Despite loss, teenager Bellis nears top 50 in world

CiCi Bellis (above in 2016) and Sorana Cirstea (below
in 2013) meet the press during the Bank of the West
Classic at Stanford. Photos by Paul Bauman

   Despite losing today in the second round of the Madrid Open, CiCi Bellis is closing in on a top-50 world ranking.
   For the second consecutive week, the 18-year-old San Francisco Bay Area product lost 6-3, 6-2 after beating a top-30 player on clay.
   Bellis fell to resurgent Sorana Cirstea, a 27-year-old Romanian, in Madrid after  upsetting No. 26 Daria Gavrilova, a Moscow-born Australian, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.
   Last week, Bellis lost to Varvara Lepchenko, a 30-year-old American from Uzbekistan, in the quarterfinals in Rabat, Morocco, after surprising No. 2 seed and defending champion Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-5 in 3 hours, 8 minutes.
   Unlike last week, Bellis had a day to rest before her loss. She was trying to beat a Grand Slam quarterfinalist or better for the sixth time. Cirstea reached the French Open quarters in 2009.
   Bellis, now based in Orlando, Fla., will rise about three spots to No. 52 on Monday. Three teenagers, all 19, are ranked in the top 50: No. 29 Ana Konjuh of Croatia, No. 46 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and No. 49 Naomi Osaka Of Japan.
   Bellis defeated Ostapenko in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last July en route to the quarterfinals. Bellis grew up in neighboring  Atherton.
   Bellis, who turned pro last September after reaching the third round of the U.S. Open as a qualifier, is by far the youngest woman in the top 100. Next is Konjuh, who's 15 months older than Bellis.
   Cirstea, ranked No. 83, will play No. 53 Misaki Doi of Japan for a berth in the Madrid quarterfinals. Doi, a 5-foot-3 (1.59-meter) left-hander, routed qualifier Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-1, 6-2 after ousting No. 9 seed Madison Keys in the first round.
   Keys, a 22-year-old American right-hander with a two-handed backhand, underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left wrist last November.
   Doi held a match point against Angelique Kerber in the first round of last year's Australian Open. Kerber went on to win the first of her two Grand Slam singles titles.
   Cirstea advanced to the Bank of the West semifinals in 2012 and climbed to a career-high No. 21 in 2013. However, she dropped out of the top 200 in 2015 because of shoulder problems.

Teen Bellis beats another top-30 player

CiCi Bellis, playing in the U.S. Open last August, defeated
26th-ranked Daria Gavrilova on Sunday in the first round
of the Madrid Open on clay. Photo by Paul Bauman

   CiCi Bellis was back to her energetic self on Sunday.
   The 18-year-old product of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area beat 26th-ranked Daria Gavrilova of Australia 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 on clay in the first round of the Madrid Open.
   It was Bellis' sixth victory over a top-30 player and fourth this year, even though she missed the first six weeks of 2017 with a hamstring injury.
   On Thursday, a physically drained Bellis lost to American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals on clay in Rabat, Morocco. Bellis was playing for the third consecutive day after winning two matches 7-5 in the third set. On Wednesday, she survived one match point and outlasted No. 2 seed and defending champion Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-5 in 3 hours, 8 minutes.
    Bellis, by far the youngest player in the top 100 at No. 59, will play Sorana Cirstea, a 27-year-old wild card from Romania, for the first time in Madrid on Tuesday. Cirstea, ranked No. 83, upset 13th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Rabat champion, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
   Cirstea reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2009 and the Toronto final in 2013. In the latter tournament, she beat Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova and Li Na before losing to Serena Williams. That catapulted Cirstea to a career-high No. 21.
   However, Cirstea dropped out of the top 200 in 2015 because of shoulder injuries.