the new $4 million Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center, it was even hotter.
   "We both wanted to win; it wasn't like we were coming here for a vacation," said the 244th-ranked Rodionova, an Australian citizen from Russia and the younger sister of top-50 doubles player Anastasia Rodionova.

   Gibbs, a former Stanford standout ranked No. 72, escaped three match points with Rodionova serving at 5-4 in the second set and one while serving at 5-6 in the tiebreaker.
   But at 6-6 in the tiebreaker, Gibbs double-faulted just long. Then with Rodionova serving, Gibbs hit a devilish slice to Rodionova's backhand corner and charged the net. Rodionova made a great backhand get and sent up a lob that Gibbs anticlimactically dumped into the bottom of the net on a put-away overhead.

Nicole Gibbs survived four match points before falling
to Arina Rodionova. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gibbs screamed in anguish, shook hands with Rodionova and chair umpire Martha Gregg, grabbed her Wilson racket bag and made a beeline for the parking lot.
   Gibbs, who had survived a 2-hour, 59-minute marathon in the first round, never did make her self available for an interview. But she had cooled off an hour after her agonizing loss when she tweeted: "There have been better days. There have been worse days. Onwards!! #striveforgreatness #successisntlinear."
   Also losing was eighth-seeded Sachia Vickery of Miramar, Fla., leaving only two seeds, No. 3 Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium and No. 4 Urszula Radwanska of Poland, in the quarterfinals.
   CiCi Bellis, 17, of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area defeated an out-of-sorts Vickery 6-4, 6-0. The 220th-ranked Bellis said she will commit to Stanford, a five-minute drive from her house, pending her SAT results. However, if she reaches the top 100 before the fall of 2017, she will turn pro rather than enroll at Stanford.
   All four of Friday's quarterfinals are scheduled for 10 a.m. to avoid the afternoon heat. Bellis will face Rodionova, Van Uytvanck will meet Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., Radwanska will take on Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal, and American Robin Anderson will play Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia.
   Bellis made international headlines at 15 in the 2014 U.S. Open with her first-round upset of No. 12 seed Dominika Cibulkova, the Australian Open runner-up to Li Na earlier that year.
   Van Uytvanck, 22, Radwanska, 25, and Larcher de Brito, 23, are WTA tour veterans.
   Van Uytvanck reached the French Open quarterfinals last year. Radwanska, the younger sister of fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, climbed to a career-high No. 29 in 2012.
   Larcher de Brito has beaten former world No. 1s Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, all on grass.
   Larcher de Brito also helped the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the 2007 World TeamTennis title at 14 years old.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC

$50,000 USTA PRO CIRCUIT CHALLENGER

Singles

Second round

   Alison Van Uytvanck (3), Belgium, def. Riko Sawayanagi, Japan, 6-2, 6-0.
   Urszula Radwanska (4), Poland, def. Storm Sanders, Australia, 6-3, 6-2.
   Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal, def. Caitlin Whoriskey, United States, 6-4, 6-3.
   Robin Anderson, United States, def. Mayo Hibi, Japan, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
   CiCi Bellis, Atherton, def. Sachia Vickery (8), United States, 6-4, 6-0.
   Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia, def. Chanel Simmonds, South Africa, 6-4, 6-4.
   Arina Rodionova, Australia, def. Nicole Gibbs (1), United States, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6).
   Jamie Loeb, United States, def. Jennifer Elie, United States, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Doubles

Quarterfinals

   Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend (1), United States, def. Sanaz Marand and Melanie Oudin, United States, 6-2, 6-3.
   Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, United States, def. Greet Minnen, Belgium, and Riko Sawayanagi, Japan, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
   Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, and Alison Van Uytvanck (4), Belgium, def. Yuki Kristina Chiang, United States, and Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine, 6-3, 6-4.
   Priscilla Hon and Storm Sanders, Australia, def. Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey (2), United States, 7-5, 6-1.

Friday's schedule

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

Court 1

   Arina Rodionova, Australia, vs. CiCi Bellis, Atherton.
   Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend (1), United States, vs. Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, United States (after rest, time TBA).

Court 2

   Alison Van Uytvanck (3), Belgium, vs. Jamie Loeb, United States.
   Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, and Alison Van Uytvanck (4), Belgium, vs. Priscilla Hon and Storm Sanders, Australia (after rest. time TBA).

Court 3

   Urszula Radwanska (4), Poland, vs. Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal.

Court 4

   Robin Anderson, United States, vs. Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia.

Top seed Gibbs to face Wozniak in 50K Stockton

Nicole Gibbs serves during her fourth-round loss
to Petra Kvitova at Indian Wells in March, Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs and Aleksandra Wozniak have fond memories of Stanford, one as an amateur and the other as a professional.
   Gibbs attended the world-renowned university in the San Francisco Bay Area for three years (2011-13), winning two NCAA titles in singles and one in doubles.
   Wozniak qualified for the 2008 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and went on to become the first Canadian in 20 years, and first ever from Quebec, to win a WTA title. She defeated Serena Williams 6-2, 3-1, retired (knee) in the semifinals and Marion Bartoli in the final.
   Gibbs and Wozniack will meet for the first time today, not before 11:30 a.m., in the first round of the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Stockton, Calif.
   The second annual tournament, at the new Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center at the University of the Pacific, kicks off the U.S. Open wild-card challenge that also includes Sacramento, Calif., and Lexington, Ky., in the following two weeks. The American with the most points in two of the three tournaments will earn a wild card into the U.S. Open, Aug. 29-Sept. 11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Gibbs, a 23-year-old resident of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, is seeded first in Stockton with a world ranking of No. 76.
   The 28-year-old Wozniak is ranked No. 471 after reaching a career-high No. 21 in 2009. The right-hander missed 11 months after undergoing right shoulder surgery in September 2014.
   In a matchup of 20-year-olds with Northern California ties, sixth-seeded Taylor Townsend of Atlanta will play Mayo Hibi of Japan.
  Townsend, a talented left-hander, reached the third round of the French Open in 2014 and the second round at Roland Garros in May. She played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in their final season of 2013.
   Hibi, who was born in Japan but grew up in Irvine in the Los Angeles region, won the 2013 Sacramento Challenger at 17 and gained the Stockton quarterfinals last year.
   Also in action today will be:
   --Michelle Larcher de Brito, 23, of Portugal. She reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013 (beating 2004 champion Maria Sharapova) and 2014.
   Larcher de Brito broke into pro tennis at 14, helping the Capitals win the 2007 WTT title. She was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms in 2009.
   --Kristie Ahn, who played on Stanford's NCAA championship team in 2013 with Gibbs.
   --Michaela Gordon, a 16-year-old wild card from Saratoga in the Bay Area.

$50,000 USTA PRO CIRCUIT CHALLENGER

In Stockton, Calif.

Second-round qualifying

   Brynn Boren, United States, def. Danielle Lao (1), United States, 6-2, 6-4.
   Chanel Simmonds, South Africa, def. Nicole Frenkel, United States, 6-3, 6-2.
   Gabriela Ce (2), Brazil, def. Jacqueline Cako, United States, 6-2, 6-4.
   Caitlin Whoriskey, United States, def. Ashley Weinhold, United States, 6-3, 6-2.
   Elizaveta Ianchuk (3), Ukraine, def. Brooke Austin, United States, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
   Desirae Krawczyk, United States, def. Giuliana Olmos, Fremont, 6-1, 6-2.
   Priscilla Hon (4), Australia, def. Yuliya Beygelzimer, Ukraine, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
   Jennifer Elie (6), United States, def. Sabrina Santamaria, United States, 6-4, 6-2.

Today's schedule

Starting at 10 a.m.

Court 1

   Elizaveta Ianchuk (3), Ukraine, vs. Desirae Krawczyk, United States (final-round qualifying).
   Nicole Gibbs (1), United States, vs. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada (not before 11:30 a.m.).
   Storm Sanders, Australia, vs. Michaela Gordon, Saratoga (not before 1 p.m.).
   Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend (1), United States, vs. Chanel Simmonds, South Africa, and Renata Zarazua, Mexico (not before 2:30 p.m.)

Court 2

   Jennifer Elie (6), United States, vs. Priscilla Hon (4), Australia (final-round qualifying).
   Taylor Townsend (6), United States, vs. Mayo Hibi, Japan (not before 11:30 a.m.)
   Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portugal, vs. Sabina Sharipova, Uzbekistan (not before 1 p.m.).
   CiCi Bellis, Atherton, and Jamie Loeb, United States, vs. Yuki Kristina Chiang, United States, and Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine (not before 2:30 p.m.).

Court 3

   Gabriela Ce (2), Brazil, vs. Caitlin Whoriskey, United States (final-round qualifying).
   Kristie Ahn, United States, vs. Riko Sawayanagi, Japan (not before 11:30 a.m.).
   Victoria Kan, Russia, vs. Arina Rodionova, Australia (not before 1 p.m.).
   Jacqueline Cako, United States, and Gabriela Ce (3), Brazil, vs. Greet Minnen, Belgium, and Riko Sawayanagi, Japan (not before 2:30 p.m.).

Court 4

   Brynn Boren, United States, vs. Chanel Simmonds, South Africa (final-round qualifying).

   Robin Anderson, United States, vs. Sanaz Marand, United States (not before 11:30 a.m.).
   Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, and Alison Van Uytvanck (4), Belgium, vs. Alexandra Facey and Kat Facey, Cameron Park (not before 1 p.m.).
   Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs, United States, vs. Sanaz Marand and Melanie Oudin, United States (not before 2:30 p.m.).

Gibbs heads 50K Stockton acceptance list

Qualifier Nicole Gibbs, an ex-Stanford star, prepares to slug a forehand
in her 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova in the round of
16 in Indian Wells in March. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs, who won two NCAA titles in singles and one in doubles while at Stanford, heads the acceptance list for the second annual $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Stockton next week.
   Gibbs, a 23-year-old resident of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, is ranked No. 76 in the world. As a qualifier, she reached the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open, considered the "fifth Grand Slam," in Indian Wells in March.
   Stockton entries also include:
   --Kristyna Pliskova, who set a WTA tour record with 31 aces in a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 9-7 loss to Monica Puig in the second round of the Australian Open in January.
   Pliskova, ranked No. 107, is the 24-year-old twin sister of Karolina Pliskova, ranked No. 17 after reaching a career-high No. 7 last Aug. 17.
   --Alison Van Uytvanck, a French Open quarterfinalist last year.
   --Mayo Hibi, who won the 2013 Sacramento Challenger at 17.
   --Kristie Ahn, who played on Stanford's 2013 NCAA championship team with Gibbs.
   --CiCi Bellis, a 17-year-old amateur who lives minutes from Stanford in Atherton. Bellis made international headlines at 15 in the 2014 U.S. Open with her first-round upset of No. 12 seed Dominika Cibulkova, the Australian Open runner-up to Li Na earlier that year. Bellis finished the year as the No. 1 junior in the world.
   --Michelle Larcher de Brito, who reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013 (beating Maria Sharapova) and 2014. She helped the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the World TeamTennis title in 2007 at 14.
   --Melanie Oudin, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2009 and mixed doubles champion in 2011 with Jack Sock.
   Four wild cards for the Stockton Challenger will be announced later.
   Reigning champion Nao Hibino of Japan is ranked No. 70, allowing her to play full-time on the WTA tour.
   Qualifying for the Stockton Challenger begins Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center at the University of the Pacific. The main draw is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12, at 10 a.m. through Sunday, July 17.
   The fifth annual $50,000 Sacramento Women's Challenger will be held the following week at the Gold River Racquet Club.

$50,000 STOCKTON CHALLENGER

Acceptance list (subject to change)

1. Nicole Gibbs, United States, No. 76 world ranking.
2. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, No. 106.  
3. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, No. 108.
4. Alison Van Uytvanck, Belgium, No. 132.
5. Urszula Radwanska, Poland, No. 151.
6. Grace Min, United States, No. 153.
7. Taylor Townsend, United States, No. 155.
8. Lin Zhu, China, No. 163.
9. Mayo Hibi, Japan, No. 166.
10. Sachia Vickery, United States, No. 180.
11. Robin Anderson, United States, No. 186.
12. Asia Muhammad, United States, No. 197.
13. Anastasia Pivovarova, Russia, No. 198.
14. Zhaoxuan Yang, China, No. 203.
15. Sabina Sharipova, Uzbekistan, No. 217.
16. Kristie Ahn, United States, No. 224.
17. Arina Rodionova, Australia, No. 246.
18. CiCi Bellis, United States, No. 250.
19. Riko Sawayanagi, Japan, No. 254.
20. Victoria Kan, Russia, No. 256.
21. Jamie Loeb, United States, No. 257.
22. Michelle Larcher de Brito, United States, No. 262.
23. Storm Sanders, Australia, No. 264.
24. Melanie Oudin, United States, No. 268.

Gibbs gains final round of Australian Open qualifying

Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, follows through
on a serve during her victory over Lourdes Dominguez
Lino of Spain in the first round of the U.S. Open last
September. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, held off teenager Jana Fett of Croatia 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Thursday (PST) to reach the final round of qualifying for the Australian Open in Melbourne.  
   Maria Sanchez, a 26-year-old Modesto native, lost to Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 6-2, 6-3.
   On the men's side, Tennys Sandgren of Wesley Chapel, Fla., fell to 13th-seeded Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-4, 6-2.
   Sandgren, a former University of Tennessee All-American, helped the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis reach the Western Conference final last July.
   Fett, 19, was the girls runner-up to Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia in the 2014 Australian Open.
   Gibbs, a 22-year-old resident of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, is scheduled to face Ivana Jorovic, 18, of Serbia for the first time today for a berth in the main draw.
   Jorovic, the No. 1 junior in the world in 2014 and French Open girls runner-up to Daria Kasatkina of Russia that year, beat 22nd-seeded Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2.
   Gibbs is ranked No. 105, and Jorovic is No. 187.
   Gibbs, the 2012 and 2013 NCAA singles champion, gained direct entry into last year's Australian Open and advanced to the second round in her main-draw debut in Melbourne.
   Larcher de Brito, who will turn 23 on Jan. 29, in playing in her first tournament since retiring in the second round of qualifying at Wimbledon in late June with a wrist injury. She underwent surgery in July.
   Larcher de Brito reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013 (beating Maria Sharapova) and 2014. She helped the Sacramento Capitals win the WTT title in 2007 at 14.
   Sanchez was seeking her first singles main-draw appearance in the Australian Open and second in a Grand Slam tournament. The USC graduate lost to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the first round of the 2013 U.S. Open as a wild card.

Modesto's Sanchez falls in Wimbledon qualifying

Maria Sanchez, who was born and raised in
Modesto, lost in the second round of Wim-
bledon qualifying. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Maria Sanchez will have to wait at least one more year to make her first appearance in the singles main draw at Wimbledon.
   The 25-year-old Modesto product lost to eighth-seeded Ying-Ying Duan of China 7-5, 6-0 today in the second round of qualifying at Roehampton in London.
   In her only previous singles appearance at Wimbledon, Sanchez lost to former world No. 11 Shahar Peer of Israel in the second round of qualifying in 2013.
   Five American women reached Thursday's final round of qualifying: No. 3 Louisa Chirico, No. 4 Sachia Vickery, No. 18 Anna Tatishvili, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jessica Pegula. Vickery, 20, and Pegula, 21, are scheduled to meet; the winner will earn her first berth in the Wimbledon main draw. 
   The last U.S. man remaining in the draw, No. 18 Bjorn Fratangelo, lost to Australia's John-Patrick Smith 7-6 (5), 6-4.
   Vickery advanced to WTA tour quarterfinals at Stanford on hardcourts last summer and Nottingham on grass two weeks ago, both times as a qualifier.
   Vickery and Chirico, 19, reached the quarters of the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger last July.
   Mattek-Sands, who had hip surgery last year and missed six months, has plunged from a career-high No. 30 in singles in 2011 to No. 157. But she's a career-high No. 6 in doubles after winning this year's Australian Open and French Open with Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
   Mattek-Sands also won this year's French Open mixed doubles title with fellow American Mike Bryan.
   Pegula, the runner-up in the inaugural 2012 Sacramento Challenger whose billionaire father owns the NFL's Buffalo Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, eliminated No. 21 Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 1-6, 7-6 (7), 5-4, retired.
   Larcher de Brito, 22, stunned former world No. 1s Maria Sharapova in the second round at Wimbledon two years ago and Ana Ivanovic in the same round at Birmingham last week on grass, each time as a qualifier.
   At 14, Larcher de Brito helped the Sacramento Capitals win the World Team Tennis title in 2007. She was the youngest competitor in league history until American Madison Keys surpassed her, by 19 days, two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms.
   The 20-year-old Keys, an Australian Open semifinalist in January, is now ranked 21st to Larcher de Brito's 119th. Not coincidentally, Keys is 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter), and Larcher de Brito is five inches (12.7 centimeters) shorter.
   The Capitals disbanded in 2013 after 28 years in Sacramento but will be replaced by the California Dream beginning next month.
   Joining Sanchez on the sideline today were Americans Grace Min, seeded 24th, and Melanie Oudin.
   Oudin, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist at 17 in 2009, underwent heart and eye procedures during the offseason. Also, a muscle condition sidelined her in 2013.
   Smith, a 26-year-old left-hander, has won the doubles title in the last two Sacramento Challengers with Aussies Matt Reid and Adam Hubble, respectively.
   Smith had one of the greatest collegiate careers on and off the court in history. He earned not one but two bachelor's degrees, in economics and business administration, and became the second player in NCAA Division I history to earn All-America honors in singles and doubles all four years. The other is USC's Jon Leach, who eventually rose to No. 1 in the world in doubles.

Larcher de Brito pulls out of Gold River Challenger

   For the second straight year, Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal withdrew from the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger after reaching the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier.
   This year, however, the Challenger is being held one week later. Qualifying begins Saturday at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area, and the main draw is scheduled for Monday through July 12. 
   Also pulling out of the tournament on Thursday was American Allie Kiick, the daughter of former Miami Dolphins running back Jim Kiick.
   Larcher de Brito, 21, was the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 102 in the world, and Kiick, 19, was third at No. 143.
   The top remaining players are No. 128 Olivia Rogowska of Australia, No. 146 An-Sophie Mestach of Belgium, No. 149 Madison Brengle of Bradenton, Fla., and No. 150 Nicole Gibbs of Santa Monica. Also entered is 33-year-old Alexandra Stevenson, a 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist.
   Brengle, suffering from a stomach problem, fell in last year's Gold River final to Mayo Hibi, then 17. Hibi plans to play in a $25,000 Challenger in Gatineau, Canada, rather than defend her title in the tougher Gold River tournament.
   Gibbs starred at Stanford, winning the 2012 and 2013 NCAA singles titles and the 2012 doubles crown with Mallory Burdette.
   Larcher de Brito stunned multiple Grand Slam singles champions Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova at Wimbledon last year and this year, respectively.
   At 14 in 2007, Larcher de Brito helped the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the last of their record six World TeamTennis titles.

Reigning champ Hibi out of Gold River Challenger

Mayo Hibi, who won last year's Gold River Challenger
at 17, dropped off the acceptance list for next month's
tournament. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Mayo Hibi, who won last year's $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger at 17, has withdrawn from next month's tournament.
   Hibi, an Irvine resident who plays for her native Japan, dropped off the acceptance list today for the July 7-12 tournament at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area.
   Instead, the 234th-ranked Hibi is entered in a $25,000 Challenger, also on hardcourts, in Gatineau, Canada, that week.
   "I need (ranking) points for the U.S. Open," Hibi, who has struggled for the past three months, explained by telephone from home. "Now I'm borderline (to get into qualifying in Flushing Meadows). Sacramento is a week later this year, so players have a chance to rest after (the first week of) Wimbledon. Last year, they wanted to rest. The draw is much tougher this year."
   Hibi added that she'll be seeded in Gatineau but wouldn't have been in Sacramento. Therefore, she won't risk facing a seed in the first round.
   "I need to get a lot of matches in and get more confidence," Hibi said.    
   Also pulling out of the Gold River Challenger was Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam. Ranked No. 110 in the world, Friedsam plans to play in a $100,000 Challenger on clay in Biarritz, France, that week. Friedsam was the second-highest-ranked player in the Gold River Challenger behind No. 102 Michelle Larcher de Brito.
   Larcher de Brito ousted a Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon as a qualifier for the second straight year on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Portuguese player knocked off 28th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who took the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open crowns, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round after stunning 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the second round last year.
   Larcher de Brito is familiar with the Sacramento area. She became the youngest player in World TeamTennis history at 14 in 2007, helping the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals win the last of their record six league titles.
   Two years later, however, American Madison Keys surpassed Larcher de Brito by 19 days as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms.
   The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Keys, now 19, won her first career title last week at Eastbourne on grass to rise to a career-high 30th in the world. She ranks third among U.S. women behind No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 18 Sloane Stephens.
   Other Gold River withdrawals moved Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product who won the inaugural Gold River Challenger in 2012, into the main draw. Sanchez, 24, has plunged from a career-high No. 107 last July to No. 309.
   Gold River qualifying starts July 5.
   Here's a link to the Challenger's full acceptance list: http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women%27s-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100032268   

Sharapova slayer tops Gold River entries

   Michelle Larcher de Brito, who stunned Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon last year and helped the Sacramento Capitals win the World TeamTennis title at 14 years old, heads the acceptance list for the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger.
   Entries for the third annual tournament, July 7-12 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River, were released today by the International Tennis Federation.
   Larcher de Brito, 21, of Portugal tops the list, which is subject to change, with a world ranking of No. 104. Following Larcher de Brito are Anna-Lena Friedsam, 20, of Germany at No. 111, Olivia Rogowska, 23, of Australia at No. 128 and Allie Kiick, 18, of Aspen, Colo., at No. 141.
   Kiick, the daughter of former Miami Dolphins running back Jim Kiick, won a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Merida, Mexico, in December and reached the semifinals of another in Redding last October. She will turn 19 on June 30.

Reigning champion Mayo Hibi, right, and 2013 runner-up
Madison Brengle plan to return for next month's $50,000 FSP
Gold River Women's Challenger. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman

   Gold River entries also include:
   -- Defending champion Mayo Hibi, 18, of Japan.
   -- Inaugural winner Maria Sanchez, a 24-year-old Modesto product.
   -- Last year's runner-up, 24-year-old Madison Brengle of Bradenton, Fla.
   -- Nicole Gibbs, a 21-year-old resident of Santa Monica in the Los Angeles area who won back-to-back NCAA singles titles at Stanford.
   -- Six-foot-2 (1.89-meter) Naomi Broady, a 24-year-old Briton who reached the second round of singles at Wimbledon today and won last year's Gold River doubles title with Storm Sanders, then 18, of Australia.
   -- Alexandra Stevenson, a 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist who's now 33 years old.
   Broady, who received a wild card at Wimbledon, is one of three Gold River entrants in the singles main draw at the All England Club. Larcher de Brito, a qualifier, leads 28th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion from Russia, 2-1 in a suspended first-round match. Friedsam lost to Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-4, 6-4 today in the opening round.
   The 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter) Larcher de Brito outslugged the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Sharapova, the third seed at Wimbledon last year and 2004 champion, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round before losing to Karin Knapp of Italy in the next round.
   Larcher de Brito became the youngest player in WTT history in 2007, helping the now-defunct Capitals win the last of their record six league titles.
   Two years later, American Madison Keys surpassed Larcher de Brito by 19 days as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms.
   The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Keys, now 19, won her first career title last week at Eastbourne on grass to rise to a career-high 30th in the world. She ranks third among U.S. women behind No. 1 Serena Williams and No. 18 Sloane Stephens.
   Sanchez, the 2011 Pacific-10 Conference Women's Player of the Year as a senior at USC, has plummeted from a career-high No. 107 in the world last July to No. 310. That would put her in Gold River qualifying at the moment, but as a former champion from nearby Modesto, she probably will receive a wild card into the main draw if necessary.
   Qualifying starts July 5.
   Here's a link to the Gold River Challenger's full acceptance list: http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/tournaments/women%27s-tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100032268    

Sharapova's conqueror doubtful for Gold River

   Michelle Larcher de Brito's stunning upset of Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon today probably is bad news for the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger.
   The former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis tentatively would be seeded second in the tournament, Monday though July 6 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area.
   But Larcher de Brito, a 20-year-old qualifier from Portugal, will meet unseeded Karin Knapp of Italy on Friday in the third round at Wimbledon. The winner of that match will play on Monday. No matches are scheduled on the middle Sunday.

Maria Sharapova lost to former Sacramento Capital Michelle
Larcher de Brito in the second round at Wimbledon.
2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Even if Larcher de Brito loses on Friday, she is unlikely to fly to Sacramento to play on hardcourts in extreme heat so soon after competing on grass in cool London, according to Gold River spokesman Clint Swett.
   Five top-200 players are entered in Gold River: No. 114 Maria Sanchez, the defending champion originally from Modesto; No. 131 Larcher de Brito; No. 143 Casey Dellacqua of Australia; No. 164 Chanel Simmonds of South Africa; and No. 175 Julie Coin of France. The tournament also could lose Dellacqua, who remains alive in women's doubles and mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
   Larcher de Brito ousted Sharapova, the third seed and 2004 champion, 6-3, 6-4 on Court 2 in the second round at Wimbledon. The 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter) Larcher de Brito outslugged the 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Sharapova in the one-hour, 34-minute match.
   Sharapova, 26, saved four match points in the last game on Larcher de Brito's serve before netting a forehand for her earliest loss at a Grand Slam tournament since falling to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the 2010 Australian Open.
   "It's frustrating," Sharapova, a former world No. 1 who has won all four Grand Slam tournaments once, told reporters after the first match of her career against Larcher de Brito. "You don't want to lose matches, whether it's early or late in the draw, but this tournament is extremely special, so it's especially tough to lose here.
   "But I'm going to keep my head high about it because there's no other way. I'll find the positives out of what I have done today and in my career, set new goals and try to just keep moving forward."
   Larcher de Brito had beaten three top-20 players in her career but never a top-10 opponent.
   "I'm really excited," said Larcher de Brito, who speaks fluent English because she has a South African mother and trained under Nick Bollettieri in Florida. "I really can't believe it. It's a little bit of shock and excitement. I'm just really happy I got through that match. It was a really great win for me.
   "The end was really nerve-wracking. I tried to stay calm. I gave it my all. It was 5-4. If I lost that, it would have been 5-all. If it were 5-all, it would have been tough to get back up again, because she was serving, and she was serving extremely well. I thought, 'Now or never.' ... "
   Larcher de Brito already has had a long, rocky career. She turned pro in February 2007, nine days after her 14th birthday. Larcher de Brito became the seventh-youngest player to win a WTA main-draw match the following month and the youngest player in WTT history that summer, helping Sacramento win the last of its record six league titles.
   American Madison Keys surpassed Larcher de Brito for the WTT record by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Keys is now ranked a career-high 53rd at 18 years old.
   Wayne Bryan, who will return for the 12th year as the Capitals' coach next month, said in 2007 that Larcher de Brito had top-10 potential.
   "She has magic hands," Bryan, the father and first coach of doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan, told The Sacramento Bee. "She has a huge forehand and backhand, and she plays close to the baseline. She takes your breath away when she hits groundstrokes. She hits the ball really hard."
   Larcher de Brito seemed to be on her way in 2009, advancing to the third round of the French Open and climbing to a career-high No. 76 at 16 years old. But she struggled from then until this week. Playing largely in tennis' minor leagues, Larcher de Brito had not won a main-draw match on the WTA tour since last July.
   "When I was 16, when I was in the top 100, everybody was comparing me to like Martina Hingis and expecting me to win a Grand Slam at that age," Larcher de Brito said. "But that doesn't happen anymore, winning Grand Slams so young. Tennis is such a competitive sport now and so hard, it's just really hard to stay there.
   "But I just tried to keep going, and now I'm here again, and I hope to keep doing well all year."
   Larcher de Brito's parents, Antonio and Caroline, gave her moral support through the hard times. Antonio is Portuguese.
   "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my parents," said Larcher de Brito, whose great grandfather was French (hence the name Larcher, which she pronounces LAR-sher and is pronounced Lar-SHAY in French). "I'm not one of those players who is going to make up excuses like I was sick or injured, none of that. I simply wasn't playing well. I had no motivation.
   "I'm just lucky I had my parents next to me, supporting me, helping me to keep going. It was really tough for me at one stage. The only people I had left were my mom, my dad, my brothers. They were supporting me through this really tough time. Now they're still here with me when I'm succeeding.
   "I'm not going to lie. I did drop off the radar a little bit. That's just why it makes the wins that much sweeter. I'm really grateful to have a wonderful family that supported me all these years."
   Knapp, Larcher de Brito's next opponent, advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over 27th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. Until this week, the 25-year-old Knapp had never won a main-draw match at Wimbledon. She is ranked No. 104 after reaching a career-high No. 35 in 2008..
   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Knapp is 1-0 lifetime against Larcher de Brito, prevailing 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the final round of qualifying for the 2011 U.S. Open.
   The winner of the match between Larcher de Brito and Knapp could face 15th-seeded Marion Bartoli, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2007, in the fourth round.
   In the first round of women's doubles, Megan Moulton-Levy of Washington, D.C., and Shuai Zhang of China defeated Mona Barthel of Germany and Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
   The 5-foot- (1.52-meter) Moulton-Levy, 28, is scheduled to make her WTT debut for the Capitals on July 7. She and Zhang will meet 12th-seeded Ashleigh Barty, a 17-year-old Australian, and Dellacqua in the second round.
   Barty and Dellacqua, a 28-year-old left-hander, in January became the first Aussie women to reach the Australian Open final since 1977. They lost to top-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
   In the opening round of men's doubles, 14th-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France topped Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (6).
   Nieminen and Tursunov, who's based in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, won the Munich title on clay last month in only their second tournament together.

From Wimbledon to Sacramento

   Michelle Larcher de Brito is scheduled to go from Wimbledon to the Sacramento area.
   The 20-year-old qualifier from Portugal today advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 3 seed and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova of Russia at Wimbledon. The first career meeting between the loud grunters is scheduled for Wednesday. 

Third-seeded Maria Sharapova is scheduled to face qualifier
Michelle Larcher de Brito in the second round at Wimbledon.
Larcher de Brito tentatively will be seeded second in next week's
 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Larcher de Brito, who helped the Sacramento Capitals win the last of their record six World TeamTennis titles in 2007 at 14 years old, tentatively will be seeded second in next week's $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger at the Gold River Racquet Club.
   She outlasted 21-year-old Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Ga., 7-6 (7), 1-6, 6-4 in a battle of undersized players who have struggled after early success.
   Larcher de Brito, 5-foot-5 (1.65 meters), is ranked No. 131 after reaching a career-high No. 76 at 16 in 2009. Oudin, 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters), is No. 123 after climbing as high as No. 31 at 18 in 2010.
   Sharapova, ranked third, defeated Kristina Mladenovic of France 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Centre Court.
   Larcher de Brito played only one season for the Capitals. At 14, she was the youngest competitor in league history until American Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. The 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Keys, 18, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   In the first round of women's doubles today at Wimbledon, fifth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones of Fresno and Abigail Spears of San Diego beat Shahar Peer of Israel and Yan Zi of China 6-4, 6-4. Kops-Jones won the NCAA doubles title with Cal teammate Christina Fusano, a Sacramento native, 10 years ago.
   Kops-Jones and Spears, Wimbledon quarterfinalists last year, will play the winner of the match between Sandra Klemenschits of Austria and Romina Oprandi of Switzerland in the second round.
   Yan and Zheng Jie won China's first Grand Slam title of any kind in women's doubles at the 2006 Australian Open and also captured the Wimbledon crown that year.
   Peer advanced to the doubles final of the 2008 Australian Open with Victoria Azarenka and won the doubles title at Stanford with Anna-Lena Groenefeld in 2006 and Sania Mirza in 2007.

Pegula withdraws from Gold River Challenger

Maria Sanchez, left, defeated Jessica Pegula, right, in the final
of last year's inaugural FSP Gold River Women's Challenger.
2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   One day after last year's champion accepted a wild card in the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, 2012 runner-up Jessica Pegula withdrew.
   Jessica Pegula, a 19-year-old resident of Boca Raton, Fla., today dropped off the acceptance list for the July 1-6 tournament. But Maria Sanchez, a 23-year-old Modesto native, plans to defend her title at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area.
   Sanchez, a former USC All-American who's mentored by International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert, defeated Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the final of last year's inaugural tournament. Pegula's billionaire father, Terry, owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
   Five players ranked in the top 200 in the world tentatively are entered in the Gold River Challenger. Sanchez tops the list at No. 114. She is followed by Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal at No. 131, Casey Dellacqua of Australia at No. 145, Chanel Simmonds of South Africa at No. 165 and Julie Coin of France at No. 176. 
    Larcher de Brito played one season for the Sacramento Capitals, helping them win the last of their record six World TeamTennis titles in 2007. At 14, she was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. Keys, who also lives in Boca Raton, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   Dellacqua, a 28-year-old left-hander, won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles title with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and reached this year's Australian Open women's doubles final with Ashleigh Barty, then 16. It was the first time since 1977 that two Aussie women played in the Australian Open title match. 
   See below for the full updated Gold River Challenger acceptance list.
   U.S. Open National Playoffs -- Andrew Ball, Giuliana Olmos and the mixed doubles team of Eric Roberson and Yasmin Schnack won titles in Salinas in Northern California Sectional Qualifying for the U.S. Open National Playoffs.
   All advanced to the U.S. Open National Playoffs Championship in New Haven, Conn. Winners of the men's and women's singles events, Aug. 16-19, will receive wild cards in the U.S. Open qualifying tournament scheduled for Aug. 20-23. The champions of the mixed doubles event, Aug. 21-24, will earn a berth in the mixed doubles main draw of the U.S. Open, Aug. 26-Sept. 9.
   Ball, a Palo Alto resident who will be a freshman at Harvard in the fall, defeated Joshua Pompan of Salinas 6-3, 6-1 in the sectional final. Fremont's Olmos, who recently finished her sophomore year at USC, held off Lejla Hodzic of Santa Clara 6-1, 6-4 for the title.
   Roberson and Schnack, both from the Sacramento area, routed Conor Berg and Hadley Berg of Greenbrae 6-2, 6-1 in the final. Schnack played on UCLA's NCAA championship team in 2008 as a sophomore and retired from professional tennis last year. Roberson played at Boise State.

$50,000 FSP GOLD RIVER WOMEN'S CHALLENGER

July 1-6 at Gold River Racquet Club

Updated acceptance list (subject to change)

(With world rankings as of June 10)

1	Michelle LARCHER DE BRITO (POR)	130
2	Casey DELLACQUA (AUS)	139
3	Chanel SIMMONDS (RSA)	166
4	Julie COIN (FRA)	176
5	Madison BRENGLE (USA)	219
6	Petra RAMPRE (SLO)	225
7	Ivana LISJAK (CRO)	236
8	Heidi EL TABAKH (CAN)	280
9	Jarmila GAJDOSOVA (AUS)	281
10	Storm SANDERS (AUS)	282
11	Victoria DUVAL (USA)	303
12	Allie KIICK (USA)	306
13	Sanaz MARAND (USA)	324
14	Jelena PANDZIC (CRO)	329
15	So-Ra LEE (KOR)	336
16	Allie WILL (USA)	337
17	Naomi BROADY (GBR)	345
18	Mai MINOKOSHI (JPN)	347
19	Asia MUHAMMED (USA)	356
20	Mayo HIBI (JPN)	375
21	Ashley WEINHOLD (USA)	394
22	Jan ABAZA (USA)	396
23	Sally PEERS (AUS)	413

Ex-Capital King tops Gold River Challenger entries

Vania King, playing for the Sacramento Capitals last season,
heads the field for the FSP Gold River Women's Challenger
with a No. 117 world ranking. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Three familiar faces head the acceptance list for the second annual FSP Gold River Women's Challenger.
   Former Sacramento Capital Vania King is ranked No. 117 in the world, and Jessica Pegula, last year's runner-up at Gold River, is No. 123. Ex-Capital Michelle Larcher de Brito is No. 130.
   The entries for the $50,000 tournament, July 1-6 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area, were released Friday. Absent from the list is 2012 champion Maria Sanchez, a Modesto native ranked No. 119. She could receive a wild card, though.
   King, a 24-year-old Long Beach product, played for the Capitals of World TeamTennis for all or part of the past three seasons. However, she will return to the Springfield Lasers this season after being named the 2009 WTT Female MVP as a member of the Missouri-based team.

At 18, Jessica Pegula reached the final
of the inaugural Gold River Women's
Challenger last year. 2012 photo
by Paul Bauman

   King won the 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open women's doubles titles with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, but they have since split. King, who reached a career-high No. 3 in the world in women's doubles in 2011, has slumped to No. 47. Her career high in singles is No. 50 in 2006.
   The Gold River Women's Challenger will be held during the second week of Wimbledon, which could prevent King from returning to the Sacramento area.
   Pegula, 19, of Boca Raton, Fla., has more than halved her ranking from No. 294 entering last year's tournament. Her billionaire father, Terry, owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
   Larcher de Brito of Portugal played one season for the Capitals, helping them win the last of their record six WTT titles in 2007. At 14, she was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. Keys, who also lives in Boca Raton, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   Also entered in the Gold River Women's Challenger is No. 139 Casey Dellacqua of Australia. Dellacqua, a 28-year-old left-hander, won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles title with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and reached this year's Australian Open doubles final with countrywoman Ashleigh Barty, then 16. It was the first time since 1977 that two Aussie women played in the Australian Open title match.   

GOLD RIVER WOMEN'S CHALLENGER

Acceptance list (subject to change)

Pos.  Player                                      Ranking

1	Vania KING (USA)	117
2	Jessica PEGULA (USA)	123
3	Michelle LARCHER DE BRITO (POR)	130
4	Julia GLUSHKO (ISR)	131
5	Casey DELLACQUA (AUS)	139
6	Olivia ROGOWSKA (AUS)	146
7	Chanel SIMMONDS (RSA)	166
8	Julie COIN (FRA)	176
9	Olga SAVCHUK (UKR)	178
10	Maria-Elena CAMERIN (ITA)	180
11	Sacha JONES (AUS)	187
12	Jovana JAKSIC (SRB)	190
13	Ana VRLJIC (CRO)	196
14	Ons JABEUR (TUN)	209
15	Irena PAVLOVIC (FRA)	218
16	Madison BRENGLE (USA)	219
17	Monique ADAMCZAK (AUS)	220
18	Petra RAMPRE (SLO)	225
19	Junri NAMIGATA (JPN)	227
20	Florencia MOLINERO (ARG)	230
21	Melanie KLAFFNER (AUT)	234
22	Ivana LISJAK (CRO)	236
23	Risa OZAKI (JPN)	279
24	Heidi EL TABAKH (CAN)	280