Nishikori tops Fritz for fourth straight Memphis title

Kei Nishikori, playing at Indian Wells last
March, became the fourth active player to
win the same tournament at least four times.
The others: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and
Novak Djokovic. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kei Nishikori joined illustrious company today, but Taylor Fritz made him work.
   Japan's Nishikori, seeded first and ranked seventh, defeated Fritz, an 18-year-old U.S. wild card, 6-4, 6-4 to win the Memphis (Tenn.) Open for the fourth straight year.
   "It's amazing to win four in a row," Nishikori, who lost the first three games against Fritz, told reporters. "I tried not to think about it too much this week. I didn't feel a lot of pressure.
   "It was a tough start again today, but I managed it better. I played better tennis as the match went on, and I'm happier with the second set. I only gave him a few points on my serve in the last few games."
   The only other active men to win a tournament at least four times in a row are Roger Federer (five Wimbledons, five U.S. Opens and four Halle titles twice), Rafael Nadal (five and four French Opens, eight Monte Carlo crowns and five Barcelona championships) and Novak Djokovic (four ATP World Tour Finals and four Beijing titles).
   Fritz, who was playing in this third tour-level event, became the second-fastest American to reach at ATP final. John Isner was the runner-up at Washington, D.C., in 2007 in his second ATP tournament. He was a 22-year-old University of Georgia graduate at the time.
   "I definitely didn't expect to get to the finals so quickly starting on the ATP level, but it's a great accomplishment to get here," said Fritz, whose parents (Guy Fritz and former top-10 player Kathy May) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. "I'm really happy despite losing the finals because I had a great week. So I have a lot of confidence moving forward, and I hope I can keep these kind of results going."
   Fritz, who was ranked No. 694 before winning back-to-back Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield last October, will rise to No. 103 when the new list is released on Monday.
   The slow court in Memphis favored the speedy, 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Nishikori over the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Fritz.
   During the final, Tennis Challenger commentator and former top-10 player Jimmy Arias described Fritz as "a power player. He doesn't always move his feet well, but he has amazing hands."
   Nishikori wasn't the only player to repeat in the tournament. Unseeded Mariusz Fystenberg of Poland and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico won their second straight Memphis title, beating fourth-seeded Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4.
   Querrey, a San Francisco native, swept the Memphis singles and doubles titles in 2010. His partner then was Isner.

Fritz becomes 2nd-fastest American to gain ATP final

Taylor Fritz, shown en route to the title in the Sacramento
Challenger last October, reached the Memphis Open final
in only his third ATP tournament. Photo by Paul Bauman

   It's too soon to anoint Taylor Fritz as the savior of U.S. men's tennis.
   But the 18-year-old prodigy is off to an incredible start.
   The wild card from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area beat unseeded Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 today to reach the final of the Memphis (Tenn.) Open.
   Fritz, playing only his third tour-level event, became the second-fastest American finalist in ATP history. John Isner reached the Washington, D.C., final in 2007, losing to countryman Andy Roddick, in his second ATP tournament.
   But at 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter), Isner is six inches (15.2 centimeters) taller than Fritz and was a 22-year-old Georgia graduate at the time. Fritz turned 18 last October.
   No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 U.S. Open final.
   Fritz became the youngest American to reach a tour-level final since 17-year-old Michael Chang won Wembley in 1989.
   "It's the best feeling in the world," Fritz told reporters. "To be here and think that it's the final is crazy. I'm really excited that I got to this level and I've proven that I belong here."
   Fans, starved for a U.S. star, began chanting Fritz's name in the third set.
   "It's amazing to have this support," said Fritz, who needed five match points to subdue the 25-year-old Berankis in 1 hour, 41 minutes. "I feel so loved here. I owe a lot to the crowd for pumping me up."
   Fritz will have the homecourt advantage again in Sunday's final against top-seeded Kei Nishikori (1 p.m. PST, Tennis Channel), although the 26-year-old Japanese star has built a substantial following in Memphis as the three-time defending champion.

   Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up to Marin Cilic, downed fourth-seeded Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach his 16th career ATP final. Querrey, a San Francisco native, won the Memphis title in 2010.
   Fritz will try to become the first teenager to win an ATP title since Cilic at New Haven in 2008 and the youngest player in the top 100. He is six months younger than No. 70 Alexander Zverev, an 18-year-old German who stands 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters). The top-ranked teenager in the world is Borna Coric, 19, of Croatia at No. 38.

   Northern California fans are familiar with Fritz, who won the $100,000 Sacramento and $50,000 Fairfield Challengers back to back last October at 17. Ranked No. 694 before Sacramento, Fritz will rise to No. 103 with a loss to the seventh-ranked Nishikori and No. 82 with a win.

Kei Nishikori, playing at Indian Wells
last year, seeks his fourth straight Mem-
phis Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fritz used his tennis smarts and power to turn around today's match after Berankis, 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), dominated the first set. Fritz finished with 17 aces.
   "I honestly felt he was unbeatable in the first set," said Fritz, whose parents (Guy Fritz and former top-10 player Kathy May) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. "He was making me look awful. I didn't think there was much I could do. I tried to changed things up in my game. He was returning my serves and putting my on defense.
   "In the second set, I told myself that the way I was serving wasn't going to cut it. I needed to crank it up a lot. I started hitting my serves 5 to 10 miles per hour faster. That was the biggest difference. Once I was holding my serve, it put pressure on him. That's what allowed me to play my game more and allowed me to win."
   Berankis was attempting to reach his second ATP final. He reached the title match in Los Angeles in 2012 as a qualifier, losing to Querrey 6-0, 6-2.
   "I was very close (against Fritz)," said Berankis, a quarterfinalist in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose in 2012. "I played very well in the first set. Everything was working. In the second set, I started to play a little more careful, and Taylor took his chances and was all over me. ... You always have to keep up the plan and continue the same way throughout the match."
   Nishikori, also diminutive at 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters), can tie Connors' record of four Memphis titles (1978-79 and 1983-84).     
   "It will be (a) really big moment for me, to win four years in a row," Nishikori said. "But I try not to think about tomorrow. I (will) try to play good tennis again tomorrow. Taylor is another tough opponent. We never play before, and he's upcoming."
   Wild cards Fritz and Ryan Harrison of Austin, Texas, lost to fourth-seeded Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles area and Querrey 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles semifinals.
   Johnson and Querrey will play top seeds and defending champions Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico in the final. Fyrstenberg and Gonzalez outlasted unseeded Oliver Marach of Austria and Fabrice Martin of France 6-7 (7), 7-5 [15-13].
   Querrey won the Memphis doubles title in 2010 with countryman John Isner.

Fritz, 18, survives scare to gain Memphis semis

Taylor Fritz, serving en route to the title in the Fairfield,
Calif., Challenger last October, edged Benjamin Becker
6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals of the Memphis Open.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Once again, Taylor Fritz wriggled his way out of trouble.
   The 18-year-old wild card from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area edged Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5) in 2 hours, 20 minutes on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Memphis (Tenn.) Open.
   Becker, the oldest player in the singles draw at 34, served for the match at 6-5 in the third set, but Fritz broke him at 15.
   "It's incredible," Fritz told reporters. "I can't believe it. To come back in that way, with him serving for the match, I'll never forget that.
   "I told myself that the balls were worn out and that I just had to make him play. I tried to make him beat me under pressure.
   The match statistics were fairly even, except in one familiar area for the mentally tough Fritz. He saved 54 percent of the break points against him (6 of 11) to only 28 percent (2 of 7) for Becker, the 2004 NCAA singles champion from Baylor who ended Andre Agassi's career in the third round of the 2006 U.S. Open.
   The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Fritz, who won the Sacramento and Fairfield, Calif., Challengers back-to-back at 17 last October, became the youngest American to reach the semifinals on the ATP World Tour since 17-year-old Michael Chang won at Wembley in 1989.

   Fritz grew up in a prominent tennis family. His mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. May climbed to No. 10 in the world and reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.

   Taylor, who also advanced to the doubles semis in Memphis with Ryan Harrison, will face unseeded Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania in singles. The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Berankis, ranked No. 102, upset third-seeded Donald Young of Atlanta 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Becker, playing in the 2012 Sacramento Challenger,
served for the match against Fritz in Memphis.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fritz has skyrocketed from No. 694 entering Sacramento to No. 145. He will rise to about No. 114 with a loss to Berankis, around No. 103 with a runner-up finish or approximately No. 82 by winning the title.
   Two tough matches in a row for Fritz, plus his doubles success, could take a toll on him against Berankis, 25. Fritz ousted second-seeded Steve Johnson 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) in 1 hour, 56 minutes on Thursday.
   Berankis, who is not playing doubles, seeks his second career ATP singles final. He lost to 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Sam Querrey 6-0, 6-2 in Los Angeles in 2012.
   The fourth-seeded Querrey, in fact, will play top seed and three-time defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan in the other Memphis semifinal (5:30 p.m. PST, Tennis Channel). Querrery, a 28-year-old San Francisco native, defeated John Isner for the 2010 Memphis title.
   Nishikori, 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters), is 4-3 with a three-match winning streak against Querrey. During the streak, Nishikori prevailed 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in last year's Memphis semifinals.

Fritz, 18, upsets Johnson to reach Memphis quarters

Taylor Fritz serves in the Sacramento Challenger last
October. He won the title at 17. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Taylor Fritz continued his meteoric rise today with the biggest victory of his brief professional career.
   In a matchup of Southern California natives, the teenage wild card ousted second-seeded Steve Johnson 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) on Thursday in the second round of the $693,425 Memphis (Tenn.) Open.
   Fritz became the first American 18-year-old to reach the quarterfinals on the ATP World Tour since Denis Kudla at Newport in 2011. But whereas Kudla, now ranked 59th, is 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), Fritz is 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) in an age of power.
   Fritz also defeated a top-30 player for the first time. The 26-year-old Johnson is ranked 29th, third in the United States behind No. 12 John Isner and No. 23 Jack Sock.
   As Fritz did in winning the Sacramento and Fairfield, Calif., Challengers back-to-back last October, he displayed uncanny poise under pressure in Memphis. Fritz saved nine of 11 break points.
   "I played the big points well," Fritz, a lifelong resident of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, told reporters. "He had a lot more chances than me. He didn't do anything wrong, but I played just about as well as I could play on the big points. I think that was the difference."

Steve Johnson plays in the 2013 Aptos Challenger. He won
the title there in 2012. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Johnson, who was born in Orange and lives in nearby Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles area, often practices with Fritz.
   "I thought he played an insane match for him," Johnson said. "It's probably the best he's played on this level by far. I had a lot of chances, but he somehow just won all the big points. It's a tough one, definitely, for me."
   Fritz, who has soared from No. 694 entering Sacramento to No. 145, has a decent chance to reach the final. He has a favorable draw, and playing indoors helps the hard-serving Fritz because he doesn't have to contend with the sun or any wind.
   Fritz will face 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) German Benjamin Becker, the oldest player in the draw, for the first time today at noon PST.
   The 107th-ranked Becker defeated Australia's John Millman, who reached his first ATP quarterfinal last week in Montpellier, France, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
   Becker, who played during the day session, will be fresher than Fritz, who toiled at night. On the other hand, the 34-year-old Becker is almost twice as old as Fritz.
   The winner of the Fritz-Becker match will play either third-seeded Donald Young of Atlanta or Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania.
   Young, a 26-year-old left-hander generously listed at 6 feet (1.83 meters), is ranked No. 48. Berankis, only 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), is No. 102.
   Fritz will rise to about No. 134 with a loss to Becker and at least to around No. 114 with a win.
   Millman (2015), Johnson (2012) and Young (2007) all have won the Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, located 83 miles (133.6 kilometers) south of San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean.
   In the top half of the Memphis draw, No. 1 seed and three-time defending champion Kei Nishikori of Japan will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. Also, No. 4 seed and 2010 champion Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, will meet qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.
   Kukushkin was the runner-up to Marcos Baghdatis, who lost to Marin Klizan of Slovakia in the second round at Rotterdam on Thursday, at Aptos in 2014. Nishioka was a quarterfinalist there last year.
   As for Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up, it's true he's only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters). Sometimes, talent trumps height.

Millman tops Krajicek in rematch of Aptos final

John Millman and Austin Krajicek pose with their trophies and checks after
Millman's victory in the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, Calif.,
last August. Photo by Paul Bauman

   So far, the $693,425 Memphis Open on ATP World Tour has looked a lot like last summer's $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, Calif.
   In a rematch of the Aptos final, seventh-seeded John Millman of Australia outlasted Austin Krajicek of Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5 in 2 hours, 42 minutes today in the first round.
   And in a rematch of their second-round encounter in Aptos, Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan defeated fellow qualifier Jared Donaldson of Irvine, Calif., 6-3, 6-4 on Monday.
   Both outcomes were the same as in Aptos, located 83 miles (133.6 kilometers) south of San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean.
   Millman defeated the seventh-seeded Krajicek 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 last August, becoming the first No. 1 seed in the 28-year history of the Aptos Challenger to win the title.
   Nishioka, a left-hander seeded eighth, pulled off perhaps the shot of the year on the Challenger Tour in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over wild card Donaldson in Aptos.
   Millman, 26, made his Memphis debut after reaching his first ATP World Tour quarterfinal last week in Montpellier, France.
   The left-handed Krajicek reached the Memphis quarterfinals as a 24-year-old qualifier last year, upsetting fifth-seeded Ivo Karlovic (6-foot-11 or 2.11 meters) in the second round.
   Millman, ranked a career-high No. 66, will face the oldest player in the draw, 34-year-old Benjamin Becker of Germany, on Thursday. Becker, ranked No. 107, beat 18-year-old wild card Tommy Paul of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a late match.
   Millman is 1-0 against Becker, having won 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the first round indoors in Stockholm last October.
   Two other 18-year-old Americans, wild card Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, and qualifier Michael Mmoh of Bradenton, Fla., met in the first round in Memphis.
   Fritz, who won the Sacramento and Fairfield, Calif., Challengers back-to-back last October at 17, defeated the supremely athletic Mmoh 6-3, 6-4 for his first ATP World Tour victory.
   Fritz, who has soared from No. 694 entering Sacramento to No. 145, will play second-seeded Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles area on Thursday.
   Johnson, the 2012 Aptos champion, ranks third in the United States at a career-high No. 29. Six-foot-10 (2.08-meter) John Isner is No. 12, and Jack Sock is No. 23.
   Meanwhile, former Stanford stars Bob and Mike Bryan continued to struggle this year. The top seeds and three-time champions lost in the opening round to Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe of Austin, Texas, 1-6, 7-6 (5) [12-10].
   The 37-year-old Bryan twins, who own a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, have failed to advance past the third round in three tournaments this year. They lost in the first round at Sydney and, for the third straight year, the third round of the Australian Open.
   The Bryans have won more titles in Melbourne, six, than at any other Slam.
   Another former Aptos champion, 30-year-old Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, ousted fourth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the $1,945,657 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
   Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up to Roger Federer, defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan for the 2014 Aptos title.
   Fed Cup draw -- The United States will play at Australia on April 16-17 in the World Group playoffs. The winner will advance to the eight-nation World Group  that will compete for the 2017 Fed Cup championship.
   The International Tennis Federation held the World Group playoffs draw today in London.
   In the first round of World Group II last weekend, the United States defeated Poland 4-0 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and Australia edged Slovakia 3-2 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Raonic falls short in bid for second title in two weeks

   For all his physical and mental gifts, Milos Raonic lacks one thing.
   Experience.
   The 21-year-old Canadian standout has lost only twice this year, both times to crafty 30-year-old veterans.
   Jurgen Melzer became the latest player to outfox Raonic, winning 7-5, 7-6 (4) Sunday to take the title of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tenn.
   Raonic, 6-foot-5, is blessed with a percussive serve and forehand and an even temperament. But Melzer, an unseeded Austrian playing with a broken toe, rattled the fourth seed by periodically standing far back and jumping up and down like a prize fighter to return serve.
    Melzer, a 6-0 left-hander, also preyed on Raonic's less-dangerous two-handed backhand and transformed his size from a strength into a weakness with well-timed drop shots.
   Raonic lost his serve twice after getting broken only once en route to the final.
   "I'll learn much more from this (loss) than I would if the outcome was the other way," Raonic told reporters. "It doesn't matter what the outcome is. I just need to take the most I can from it. I'm young. There's a lot of space for improvement in my game, and that's what I have to look at in the next steps to get getter."
   Raonic had his nine-match winning streak (all in straight sets) stopped and fell to 15-2 this year. His other loss came to former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of last month's Australian Open. Sports Illustrated reported that Raonic was "visibly shaken" when Hewitt "puffed his chest and stared at his young Canadian opponent" after leveling the match at one set apiece.
   For the second consecutive year, Raonic came within one victory of becoming the first player since his idol, Pete Sampras, to win back-to-back titles in San Jose and Memphis. Sampras accomplished the feat in 1996.
   "It's like somebody dangling a piece of cake in front of you and taking it away in the last second," Raonic said. "I'll definitely be back (in Memphis)."
    Melzer, who beat top-seeded John Isner (6-foot-9) in the quarterfinals, jumped 19 places to No. 19 in the world with the title. After reaching a career-high No. 8 last April, he was plagued by back trouble. Melzer broke his right big toe Feb. 16 when it got caught in a hotel bedspread.
   "If anybody would've said (Feb. 17), especially in the morning after seeing the doctor, that I'll be holding the trophy next Sunday, I would've called him a fool," said Melzer, who earned his fourth career title and first since 2010. "But sometimes, life plays games like that. Maybe it took a bit of the pressure off in the beginning."          

Isner's loss gives Raonic bid another boost

   Milos Raonic's biggest obstacle -- literally and figuratively -- to a rare San Jose-Memphis double was removed Friday.
   Unseeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer, playing with a broken big toe on his right foot, beat 6-foot-9 John Isner, the top seed, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals of the Regional Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tenn.
   The 30-year-old Melzer, who told reporters he caught his toe in a bedspread in his hotel on Feb. 16, will face third-seeded Radek Stepanek today at 9 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel).
   Stepanek, the 2009 runner-up to Andy Roddick, ousted 2010 champion Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, 7-6 (5), 6-0. Stepanek, a 33-year-old Czech, came to Memphis after spending four days sick in bed at home in Florida and not practicing.
   Raonic, seeded fourth, defeated unseeded Olivier Rochus 6-3, 7-6 (3) to set up a semifinal against unseeded Benjamin Becker of Germany today at 1 p.m. (Tennis Channel). Raonic, who moved from Montenegro to Canada at age 3, is 6-foot-5 and Rochus 5-6.
   Raonic, the only seed left in the bottom half of the draw after the first round, improved to 14-1 this year with an eight-match winning streak. He is trying to become the first player to win the San Jose and Memphis titles back to back since his idol, Pete Sampras, in 1996. The last player before Sampras to do it was Brad Gilbert, from the San Francisco Bay Area, in 1989.
   Last week, the 21-year-old Raonic became the seventh player in the Open Era (since 1968) to win two consecutive titles in the Bay Area tournament. He joined Andy Murray (2006-07), Andy Roddick (2004-05), Mark Philippoussis (1999-2000), Sampras (1996-97), John McEnroe (1978-79) and Stan Smith (1968-69). The last player to win three straight crowns in the tournament, which dates to 1889, is Tony Trabert (1953-55).
   Olivetti ousted -- Six-foot-eight Albano Olivetti, a 20-year-old qualifier coming off a victory over eighth-ranked Mardy Fish, lost to Michael Llodra 7-6 (5), 7-5 in an all-French quarterfinal at the Open 13 in Marseille, France. Llodra, 31, won the title in 2010.

Upsets clear path for SAP Open champ in Memphis

   Not that Milos Raonic needed any help, but the rising star's road to his second straight Memphis final got a lot easier Wednesday.
   The other three seeds in Raonic's half of the draw lost in the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.
   Thirty-one-year-old Belgian veterans accounted for two of the upsets. Xavier Malisse knocked off No. 2 seed and defending champion Andy Roddick, slowed by injuries this year, 7-6 (8), 7-5, and Olivier Rochus edged No. 5 Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
   Roddick, a three-time Memphis champion, fell to Malisse for the first time in 10 matches and suffered his earliest loss in 12 appearances in the tournament.
   Also, Germany's Philipp Petzschner toppled France's Julien Benneteau, the sixth seed and a semifinalist in last week's SAP Open in San Jose, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).
   Raonic, the fourth seed coming off his second straight SAP Open title, downed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 7-6 (6). Raonic, 6-foot-5 with a booming serve, improved to 12-1 this year and 12-2 in career tiebreakers in Memphis and San Jose.   
   In the top half of the draw, Austrian veteran Jurgen Melzer nipped last week's SAP Open runner-up, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (4).
   Meanwhile, 40-year-old doubles specialist Mark Knowles, a longtime Sacramento Capitals star in World TeamTennis who won the SAP Open title with Malisse, lost in the opening round with 6-8 Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
   The first-time pair fell to top seeds and defending champions Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Daniel Nestor of Canada 7-5, 6-2. Knowles has won four Memphis doubles crowns, the first two with Nestor.
   Davis Cup teammates John Isner and Sam Querrey, the 2010 Memphis doubles champions, advanced to the semifinals with a 2-6, 6-3, 15-13 tiebreak victory over Bogomolov and Lukasz Kubot of Poland. Querrey, 24, was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Los Angeles area.  
   Kops-Jones loses -- Raquel Kops-Jones, a former NCAA doubles champion from Cal, and Abigail Spears of San Diego lost to fourth-seeded Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain and Anastasia Rodionova, an ex-Capital from Australia, 6-3, 2-6, 12-10 tiebreak in the quarterfinals of the $2 million Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  Kops-Jones and Spears had edged Llagostera Vives and Rodionova 3-6, 6-1, 10-8 tiebreak last week in the semifinals at Doha, Qatar.

Blake demolished in season debut

   James Blake finally made his season debut Tuesday.
   It did not go well.
   Blake, who has been sidelined by a knee injury, lost to fellow American Ryan Sweeting 6-0, 6-2 in 45 minutes in the first round of the Regional Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tenn.
   Blake, 32, is ranked 61st after reaching a career-high No. 4 in 2006. He was the runner-up to 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic in the Sacramento Challenger last October.
   Sweeting, a semifinalist in the Tiburon Challenger the week after Sacramento last fall, will face either third-seeded Radek Stepanek or qualifier Bobby Reynolds in the second round.
   San Francisco native Sam Querrey, who swept the singles and doubles titles in Memphis two years ago, beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
   The right-handed Querrey, a former top-20 player who underwent right elbow surgery last June, entered the match with a 1-5 record this year.
   “I feel pretty close,” the 99th-ranked Querrey, who will meet either seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson or qualifier Robby Ginepri in the second round, told reporters about returning to form. “I’m missing more forehands than I usually do, but I’m just committed to stepping up and hitting it. More and more are falling (in) every day.”
   On Monday, Querrey also won his opening doubles match. He and Davis Cup teammate John Isner, who teamed up for the 2010 Memphis crown, ousted fourth-seeded Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Christopher Kas of Germany 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2).
   Americans Scott Lipsky, a former Stanford All-American, and Rajeev Ram lost to Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia and Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-2, 4-6, 15-13 tiebreak Tuesday in the first round.
   Stanford women roll -- Playing for the first time since being ranked No. 1, the host Stanford women routed No. 36 Saint Mary's 6-1.
   The Cardinal's Ellen Tsay, a freshman from Pleasanton in the San Francisco Bay Area, annihilated Jade Frampton 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.