McDonald wins Seoul Challenger, nears top 100

Mackenzie McDonald improved to No. 114
in the world by winning the $100,000 Seoul
Challenger. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Less than two years after turning pro, diminutive Mackenzie McDonald is on the verge of cracking the top 100 in the world.
   The fifth-seeded McDonald, a 23-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, topped third-seeded Jordan Thompson of Australia 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 today to win the $100,000 Seoul Challenger.
   McDonald, only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms), jumped 32 places in the rankings to No. 114.
   He almost lost to 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Lloyd Harris, a 21-year-old South African, in the Seoul quarterfinals, surviving 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-3.
   McDonald, now based in Miami, earned his second career Challenger singles title. He defeated former Stanford star Bradley Klahn to win the $100,000 Northbay Healthcare Men's Pro Championships in Fairfield, 38 miles (61 kilometers) north of Piedmont, last October.
   McDonald turned pro in June 2016 after sweeping the NCAA singles and doubles titles as a UCLA junior. He became the first man to accomplish the feat since Matias Boeker of Georgia in 2001.
   ATP Tour -- Unseeded Dominic Inglot of Great Britain and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden edged top-seeded Ben McLachlan of Japan and Nicholas Monroe of Austin, Texas, 3-6, 6-3 [10-8] to win the Istanbul Open on clay.
   Lindstedt, 41, played at Fresno State before transferring to Pepperdine and reaching the 1998 NCAA doubles final with Kelly Gullett. They lost to Bob and Mike Bryan of Stanford.
   McLachlan, a 25-year-old former Cal All-American, was born and raised in New Zealand but plays for his mother's native country. He and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open in January in their first tournament together.
   In the Istanbul singles final, 25-year-old Taro Daniel of Japan beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 7-6 (4), 6-4 for his first career ATP title. Both players were unseeded.
   Daniel was born in New York to an American father, Paul, and Japanese mother, Yasue. The family moved from New York to Japan when Taro was an infant and to Spain when he was 14.
   Paul Daniel grew up in Santa Cruz, 73 miles (117.5 kilometers) south of San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean.

Bellis, 18, falls to Wozniacki in French Open

Caroline Wozniacki, playing at Indian Wells
in March, defeated CiCi Bellis 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
today in the third round of the French Open.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 11 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated 18-year-old CiCi Bellis, who grew up in Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 today in the completion of a suspended match in the third round of the French Open.
   Bellis was about to serve for the second set at 5-2 on Friday night when rain and darkness halted play. After holding her serve for the set today, she broke for 2-1 in the third set.
   "That's when Wozniacki really started to settle down and be a little more consistent," commentator Lindsay Davenport said on Tennis Channel. "Also, she started to attack the forehand side of the Bellis court more."
   Wozniacki, who climbed to No. 1 in the world in 2010, broke back and won the last three games of the match. She ended the match with a service winner and two aces.
   Bellis still took away many positives. She equaled her best Grand Slam result with her third-round showing and is projected to rise from No. 48 to No. 40. She is the youngest player in the top 50.
   "What a tournament for CiCi Bellis," Davenport crowed. "She showed a lot of people how good she is going to be, but Wozniacki used her experience well to finish this final set."
   Wozniacki, who will turn 27 on July 11, reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time since advancing to the quarterfinals in 2010 for her best result at Roland Garros.
   Wozniacki will face No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, on Sunday in their first meeting on clay. Wozniacki leads the head-to-head series 7-6.
   In the second round of men's doubles on Friday, No. 3 seeds and two-time French Open champions Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) lost to Sam Groth of Australia and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-3.
   The 39-year-old Bryan twins won the last of their record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the 2014 U.S. Open.
   Groth, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and 220 pounds (100.0 kilograms), holds the unofficial record for the world's fastest serve. He unleashed a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) rocket in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   Lindstedt, 40, played at Fresno State before transferring to Pepperdine and reaching the 1998 NCAA doubles final with Kelly Gullett. In that match, they lost to the Bryans 6-4 in the third set.