NorCal men fall in USTA National 40 semifinals

   Both Northern California men lost today in the semifinals of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   No. 3 seed Oren Motevassel of San Jose fell to No. 1 Tony Bujan, the two-time defending champion from Tustin, 6-3, 6-4. No. 9 David Smith of San Francisco bowed out against No. 4 Marcio Carlsson of Florianopolis, Brazil, 6-2, 6-1.
   Carlsson, 40, has lost only four games in five matches. He reached No. 119 in the world in 1998.
   Bujan, a 45-year-old teaching pro in Orange County, was a three-time All-American at TCU in the early 1990s.
   Motevassel, 48, won the title in 2011 and 2012. He climbed to a career-high No. 161 in 1997.

NorCal's Motevassel, Smith in Nat'l 40 Hard Court semis

   Two Northern California men reached the semifinals of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   No. 3 seed Oren Motevassel of San Jose dismissed No. 9 Jesse Ponwith of Scottsdale, Ariz., 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday. Also, No. 9 David Smith of San Francisco beat unseeded Shibu Lal of Novato 6-2, 6-4.
   Motevassel, the 2011 and 2012 champion, will face top seed and two-time defending champion Tony Bujan of Tustin on Saturday. Bujan, a three-time All-American at TCU in the early 1990s, topped No. 5 seed and 2009 champion Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo 6-3, 6-5.
   Smith will meet No. 4 Marcio Carlsson of Las Vegas. Carlsson crushed No. 5 Michael Chang -- no, not that Michael Chang -- of Anaheim 6-0, 6-1.
   On the women's side, No. 1 seed Amy Frazier of Rochester, Mich., will play No. 2 seed and defending champion Dina McBride of Stevenson Ranch in today's final.
   Frazier, who climbed to a career-high No. 13 in the world in 1995, held off third seed and 2011 champion Jennifer Dawson of Carlsbad 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. McBride overwhelmed unseeded Fanny Gamble of San Rafael 6-1, 6-0.
   In the men's doubles semifinals, No. 5 seeds Jared Jacobs of Scottsdale and Wiliam Quest of Ventura beat No. 2 Leon Bax of Mountain View and Nicolas Chasseray of San Francisco 7-5, 7-5.

NorCal's Greenwald advances in National 40 Hard Courts

No. 5 seed Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo breezed
into the second round of the USTA National 40 Hard
Courts. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

    Fifth-seeded Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo routed Wade Murphy of Rancho Palos Verdes 6-1, 6-1 on Monday in the first round of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Greenwald, 49, won the 2009 title and has reached the semifinals the past two years.
   Also advancing in straight sets were ninth seeds Nicolas Chasseray and David Smith of San Francisco and Leon Bax of Mountain View.
   Top-seeded Tony Bujan, the two-time defending champion from Tustin, and third-seeded Oren Motevassel, the 2011 and 2012 champion from San Jose, received first-round byes.
   So did the women's No. 1 seed, Amy Frazier of Rochester, Mich. Frazier, 43, won eight singles and four doubles titles on the WTA tour during her 16-year professional career.
   A two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, Frazier climbed to a career-high No. 13 in the world in 1995. She has beaten former world No. 1s Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis.

USTA NATIONAL 40 HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS

In La Jolla, Calif.

(Northern California results only)

Men's singles

First round

   Brian Matek, Placentia, def. Yoram Tal, San Francisco, 6-0, 6-0.

   Jeff Greenwald (5), San Anselmo, def. Wade Murphy, Rancho Palos Verdes, 6-1, 6-1.
   Leon Bax (9), Mountain View, def. Fernando Zuliani, Newport Coast, 6-0, 6-0.
   Joshua Prager, Yuba City, def. Remus Siclovan, Winnetka, Calif., 6-2, 6-1.
   Mike Brown, La Jolla, def. Eric White, Elk Grove, 6-2, 6-1.
   Chad Kawahara, San Diego, def. Dave Kuhn, Elk Grove, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
   Michael Chang (5), Anaheim, def. Jon Idemoto, San Francisco, 6-2, 6-1.
   Nicolas Chasseray (9), San Francisco, def. James Moulton, Wilmette, Ill., 6-1, 6-4.
   Shibu Lal, Novato, def. Rodrigo Araque, Yorba Linda, 6-2, 6-4.
   David Smith (9), San Francisco, def. Joshua Schwartz, San Diego, 6-0, 6-0.

 Men's doubles

First round

   Jay Damasco, Temecula, and Dave Fukami, La Jolla, def. Mitch Frazier, Roseville, and Wade Murphy, Rancho Palos Verdes, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
   Scott Crandall, West Hills, and Julio Rivera, Santa Monica, def. Brian Denny, Chico, and Olivier Tonnerre, Mill Valley, 6-3, 6-2.
   Jesse Ponwith, Scottsdale, Ariz., and David Smith, San Francisco, def. Karl Gifford, Alpharetta, Ga., and Oren Motevassel, San Jose, 6-1, 6-1.
   Dave Kuhn, Elk Grove, and Joshua Prager, Yuba City, def. Thomas Cooper and Yoshihiro Miyawaki, Rancho Palos Verdes, 6-2, 6-2.

Women's doubles

First round

   Una Davis, La Jolla, and Carolyn Nichols, Rancho Palos Verdes, def. Zeynep Aynaci, San Francisco, and Cynthia Polansky, Mill Valley, 6-4, 6-1.

San Jose's Motevassel falls in National 40 final

Tony Bujan and Dina McBride won singles titles in the USTA
National 40 Hard Court Championships today in La Jolla.
Photos courtesy of JFS Communications

   Second-seeded Tony Bujan of Tustin retained his title in the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships, defeating top-seeded Oren Motevassel of San Jose 6-2, 6-4 today in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   "It just feels great to play well," Bujan, a 44-year-old teaching professional based in Orange County, said in a news release. "I love playing, and I love competing. Tennis has done so much for me.
   "(Motevassel) doesn’t overpower you, but he doesn’t miss. He’s crafty with his backhand. I just tried to stay aggressive and dictate and keep him off-balance."
   Motevassel, 47, won the title in 2011 and 2012.
   Third-seeded Dina McBride of Stevenson Ranch won the women's title, beating top-seeded Jennifer Dawson of Carlsbad 6-4, 6-2.
   McBride, a 43-year-old teaching pro in Valencia, overcame an undisclosed injury early in the tournament.      
   "I won it on just faith and believing," she said. "Coming in, I felt great, but I got injured in the first round and didn’t think I was going to be able to pull through. I just took it one match at a time.
   "Every year, you never know how you’re going to feel. I had to seize the moment because these opportunities don’t come around too often. I love tennis. I love the game, and I love competing. It’s just fun."  
   McBride lost the 2011 singles final to Dawson when she retired because of a leg injury in the first set. McBride captured the 2012 title by beating former world No. 15 Ros (Fairbank) Nideffer.  

Bay Area's Greenwald tops Tarango in National 40s

Sixth-seeded Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo beat third-seeded
Jeff Tarango of Manhattan Beach 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   In a matchup of former tournament champions, sixth-seeded Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo beat third-seeded Jeff Tarango of Manhattan Beach 6-4, 6-1 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Greenwald won the title in 2009 and Tarango, a former Stanford All-American, triumphed the following year. Tarango climbed to No. 42 in the world in singles in 1992 and No. 10 in doubles in 1999.
   In today's semifinals, Greenwald will play top-seeded Oren Motevassel of San Jose, and second-seeded Tony Bujan of Tustin will meet fifth-seeded Michael Chang -- no, not that Michael Chang -- of Anaheim.
   Motevassel, a native of Israel who reached No. 161 in the world in 1997, won the National 40 Hard Court title in 2011 and 2012. Bujan is the defending champion.

USTA NATIONAL 40 HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS

In La Jolla, Calif.

Men's singles quarterfinals

   Oren Motevassel (1), San Jose, def. Nicolas Chasseray (9), San Francisco, 6-3, 6-0.
   Tony Bujan (2), Tustin, def. John Saviano (9), Los Altos Hills, 6-1, 6-1.
   Jeff Greenwald (6), San Anselmo, def. Jeff Tarango (3), Manhattan Beach, 6-4, 6-1.
   Michael Chang (5), Anaheim, def. Pierre Mareschal (9), Pasadena, 2-6, 6-0 [10-6].

Women's singles quarterfinals

   Jennifer Dawson (1), Carlsbad, def. Maria Nunez, San Diego, 6-0, 6-0.
   Ros Nideffer (2), San Diego, def. Julie Gaynor, Las Vegas, 6-3, 6-4.
   Dina McBride (3), Stevenson Ranch, def. Fanny Gamble, San Rafael, 7-5, 6-1.
   Christy Panter, West Hills, def. Marlo Carruth (4), Studio City, 7-6 (5), 3-6 [10-6].

San Jose's Motevassel upset in National 40s

   Top seed and two-time defending champion Oren Motevassel of San Jose lost to fourth-seeded Tony Bujan of San Clemente 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in La Jolla.
   Bujan will meet fifth-seeded Michael Chang -- no, not that Michael Chang -- of Anaheim today for the title. Chang beat second-seeded Julien Heine of Laguna Beach 6-3, 7-5.
   In the women's final, top-seeded Sophie Woorons-Johnston of Anderson, S.C., routed fourth-seeded Ros (Fairbank) Nideffer of San Diego 6-3, 6-1.
   Woorons-Johnston, a former Clemson All-American, became eligible to play in the tournament after turning 40 on Sept. 4.
   Nideffer, a 53-year-old former touring professional originally from South Africa, reached career highs of No. 12 in the world in doubles in 1986 and No. 15 in singles in 1990.
   She won the French Open women's doubles title in 1981 with Tanya Harford of South Africa and in 1983 with Candy Reynolds of the United States.

Motevassel wins national 40s; amazing streak ends

   Oren Motevassel was determined that this year would be different.
   After losing to Jeff Tarango in three sets in last year's final, Motevassel beat him 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the men's singles title of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in La Jolla.
   Tarango, a former Stanford All-American from Manhattan Beach, was seeded first and Motevassel of Sunnyvale second. Both are left-handed former touring professionals.
   "After last year, I was kind of upset," Motevassel admitted in a news release. "I had the match. I was up a set, and I was up a break. I just lost a little focus. I was playing too defensive from the back and allowed him to dictate. I played too tentative last year.
   "I was focused today. I had a good game plan, and it worked fine. I took the ball a little earlier. I put him on the defense more. Getting the ball more on the rise helped me a lot today."
   In father-son doubles, top seeds and eight-time defending champions Brian and Brett Joelson of Beaverton, Ore., lost to fourth-seeded Peter and Tanner Smith of Los Alamitos 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the semifinals.

   Brett Joelson played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis last year. Peter Smith is the head coach of the USC men, who have won the last three NCAA team titles.

   In the father-son final, third-seeded Tom Rettenmaier of Fountain Valley and Travis Rettenmaier, a touring pro living in Las Vegas, outlasted the Smiths 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.