Australian Open Day 7: Kyrgios tops Seppi in thriller

Nick Kyrgios, shown in the 2013 Sacramento Challenger, saved
a match point in his five-set victory over Andreas Seppi.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- For the second straight night, a 19-year-old starred in Melbourne.
   Nick Kyrgios of Australia saved a match point and outlasted Italian veteran Andreas Seppi 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 8-6 in 3 hours, 34 minutes today in the fourth round.
   Kyrgios became the first Aussie man to advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005 and the first male teenager since Roger Federer to have reached two Grand Slam quarters.
   Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla., ousted two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded fourth, on Saturday to move into the fourth round of a major for the first time.
   Kyrgios survived a match point with a service winner at 5-6 in the fourth set of the night match in front of a boisterous capacity crowd of 10,500 at Hisense Arena.
   At Wimbledon last year, Kyrgios saved nine match points in a second-round victory over Richard Gasquet and stunned top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the fourth round before losing to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals.
   Here's a link to my 2013 story on Kyrgios: http://norcaltennisczar.blogspot.com/2013/10/potential-star-kyrgios-upsets-klahn.html
   Seppi, trying to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at age 30, showed no signs of a letdown after shocking second-seeded Roger Federer in the previous round.
   Upset of the day -- None. 
   Notable -- No. 6 seed Andy Murray held off No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5 in 3 hours, 32 minutes to move into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the sixth straight year. Murray avenged a quarterfinal loss to Dimitrov at Wimbledon last year that ended the defense of Murray's title, the first in singles at Wimbledon for a British man in 77 years. Murray will face Kyrgios in the Melbourne quarters.
   Seventh-seeded Eugenie Bouchard, a 20-year-old Canadian, advanced to the quarters with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win over Irina-Camelia "Ain't Too Proud To" Begu of Romania. Bouchard won nine of the first 10 games but lost seven of the next nine, forcing her to play a third set for the first time in the tournament.
   In the quarterfinals in the bottom half of the draw, Bouchard will take on No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, and No. 3 Simona ("I Need") Halep will meet No. 10 Ekaterina Makarova.
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 3 Nadal, No. 6 Murray, No. 7 Tomas Berdych.
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 10 Dimitrov, No. 14 Kevin Anderson.
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 2 Sharapova, No. 3 Halep, No. 7 Bouchard, No. 10 Makarova.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 21 Peng Shuai.
   Stars and stripes -- Lisa Raymond, 41, of Media, Pa., and Robert Lindstedt, 37, of Sweden outclassed Anastasia Rodionova of Russia and Robert Farah of Colombia 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of mixed doubles. Raymond has won 11 Grand Slam titles (six in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles) and Lindstedt one (in men's doubles at last year's Australian Open with Lukasz Kubot of Poland).
   In the first round of junior boys singles, third-seeded Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area beat Alex Molcan of Slovakia 6-1, 6-4. 
   Northern California connection -- Fifth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, from San Jose and Cal, and Abigail Spears advanced to the women's doubles quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 12th-seeded Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. Kops-Jones and Spears reached the semifinals last year for their best Grand Slam result.
   Kops-Jones and Scott Lipsky, a former Stanford star, lost to fourth-seeded Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic and Alexander Peya of Austria 6-1, 6-3 in the opening round of mixed doubles.
   Lindstedt competed at Fresno State before transferring to Pepperdine. Rodionova played for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis.
   In the first round of junior boys singles, Sameer Kumar of Carmel, Ind., defeated Renta Tokuda of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Kumar is headed to Stanford next year. 
   Fast facts -- Murray seeks his first Australian Open title after three runner-up finishes (2010, 2011 and 2013). In addition to Wimbledon in 2013, he won the 2012 U.S. Open for his maiden Grand Slam title in his fifth final. Murray spent last year rebounding from "minor" back surgery in September 2013, reaching the quarterfinals or better in all four Slams but failing to play in a major final for the first time since 2009.
   Berdych reached the Australian Open quarterfinals, in which he will play Nadal, for the fifth consecutive year. He lost in the quarters from 2011 through 2013 and in last year's semifinals to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).
   Quote -- Bouchard, who took a short break after double-faulting to lose the second set: "I gave myself a good, long hard look in the mirror. I said, 'Genie, this is unacceptable.' I really kind of kicked my self in the butt a little bit."

Federer, Azarenka overcome adversity for BNP titles

   Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka overcame everything but alien invaders in the past two weeks to win the BNP Paribas Open.
  Adversity? You name it -- Federer and Azarenka faced it in Indian Wells.
  In the middle of the tournament, Federer, his wife and two young daughters felt the effects of the virus that devastated many players and fans. Federer also lost the first set against two first-time opponents, dangerous Milos Raonic and Thomaz Bellucci.
  In the semifinals, Federer waited out a three-hour rain delay, then coped with the wind in a straight-set victory over rival Rafael Nadal. Finally, the Swiss star tamed the huge serve of 6-foot-9 John Isner, coming off a victory over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, to win 7-6 (7), 6-3 Sunday for his record fourth title at Indian Wells.
   "When it all pays off after a bit of a scare early on in the week and you get the title and the emotions are going, it's a wonderful feeling," Federer told reporters. "I remember the days when I won three years in a row here, and I enjoyed myself over here." 
   Federer, 30, has won 15 straight matches (three titles) and 39 of 41 since losing in the U.S. Open semifinals last September. He avenged both losses, to Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals and to Isner in the first round of the Davis Cup in Switzerland, in the BNP Paribas Open. Federer also won the Indian Wells trophy for the first time since 2006, when he capped a three-year title run.
   Azarenka, ranked No. 1, apparently avoided the virus but trailed 4-1 in the third set and was two points from losing against Mona Barthel of Germany in the second round. From then on, Azarenka lost only 21 games in five matches, culminating in her 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Maria Sharapova, for her first Indian Wells singles crown (she won the 2009 doubles title with Vera Zvonareva).
   It was the first women's final between No. 1 and No. 2 in the world since 2008. Azarenka improved to 23-0 this year, the best start since Martina Hingis went 37-0 in 1997.
   "Last year was a learning experience for me," said Azarenka, who also beat Sharapova handily to win the Australian Open in January and the 2010 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. "Every loss I analyzed, and step by step (I) just built on everything -- just daily hard work. I had a lot of tough losses last year, and so now I'm really trying to turn it around in my own favor. I have just been trying to be consistent and professional every day. I never dreamed this would happen."
   Both Indian Wells champions received $1 million.
   Marc Lopez and Nadal won their second Indian Wells doubles title, beating Isner and San Francisco native Sam Querrey 6-2, 7-6 (3) in a matchup of unseeded teams. Lopez and Nadal, close friends from Spain, also won the 2010 championship.
   Top-seeded Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond extended their winning streak to 16 matches and four tournaments Saturday, coasting to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over defending champions Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina. It was Raymond's seventh Indian Wells doubles title (three with Lindsay Davenport, two with Samantha Stosur and one each with Rennae Stubbs and Huber) and Huber's first.
   Huber, 35, and Raymond, 38, each have won the Bank of the West Classic doubles title twice but never together. Huber triumphed in 2008 with Cara Black and in 2010 with Davenport, and Raymond prevailed in 2002 with Stubbs and in 2003 with Black.
   Mirza won the Bank of the West doubles crown in 2007 with Shahar Peer.
   Men's Challengers -- Two top-seeded players with Northern California ties, Scott Lipsky and John Paul Fruttero, won Challenger doubles titles.
   Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Lipsky, a former Stanford All-American living in Huntington Beach, defeated unseeded Americans Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell 6-4, 6-3 in the $125,000 Dallas Tennis Classic.
   John Paul Fruttero, an ex-Cal All-American living in San Jose, topped unseeded Australians Colin Ebelthite and Samuel Groth 6-2, 6-4 in the $50,000 ATP Challenger Pingguo in Pingguo, China.
   Colleges -- The No. 88 Sacramento State women (9-8) lost 6-1 to No. 28 Saint Mary's (8-5) in a nonconference match in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River. The Hornets' Maria Meliuk, a senior, edged Carla Lindlar 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 10-5 tiebreak at No. 5 singles. ...
   The rebuilding Sac State men (3-9) also lost a nonconference contest 6-1, to host Texas-Arlington (4-8). The Hornets' point came from freshman Marek Marksoo, an Estonian who beat Nicolas Moreno 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4 singles.

Liezel, Lisa loom large after rare feat; new rankings

   Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond completed another of their patented hot streaks Sunday.
   Four times in this century, a women's doubles team has won three titles in three weeks. In each case, either Huber or Raymond has been involved.
   The American veterans accomplished the feat together for the first time, winning in Paris, Doha and Dubai in the past three weeks. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Venus and Serena Williams haven't played doubles since, what, the Clinton administration? Huber and Raymond did not enter either of this week's WTA tournaments (Acapulco and Kuala Lumpur).
   Huber pulled off a trifecta with Cara Black of Zimbabwe in 2007, and Raymond managed a three-peat with Australians Samantha Stosur in 2006 and Rennae Stubbs in 2002.
   Raymond, 38, has won 77 women's doubles titles, sixth in the Open Era (since 1968). Huber, 35, has captured 51. Each has won two crowns in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, but they have never done so together.
   Injury report -- Several players with Northern California ties have battled health problems this year.
   Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis has missed the last two weeks because of a hip injury. Sacramento-area resident Dmitry Tursunov, a right-hander with a two-handed backhand, has been out since last month's Australian Open because of a left wrist injury, according to his manager. Former Sacramento State star Kiryl Harbatsiuk has been out all year with a bad case of the flu.
  And Andy Roddick, who has won the SAP Open in San Jose three times, has been plagued by hamstring and ankle injuries. Seeded fourth in the Delray Beach (Fla.) International, he's scheduled to play Philipp Petzschner of Germany tonight in the first round.
   Harbatsiuk, arguably the greatest player in Sac State history, hopes to return to the Futures circuit next month. King, ranked sixth in the world in doubles and 58th in singles, and Tursunov, a former top-20 singles player who's 0-3 this year, have not announced their plans.
   Men's pro results -- Sixth-seeded Mardy Fish of Los Angeles routed Andreas Beck of Germany 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Duty Free Tennis Championships.
   Fish, the top-ranked American man or woman at No. 8 in the world, is scheduled to play two matches, both at home, for the Capitals in July.
   Jimmy Wang, a Taiwan native based in Folsom, and countryman Tsung-Hua Yang beat wild cards Yuki Bhambri of India and Liang-Chi Huang of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round of doubles in the Singapore Challenger.  
   New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 8 in singles (no change), No. 103 in doubles (no change).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 105 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 765 in singles (-1), No. 1,248 in doubles (-4).
   Mark Knowles, Capitals (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 61 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 33 in doubles (-5), unranked in singles.
   David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 157 in doubles (+4), No. 757 in singles (no change).
   Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 310 in singles (-1), unranked in doubles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 87 in singles (+12), No. 34 in doubles (+6).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 60 in singles (+3), No. 212 in doubles (-2).
   Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 650 in doubles (-6), No. 1,499 in singles (-1).
   Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 228 in singles (-4), No. 491 in doubles (-5).

Women

   Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 6 in doubles (no change), No. 58 in singles (-1).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- Career-high No. 29 in doubles (+1), No. 715 in singles (-1).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- Career-high No. 191 in doubles (+24), career-high No. 484 in singles (+116).

   Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Capitals (2011) -- Career-high No. 170 in doubles (+12), No. 377 in singles (-1).

Serena tops ailing Bartoli for title

   STANFORD -- It was all so ironic.
   Serena Williams, who returned to the circuit in June after enduring serious health problems, benefited from Marion Bartoli's injury Sunday in the final of the Bank of the West Classic. Bartoli, in turn, had played only one set in the quarterfinals and semifinals combined because of her opponents' injuries.
   The unseeded Williams, playing in only the third tournament of her comeback, defeated
the third-seeded Bartoli of France 7-5, 6-1 for her first title since Wimbledon last year. It was also Williams' first crown at Stanford, first in a non-Grand Slam or season-ending tournament in more than three years and first on the U.S. summer circuit since 2000.
   After delivering a 113-mph service winner on her first match point, Williams joyously dropped her racket, put her head in her hands and raised her fists in triumph.
   "I'm really happy because I put a lot of work into this week," said the former world No. 1, who will rise from No. 169 to the top 80. "It was a relief because Marion is always coming back."
   Not this time. Pounding her serve and dominating rallies with her two-handed forehand and backhand, Bartoli led 4-2 in the first set. In the sixth game, however, the right-hander apparently jammed her right hand with her racket and bruised a bone. Williams won 10 of the next 11 games, including eight in a row after Bartoli served for the first set at 5-4.
   "I was not able to grip the racket on my serve and forehand," said Bartoli, who lost five straight service games, double-faulting six times in the first four, after the injury.
   Bartoli, ranked a career-high ninth, didn't want to use the injury as an excuse but admitted that it "disturbed me. I can still walk away saying I played some great tennis in the first seven games." She said she plans to practice this week and play in Toronto next week.
   Williams, meanwhile, reduced her errors and dominated on her serve, reputedly the best in the history of women's tennis, when the sun wasn't in her eyes. She finished with 11 aces.
   "(Bartoli) was playing really aggressively and well," Williams said of her early deficit. "I was not doing what I could have done. I had to bring up the level of my game. She's clearly a brilliant player."
   Bartoli appeared in the Bank of the West final for the third time in four years. Her only title came in 2009, when she upset Venus Williams in the final. Last month, Bartoli defeated Serena in straight sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon for her first career victory over the American star after two losses.
   Serena has improved since Wimbledon, Bartoli said.
   "Absolutely. I said it even before the match. She has improved from Monday to today, so you can imagine how much she has improved in one month," Bartoli said.    
   Shortly after winning Wimbledon last year for her 13th Grand Slam singles title, Williams stepped on broken glass at a restaurant and twice had surgery. Then she suffered life-threatening blood clots, extending her layoff to 11 months.
   "I love winning majors, obviously, but I feel so blessed to be out here," Williams said. "You never know what tomorrow brings."
   In the doubles final, second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Maria Kirilenko of Russia routed top-seeded Liezel Huber of Houston and Lisa Raymond of Wayne, Pa., 6-1, 6-3.
   Raymond, 37, leads active players with 70 career doubles titles. Huber, a 34-year-old American citizen originally from South Africa, ranks fourth with 44.