McDonald breaks through, braces for Nadal

Mackenzie McDonald, a San Francisco Bay Area product,
defeated qualifier Steven Diez of Canada in the first round
of the French Open. File photo by Paul Bauman

    The good news for Mackenzie McDonald is that he won a main-draw match in the French Open for the first time.

   The bad news is he plays Rafael Nadal next.

   McDonald, a 25-year-old product Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated qualifier Steven Diez, a 29-year-old Canadian based in Spain, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 today in a matchup of undersized players in chilly Paris.

   Diez, 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters) and 167 pounds (75 kilograms), broke with McDonald serving for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, but McDonald broke right back to advance.

   McDonald, 5-foot-10 (1.77 meters) and 160 pounds (72 kilograms), pounded 11 aces and committed two double faults in the first-time meeting.

   McDonald played at UCLA for three years (2014-16), turning pro after winning the NCAA singles and doubles titles in 2016 as a junior. He won his first Challenger title in Fairfield, Calif., 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) north of Piedmont, in 2017 and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018.

   Last year, McDonald reached a career-high No. 57 in April but underwent right hamstring surgery in June and sat out the rest of the season. Now ranked No. 236, he is playing with a protected ranking.

   Nadal, seeking his fourth consecutive French Open title and 13th overall, beat Belarus' Egor Gerasimov, a semifinalist in last year's Aptos (Calif.) Challenger, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Nadal and McDonald, now based at the USTA National Campus near Orlando, Fla., are set to meet for the first time on Wednesday. 

   Like McDonald, CiCi Bellis was born and raised in the Bay Area, trains at the USTA National Campus and is rebounding from surgery. She lost to left-hander Bernarda Pera, a 25-year-old American born in Croatia, 7-6 (3), 6-1.

   Bellis, a right-hander who had three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow in 2018-19, played in the French Open for the first time since reaching the third round in 2017.

   Sixth-seeded Serena Williams, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, eliminated Kristie Ahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, in straight sets in the first round for the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament. Williams triumphed 7-6 (2), 6-0 after beating Ahn 7-5, 6-3 in the U.S. Open.

   Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia and eighth-seeded Gael Monfils, a 34-year-old Frenchman, lost in the opening round. 

   Marton Fucsovics of Hungary ousted Medvedev, the U.S. Open runner-up in 2019 and a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows this month, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-1. Fucsovics, ranked No. 63, had been 0-14 against top-10 players. Medvedev, 24, fell to 0-4 in the French Open.

   Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, the champion of the 2017 Aptos Challenger, downed Monfils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. The 23-year-old Bublik, ranked No. 49, had been 0-5 against top-10 players. Monfils, a Roland Garros semifinalist in 2008, committed 12 double faults.

   Third-seeded Dominic Thiem, the runner-up in the last two French Opens, outclassed Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion playing on his 32nd birthday, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

   Thiem, 27, played for the first time since winning his maiden Grand Slam title in the U.S. Open. He defeated Cilic in four sets in the third round at Flushing Meadows.

   Lorenzo Giustino, a 29-year-old Italian qualifier, topped Corentin Moutet, a 21-year-old left-hander from France, 0-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), 2-6, 18-16 in 6 hours, 5 minutes for his first Grand Slam victory. The fifth set lasted 3 hours. 

   The match fell 28 minutes short of the Roland Garros record, Fabrice Santoro's victory over fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the first round in 2004.

   Iga Swiatek, 19, of Poland eliminated 15th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova, last year's runner-up to Ashleigh Barty at 19, 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes. Vondrousova, a 21-year-old left-hander, had left-wrist surgery last summer and sat out for the rest of the year.

   In 2018, Swiatek won the Wimbledon girls singles title and the French Open girls doubles crown with American Caty McNally.

Djokovic beats Monfils in bizarre U.S. Open semifinal

Novak Djokovic, shown in 2015, improved to 13-0 against Gael Monfils.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gael Monfils imitated Muhammad Ali.
   Novak Djokovic looked like "The Incredible Hulk."
   This, it's safe to say, was no ordinary Grand Slam semifinal.
   The result, though, was the same as always. Djokovic improved to 13-0 against Monfils with a wacky 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory on a steamy Friday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   In a desperate attempt to break through against Djokovic, the 10th-seeded Monfils said he employed Ali's "rope-a-dope" strategy by playing nonchalantly for the first two sets.
   ESPN commentator John McEnroe, however, blasted the 30-year-old Frenchman on the air for an apparent lack of effort.
   After dropping the second set, Monfils reverted to his usual flashy style of play. It worked, for a while.
   Djokovic, disgusted at missed break-point opportunities late in the third set, ripped his shirt and briefly played with his chest partially exposed.
   A trainer massaged Djokovic's left shoulder and then his right one during the match, but he said afterward that he wasn't concerned.
   Djokovic will seek his second straight U.S. Open title and third overall on Sunday (1 p.m. PDT on ESPN) against third-seeded Stan Wawrinka. The 31-year-old Swiss advanced to his first U.S. Open final by beating sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori, the 2014 runner-up to Marin Cilic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
   Djokovic, a 29-year-old Serb, also will try to earn his third Grand Slam title of the year and 13th overall to break a tie with Roy Emerson for sole possession of fourth place on the career list. Roger Federer holds with record with 17, and Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras are tied for second with 14.
   Djokovic is 19-4 against Wawrinka, whose last victory in the series came in the 2015 French Open final. Wawrinka also defeated Nadal for the 2014 Australian Open crown.
   This will be the third meeting between Djokovic and Wawrinka in the U.S. Open. Djokovic won 6-4, 6-1, 3-1, retired in the round of 16 in 2012 and 2-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals in 2013.
   In the Men's Collegiate Invitational, top-seeded Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, who has helped Virginia win the last two NCAA titles, demolished third-seeded Tom Fawcett of Stanford 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.
   Kwiatkowski will face fourth-seeded Austin Smith, who completed his eligibility at Georgia this year, for the title of the eight-man tournament.
   The invitational began in 2014 to bring attention to college tennis during the U.S. Open.

On crummy motels, heat, Vika, etc. in Indian Wells

Eventual champion Victoria Azarenka begins
 a warmup session by tossing a football.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Random observations after spending three days in the middle of the second week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a suburb of Palm Springs:

   —The area features numerous swanky hotels. Then there was my motel in lovely Indio. I don't want to say it was cheap, but across the street was Silva's Radiator, and around the corner was the Riverside County Detention Center (they can't just call it a jail). Nothing says "resort area" like barbed wire.

   —I've attended the BNP Paribas Open annually since 2009, and I still can't get used to the "o" being silent in Coachella Valley, where the Palm Springs area is situated.

   —You don't have to be Dr. Oz or House to figure out why there's a pharmacy on seemingly every corner in the Ca-chell-a Valley. Because of the year-round warm weather, Palm Springs is, above all, a retirement community. 

   —Overheard as a female fan talked on her cellphone: "I want you to call your kidney guy for an appointment in two weeks." See what I mean?

   —Even in March, the temperature reaches the high 80s and low 90s in Indian Wells. Players have to be in phenomenal shape to battle for up to three hours; it's tough just to sit in the afternoon sun and watch the matches. Memo to self: Don't come here in July.

   —In fact, the players are unbelievably fit. Unlike their golf counterparts, pro tennis players can't afford to have an ounce of fat since their sport places a premium on movement and endurance.

   —When the sun goes down, though, the temperature is ideal.

   —It doesn't get any better than when you're sipping an ice-cold lemonade in a shaded seat, watching the best tennis players in the world in a beautiful setting and listening to The Beatles ("Drive My Car," "Good Day Sunshine," etc.) on the PA system during changeovers or between matches.

Stan Wawrinka's one-handed backhand
is the most beautiful shot in tennis.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Proud Mary") and Eric Clapton ("Layla") work, too. My wife hates CCR, but she teaches school and stayed home in Sacramento.

   —OK, so I'm old, too. But not retirement age yet.

   —The tournament volunteers are very helpful and friendly, contributing to the relaxed atmosphere.

   —Stan Wawrinka's one-handed backhand is the most beautiful shot in tennis. Richard Gasquet's, Dominic Thiem's and Philipp Kohlshreiber's are pretty sweet, too. 

   —It isn't just John Isner's 140-plus-mph (225-plus kph) first serve that's a weapon. In a 6-4, 7-6 (4) third-round victory over Adrian Mannarino, the 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Isner's second delivery consistently bounced over the head of the 5-foot-11 (1.81-meter) Frenchman, who grew increasingly frustrated.

   —In the next round, 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Kei Nishikori saved a match point in his 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over the ninth-seeded Isner. With his tremendous hand-eye coordination, the fifth-seeded Nishikori blocked back several of Isner's first-serve rockets to pull out the tiebreakers.

   —Two kids clamored for Nishikori to throw them a souvenir after he beat Isner. Nishikori tossed each of them a towel, and both kids ran off without saying thank you.

   —Eighteen-year-old Alexander Zverev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German whom Rafael Nadal touted as a possible future No. 1, also is impressive in the interview room. Zverev displayed candor, maturity and impeccable English after losing to Nadal in the fourth round. When asked about blowing a putaway volley while holding match point, Zverev admitted, "I missed probably the easiest shot I had the whole match." Regarding the possibility of reaching No. 1, Zverev asserted, "This is painful right now, but it doesn't change anything about the process."
   —Memo to "journalists": Please ask a question. "Talk about ... " and "Your thoughts on ... " are not questions.

   —By the way, when did "journalists" become "media members"? Why use two words when one will do, except to sound like a pompous jerk?
   —It didn't take long for 13th-seeded Gael Monfils to exhibit his renowned athleticism in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Federico Delbonis in the fourth round. Monfils hit a seemingly impossible backhand with the ball behind him and won the point.

Alexander Zverev, 18, was impressive in the interview
room as well as on the court. Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Delbonis, who stunned second-seeded Andy Murray in the third round, has a bizarre hitch in his service motion. The 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) left-hander from Argentina starts to toss the ball, brings his arm back down, then goes through with an unusually high toss. Didn't bother Monfils, though.

   —Novak Djokovic stood up several hundred fans who packed Practice Court 2 for his scheduled session at noon on Wednesday, a day off for him. By 11:30 a.m., the stands were almost full, and by 12:30 p.m., most of the fans gave up and left. Hey, Djoker, if you're not going to practice, don't sign up for the court. If something comes up, have someone in your entourage call the staff so the fans can be notified. As one of them said at 1:15 p.m.: "(Tournament officials) say he's still going to show up but his coach doesn't know when. Very considerate. Without the fans, you're nothing. Remember that." 

   —Just then, Victoria Azarenka arrived to warm up for her match that evening. The 26-year-old Belarusian, who lived in the Phoenix area for many years, began by running pass patterns along a baseline, catching footballs tossed by a member of her entourage and throwing them back. The 49ers might want to take a flier on her in next month's draft.
   —Djokovic went on to win his third straight Indian Wells title and record fifth overall. Azarenka upset Serena Williams for her second BNP crown. That morning, tournament director and CEO Ray Moore opened his big mouth about the women's tour. 

   —Former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs, who reached the fourth round as a qualifier, has the greatest stare in tennis. When displeased, she lowers her head and shoots daggers from her eyes. 

   —Gibbs is feisty, too. Two years ago, in a loss to fellow American Louisa Chirico in the second round of the FSP Gold River Challenger in Sacramento, Gibbs stomped on her racket because she didn't like the string tension. 

   —Players engage in a lot of wishful thinking when they challenge line calls. They're wrong about 90 percent of the time. Often, it's not even close.

   —Players weren't the only celebrities in the BNP Paribas Open. After one match, a woman insisted on having her picture taken with charismatic chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
   —Fans could putt on a small green set up by the Indian Wells Golf Resort in the shopping area of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the site of the BNP Paribas Open. One guy was taking practice swings and intently studying his putt. Hey, Bubba, putt the ball already. This isn't the Masters. 

Azarenka, Pliskova breeze into BNP semifinals

   Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova made quick work of their opponents in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
   Azarenka, the No. 13 seed and 2012 champion from Belarus, blitzed unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-0 in 67 minutes on Thursday in Indian Wells.
   Rybarikova, at No. 97 the lowest-ranked BNP quarterfinalist since No. 99 Jamie Hampton in 2012, was treated for a right leg injury after the first set.
   "I think the key today was the start," Azarenka told reporters. "I really started aggressive, taking opportunities and I felt like I was in full control.
   "I think in the second set she wasn't feeling really well, but it was important for me to stay in the moment and keep dictating. It's easy to lose focus and pay too much attention to your opponent."
   Pliskova, seeded 18th, dominated unseeded Daria Kasatkina, an 18-year-old Russian, 6-3, 6-2 in 63 minutes.
   Pliskova also reached the doubles final with Julia Goerges of Germany. They will face Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe, playing near her home in the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe. Both teams are unseeded
   In tonight's women's singles semifinals, top seed and two-time champion Serena Williams will face No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland at 7 PDT, followed by the 6-foot (1.83-meter) Azarenka against the 6-foot-1 (1.86-meter) Pliskova. ESPN2 will televise both matches.
   Williams is 9-0 against Radwanska, and the series between Azarenka and Pliskova is tied 1-1.
   On the men's side, No. 12 seed Milos Raonic of Canada reached the BNP semifinals for the second consecutive year, and No. 15 David Goffin of Belgium advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
   Raonic topped No. 13 Gael Monfils of France 7-5, 6-3, and the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Goffin eliminated 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6 (4), 6-2.
   Raonic, 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters), lost to Roger Federer in last year's semis after beating three-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarters.
   Monfils was trying to become the first Frenchman to reach the semis at Indian Wells since Guy Forget lost to Jim Courier in the 1991 final.
   Goffin survived four set points in the tiebreaker against Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, and saved 11 of 12 break points.
   "It's good that in tennis you can find some solution against big players like Marin or Milos or (John) Isner,” Goffin said. “Maybe I'm quicker. I think I can take the ball earlier. I have other weapons. That's why tennis is a nice sport.
   "I'm really happy with the way I managed the important points. I think it was the key of the match, to win the first set and to be more relaxed in the second.”
   Goffin won in straight sets for the first time in his four tournament matches after receiving a first-round bye. He saved two match points against 18-year-old wild card Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the second round and edged third-seeded Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5) in the fourth round to end a 14-match losing streak against top-10 players.
   The other two men's semifinals are scheduled for this afternoon. No. 4 seed Nadal will meet No. 5 Kei Nishikori at noon (ESPN), followed by No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Tennis Channel).
   Djokovic has won the last two Indian Wells titles and four overall.
   In a men's doubles semifinal, No. 7 seeds and reigning U.S. Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France nipped eighth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 4-6, 6-3 [10-6].
   No. 6 seeds and defending champions Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Jack Sock of the United States are scheduled to play unseeded Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez of Spain today in the other semifinal.

U.S. Open Day 11: Federer saves match points in win

Roger Federer rallied from two sets down, saving two match
points, to beat Gael Monfils, 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- Second-seeded Roger Federer saved two match points and defeated No. 20 Gael Monfils of France 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time since 2011.
   The 33-year-old Federer has won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, including five in the U.S. Open (2004-08). His last major crown came at Wimbledon in 2012.
   Monfils, 28, was trying to advance to his second major semifinal and first since the 2008 French Open. 
   Upset of the day -- No. 14 seed Marin Cilic, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Croat, reached his second Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 6 Tomas Berdych, a 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Czech.

   Notable -- Fourth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia will meet unseeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Flavia Pennetta of Italy on Saturday for the women's doubles title.
   Hingis, an International Tennis Hall of Famer, will turn 34 on Sept. 30. Her last Grand Slam title was the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2006.
   Women's semifinal matchups (seedings in parentheses) -- Caroline Wozniacki (10) vs. Peng Shuai today not before 10:45 a.m. PDT (CBS). Wozniacki leads the head-to-head series 5-1 with five straight wins.
   Serena Williams vs. Makarova (17) today not before 12:45 p.m. PDT (CBS). Williams leads 3-1, all on hardcourts. In the players' two Grand Slam meetings, both in 2012, Makarova won 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the Australian Open and lost 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of the U.S. Open.
   Men's semifinal matchups -- Djokovic (1) vs. Nishikori (10) on Saturday. Djokovic leads 2-1, including a withdrawal by Nishikori in the Miami semifinals in March because of a groin injury.
   Federer (2) vs. Cilic (14) on Saturday. Federer leads 5-0, but their last meeting was close. Federer prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 early last month in the third round at Toronto on a hardcourt.
   U.S. report -- Williams pursues her third consecutive U.S. Open title, Bob and Mike Bryan will play for the men's doubles crown, and Abigail Spears will appear in the mixed doubles final.
   Reaching the junior singles quarterfinals were two American boys (No. 4 Stefan Kozlov and No. 6 Francis Tiafoe) and three U.S. girls (No. 4 Tornado Alicia Black, qualifier Caroline Dolehide and wild card Katerina Stewart). No American boys or girls reached the doubles semifinals.
   Northern California connection -- In an all-American men's doubles semifinal, the top-seeded Bryans beat unseeded Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. All except Ram played at Stanford -- the Bryans in 1997 and 1998, and Lipsky from 2000 to 2003.
   The 36-year-old Bryan twins, seeking their fifth U.S. Open title and 100th overall crown, will meet 11th-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez of Spain. Like Williams, the Bryans seek their first Grand Slam title of 2014 after dominating last year.
   Top-seeded CiCi Bellis of Atherton, near Stanford, and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic withdrew from their girls doubles quarterfinal against seventh-seeded Viktoria Kuzmova and Kristina Schmiedlova of Slovakia. Bellis has a sore wrist.
   Fast fact -- Cilic missed last year's U.S. Open while serving a four-month doping suspension. He said he ingested a stimulant inadvertently.
   Quote -- Berdych, on his loss to Cilic: "At least the third set was close."

U.S. Open Day 9 highlights: Cilic wins marathon

Marin Cilic practices with Novak
Djokovic at Indian Wells in March.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- No. 14 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia topped No. 26 Gilles Simon of France 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in 4 hours, 13 minutes to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the third time.
   On the hottest day of the year in New York, 92 degrees (33.3 Celsius) and 44 percent humidity, Cilic and Simon played the second-longest match of the tournament. It was six minutes shorter than No. 10 Kei Nishikori's victory over No. 5 Milos Raonic that ended at 2:26 a.m. today New York time.     
   Upset of the day -- No. 20 seed Gael Monfils of France defeated No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-5, 7-6 (6), 7-5. Dimitrov, 23, advanced to his first major semifinal last month at Wimbledon.
   Monfils will face No. 2 Roger Federer in an attempt to equal his best Grand Slam result, an appearance in the 2008 French Open semifinals.
   Notable -- No. 10 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark crushed No. 13 Sara Errani of Italy 6-0, 6-1 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2011 U.S. Open.
   Unseeded Peng Shuai, 28, of China advanced to her first major semifinal in her 37th attempt with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Belinda Bencic, 17, of Switzerland. Peng, who uses two hands on both sides, climbed to No. 1 in women's doubles in February. She is now No. 3.
   Women's semifinal matchups (seedings in parentheses) -- Wozniacki (10) vs. Peng. Wozniacki leads the head-to-head series 5-1 with five straight wins. The other pairing will be determined today. Serena Williams (1) will face Flavia Pennetta (11), and Victoria Azarenka (16) will meet Ekaterina Makarova (17).
   Men's quarterfinal matchups -- Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Andy Murray (8), Stan Wawrinka (3) vs. Nishikori (10), Tomas Berdych (6) vs. Cilic (14) and Federer (2) vs. Monfils (20).
   U.S. report -- Unseeded Serena and Venus Williams, two-time U.S. Open champions, lost to fourth-seeded Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-6 (5), 6-4. Serena, generally considered to have the best serve in women's history, double-faulted on the last two points.
   Northern California connection -- Two 15-year-olds from the San Francisco Bay Area lost in the second round of girls singles. Top-seeded CiCi Bellis of Atherton fell to Natalia Vikhlyantseva of Russia 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-1, and Michaela Gordon of Saratoga succumbed to Anna Bondar of Hungary 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
   Bellis stunned 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, the Australian Open runner-up in January, in the second round of women's singles last week.
   In the first round of girls doubles, top-seeded Bellis and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic won, but Gordon and American Sophia Kenin lost.
   In men's doubles, top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan will meet unseeded Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram in an all-American semifinal. All except Ram played at Stanford, the Bryans in 1997 and 1998, and Lipsky from 2000 to 2003.
   Fast fact -- Federer owns the career record for most Grand Slam quarterfinals in the Open era (43).
   Quote --An emotional Peng in an on-court interview after her victory: "It's an amazing time for me. I love tennis and love to play, and it's tough sometimes when I'm thinking of giving up and almost stopping playing because I don't know if I can make it or not, but my coach and parents make sure I keep fighting and never give up."

Bryan brothers end drought with Vienna title

   It was an eternity for the Bryan brothers.
   The top seeds and former Stanford All-Americans won their first title since Wimbledon, beating second-seeded Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 7-6 (10), 6-3 Sunday in the $905,000 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
   It was the seventh title of the year and record 74th overall for the Bryans, the 33-year-old identical twin sons of longtime Capitals coach Wayne Bryan. Both teams already had qualified for next month's Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
   "It feels good to get back in the winner's circle," Mike Bryan said on the ATP World Tour's Web site. "We haven't won a title since Wimbledon. Hopefully, it bodes well for the rest of the indoor season, and hopefully we continue playing well and build toward London."
   The Bryans had gone six tournaments without a crown since winning their second Wimbledon title in July. Included in the drought was an opening-round loss in the U.S. Open, the first time they had fallen that early in a Grand Slam tournament in 10 years.
   The pair almost lost in the first round in Vienna, too, saving one match point in a 6-7 (9), 7-6 (4), 11-9 tiebreak victory over Christopher Kas of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria. The Bryans played in Vienna for the first time since losing in the first round of their inaugural appearance in 200
   "It feels good to come back to Vienna since we haven't been back since 2002," Mike said. "I thought we played really well all week. We escaped a scare in the first round and felt we had no pressure the rest of the week. I thought today was great tennis and it came down to a few points in that first-set tiebreaker and we had a little luck and carried the momentum."
   During a break after the U.S. Open, the Bryans visited San Quentin State Prison near San Francisco last month. In other words, they went from a Slam to the slammer. To read about the experience, go to: www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/09/Features/Bryans-Put-On-Clinic-At-San-Quentin-Prison.aspx.
   Ex-Capital wins title -- Third-seeded Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal beat eighth-seeded Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-2 to win the Puerto Rico $25,000 Women's Challenger in Bayamon.
   It was the second career singles title for the 18-year-old Larcher De Brito, a former Sacramento Capital. She also won a $25,000 tournament in Rancho Santa Fe in February.
   At 14 in 2007, Larcher De Brito helped the Capitals win the last of their record six World  TeamTennis titles. She was the youngest player in WTT history at the time, but 14-year-old Madison Keys of the Philadelphia Freedoms surpassed her by 19 days in 2009.
   The 5-foot-10 Keys, who reached the second round of the U.S. Open in August, is considered the top prospect in U.S. women's tennis.
   Hewitt, Sock in SAP Open -- Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and promising American teenager Jack Sock accepted wild cards into the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, tournament officials announced.
   Hewitt, a 30-year-old Australian, reached No. 1 in the world 10 years ago and won the SAP Open in 2002. Sock, a 19-year-old resident of Overland Park, Kan., won this year's U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Melanie Oudin and reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles final at last month's $100,000 Sacramento Challenger.
   They will join defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada, three-time SAP Open champion Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas, 10th-ranked Gael Monfils of France, former world No. 4 James Blake of Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco native Sam Querrey in the SAP Open, scheduled for Feb. 13-19 at HP Pavilion.
   Tennis legend John McEnroe is scheduled to headline a doubles exhibition match on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
   For more information, go to http://www.sapopentennis.com/.

TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Istanbul

Singles final

   Petra Kvitova (3), Czech Republic, def. Victoria Azarenka (4), Belarus, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Doubles final

   Liezel Huber, Houston, and Lisa Raymond (2), Wayne, Pa., def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik (1), Slovenia, 6-4, 6-4.

Young shocks Monfils to reach first ATP final

   Unseeded Donald Young of Atlanta stunned second-seeded Gael Monfils of France 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) early Saturday in the $587,000 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok to reach his first career ATP World Tour final.
   Young, ranked a career-high 55th in the world, will crack the top 50 regardless of how he does against top-seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain. The fourth-ranked Murray advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Gilles Simon of France. Monfils is ranked ninth.
   Young, who won the 2008 Sacramento Challenger, is 1-1 lifetime against Murray. Both matches have come this year. Young won 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first round at Indian Wells in March, and Murray coasted 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16 at the recent U.S. Open.
   Both players have won the Aptos Challenger, Murray in 2005 and Young in 2007.      
   NorCal players fall -- It was a rough day for Northern California players.     Maria Sanchez of Modesto lost twice, in a rout and a heartbreaker, Friday; Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove also fell in the heartbreaker; and former Sacramento State star Kiryl Harbatsiuk lost to a 137-pound player.
   Unseeded Alexa Glatch of Newport Beach routed Sanchez, a wild card, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the $50,000 Lexus of Las Vegas Open. Then the third-seeded team of Glatch and Mashona Washington of Houston edged the unseeded Sanchez and Schnack 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 tiebreak in the doubles semifinals.
   Meanwhile, qualifier Sanam Singh of India defeated the unseeded Harbatsiuk, from Belarus, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 USTA Futures of Laguna Niguel. Both players ended their four-year college careers in May. Singh starred at Virginia, reaching the NCAA semifinals in 2009.
   Natomas Men's Challenger in Sacramento -- Top-seeded Raven Klaasen of South Africa will meet reigning NCAA champion Steve Johnson of USC today in the first round of qualifying for the $100,000 Rely Aid Natomas Racquet Club Challenger.
  Klaasen, ranked a career-high No. 216, and Johnson, coming off two consecutive Futures singles titles in Southern California, are scheduled to play the fourth match on Center Court. Play begins at 10 a.m.
  The other qualifying seeds, in order, are Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia, Jamie Baker of Great Britain, Pierre-Ludovic Duclos of Canada, Carsten Ball of Australia, Simon Stadler of Germany, Alex Bogdanovic of Great Britain and Daniel Kosakowski of Downey.
   Kosakowski, UCLA's top player as a freshman last season, turned pro after winning the $15,000 Park Terrace Pro Tennis tournament in Sacramento in June.