Kokkinakis ends title drought, Harris streak

Fourth-seeded Thanasi Kokkinakis, serving in the
first round on Tuesday, beat unseeded Lloyd Harris
6-2, 6-3 today to win the $100,000 Nordic Naturals
Challenger in Aptos, Calif. Photo by Paul Bauman

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   It's only a Challenger title, but Thanasi Kokkinakis will take it.
   Kokkinakis, who was on his way to stardom three years ago before injuries derailed his career, dominated Lloyd Harris 6-2, 6-3 in 67 minutes today to win the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.
   It was Kokkinakis' first title since he won the 85,000 euro ($96,781) Bordeaux Challenger on clay as a qualifier in May 2015. The following month, he reached a career-high No. 69 in the world at age 19.
   Later that year, the right-hander hurt his right shoulder lifting weights -- not to improve his tennis but to look better in Nike's new sleeveless shirts -- and had surgery. Because of that and numerous other injuries, he played only one match in 2016 and seven tournaments last year.
   Kokkinakis reached his first ATP final last August in Los Cabos but lost to promising American Taylor Fritz 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in the first round there last week. That dropped Kokkinakis' ranking 104 places to No. 268. He will rise to No. 201 on Monday.
   Before losing to Kokkinakis in Saturday's semifinals, top-seeded Thomas Fabbiano of Italy predicted the 22-year-old Australian, who stunned Roger Federer in the second round at Miami in March, eventually will crack the top 10.
   Kokkinakis, seeded fourth, emphatically ended the unseeded Harris' winning streak at nine matches. Harris, who won his first Challenger title last week in a $75,000 tournament in Lexington, Ky., lost no more than four games in a set during his streak.
   Kokkinakis dropped only one set during the week. He trailed eighth-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India by a set and an early service break before prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday night in the quarterfinals.
   Against Harris, the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Kokkinakis had 12 aces and one double fault, lost only one point on his first serve (26 of 27) and did not face a break point.
   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Harris finished with six aces and six double faults, and won only 8 of 27 points on his second serve (30 percent).
   Harris, appearing tight, lost his serve in the opening game when he netted a forehand putaway and for 1-4 on a double fault. Both players held serve for 3-3 in the second set before Kokkinakis broke twice on unforced errors.
   Harris, 21, of South Africa will crack the top 150 for the first time at No. 145. He was ranked No. 221 at the beginning of July.
   Kokkinakis also won the doubles title with countryman Matt Reid. Unseeded, they nipped top-seeded Jonny O'Mara and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain 6-2, 4-6 [10-8].
   Kokkinakis became the first player to sweep the Aptos singles and doubles crowns since Chris Guccione of Australia in 2009 and the fourth in the tournament's 31-year history.
   Past competitors in the Aptos Challenger, the oldest in the United States, include International Tennis Hall of Famers Patrick Rafter and Michael Chang and future Hall of Famers Andy Murray, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. The Bryan twins played at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, winning the NCAA doubles title as sophomores.
   Kokkinakis collected $14,400 for the singles title and $3,100 for the doubles crown. Harris, who lost in the first round of doubles, pocketed $8,480 for reaching the singles final.
   Both Kokkinakis and Harris are scheduled to play in next week's $100,000 Vancouver Challenger. Kokkinakis drew second seed and countryman Jordan Thompson, ranked No. 100, and Harris will play a qualifier to be determined.
   Here are the complete Aptos singles and doubles draws.

Tiafoe, 18, cracks top 100 with Stockton title

Third-seeded Frances Tiafoe, right, beat unseeded Noah Rubin
6-4, 6-2 in a matchup of U.S. prospects in the final of the
$100,000 Stockton Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   STOCKTON, Calif. -- Northern California fans might want to check out this week's $100,000 Fairfield Challenger at Solano Community College.
   It probably will be their last chance to see Frances Tiafoe in person. Barring injury or a prolonged slump, the 18-year-old phenom will graduate to Grand Slam and ATP World Tour events next year. So far, Tiafoe has only dabbled in the major leagues of men's professional tennis.
   By outclassing fellow American prospect Noah Rubin 6-4, 6-2 Sunday to win the $100,000 Stockton Challenger at the new Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center at the University of the Pacific, the third-seeded Tiafoe cracked the top 100 in the world for the first time.
   "It's an unbelievable feeling, something you always dream of and work as hard as you can to achieve," gushed Tiafoe, who jumped 17 spots to No. 100. "It (helps immensely) to be inside the top 100, getting in the main draw of Grand Slams and tour events. It definitely makes your life much easier; you don't have to play so many of these (Challenger) events."

   Tiafoe becomes the youngest player, fourth teenager and second American teen in the top 100. Alexander Zverev, 19, of Germany is No. 21; Borna Coric, 19, of Croatia is No. 41; and Taylor Fritz, 18, of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area is No. 71. Fritz will turn 19 on Oct. 28, and Tiafoe will follow on Jan. 20.
   American Jared Donaldson, who turned 20 Sunday, dropped from No. 98 to No. 108 in the new rankings. Fritz won the singles titles in last year's Sacramento and Fairfield Challengers with victories over Donaldson and Dustin Brown of Germany, respectively. The Sacramento tournament moved to Stockton.

   Although Tiafoe eventually could reach the top 10, his immediate task is staying in the top 100. He will drop unless he at least matches his 2015 appearance in the semifinals in Fairfield, where he's the top seed, and runner-up finish in the $50,000 Knoxville (Tenn.) Challenger, scheduled for the first week of November.

Tiafoe didn't face a break point in the final.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Tiafoe has ideal size (6-foot-2 and 170 pounds or 1.88 meters and 77 kilograms) with power, touch, quickness -- you name it. His serve and forehand, both hit with a distinctive loose wrist, are devastating. His two-handed backhand is textbook perfect. And he has a deft volley.
   Weaknesses? Tiafoe has had temper problems (it was not an issue against Rubin), his concentration wanes at times (whose doesn't?), and his second serve needs improvement (according to Isner).
   Tiafoe's father, Constant, emigrated from Sierra Leone in West Africa to the Washington, D.C., area, where Frances was born, in the late 1990s. Constant helped build the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., and stayed as the head of maintenance.
   Frances and his twin brother Franklin, who attended the Stockton Challenger, began playing at 3 or 4. Frances won the prestigious Orange Bowl at 15 in 2013 to become the youngest boys 18 champion in the tournament's 67-year history. He was profiled in Sports Illustrated in 2014 and turned pro last year.
   As a wild card the recent U.S. Open, Tiafoe led 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) veteran John Isner, seeded No. 20 and ranked No. 1 in the United States at the time, two sets to none in the first round before falling in a fifth-set tiebreaker.
   Rubin, only 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 155 pounds (70 kilograms), doesn't have as much of an upside as Tiafoe but well could join him in the top 100 next year. With his runner-up finish, he improved 25 places to No. 167.
   A counterpuncher who relies on quickness, Rubin stunned then-No. 18 Benoit Paire of France in the first round of the Australian Open in January but missed much of the summer with a sprained ankle.

   A native of Long Island, N.Y., Rubin trained at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York as a junior. During his dream summer of 2014, he won the Wimbledon boys and USTA 18 national singles titles.
   Rubin then attended Wake Forest University for one year, falling in the 2015 NCAA singles final to 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) junior Ryan Shane of Virginia, before turning pro.

Rubin could join Tiafoe in the top 100 next year.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Tiafoe and Rubin, 20, met as pros for the first time. Rubin was 3-0 in ITF junior tournaments against Tiafoe.
   This time, Tiafoe broke the unseeded Rubin in the first game of each set and broke again to lead 4-1 in the second set. Rubin double-faulted on key points in both of the second-set breaks. Tiafoe, meanwhile, never faced break point en route to his second Challenger title in his seventh final.
   "He was pretty nervous," declared Tiafoe, who earned $14,400. "He made a lot of mistakes. He obviously didn't play his best, but I thought I played my game about as well as I can play. I played pretty aggressive, took the strikes early and didn't really let him stay steady and try to make balls the way he usually plays. I thought I did a great job of putting a lot of pressure on him early."
   Tiafoe won the coin toss and elected to receive.
   "I always do that," he noted. "I don't want to come out and play a loose game in the opening game, so if I win the coin toss, I always receive.
   "I knew he was going to be a little nervous. It was only his second (Challenger) final, and I've been in quite a few finals, so I was pretty comfortable today."
   Rubin, who won his only previous Challenger final, denied he was nervous.
   "Actually, that did not affect me," said Rubin, wearing a necklace with a small Wimbledon pendant. "I was way more nervous to play the first round of this tournament. Maybe there was some internal, subconscious thing I can't even tell you. Yeah, I was a little slower than normal, but it happens."
   Instead, Rubin attributed his slow starts in each set to physical and mental fatigue. He won his first three matches in three sets before coasting past ailing Michael Mmoh, another 18-year-old American, 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday's semifinals.
   "It could be just cumulative," suggested Rubin, who collected $8,480. "It's a lot of matches, a lot of games. I put a lot of pressure on myself at the beginning of the tournament, more than at the end, because I was not playing my best tennis coming into this tournament. I was just working hard and putting in a lot of hours, and sometimes it wears on you."

   Against Tiafoe, there would be no Noah's bagels.
   "He played good tennis," said Rubin, who also is entered in Fairfield. "He mixed it up well. I think what hurt me the most was my movement was not (up to) par, which usually helps me get back into matches.

Second-seeded Sam Groth, left, and Brian Baker won the
doubles title in their first tournament together. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   "He kept me on my toes and didn't play loose points. I've been watching some of his matches, and sometimes he gives away loose points. He was pretty controlled today and consistent. It was good to see. He's in the top 100 now, and hopefully I'll see him there soon."
   Second-seeded Brian Baker and Sam Groth, playing their first tournament together, beat fourth-seeded Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 6-2, 4-6 [10-2] for the doubles title. All except Baker, from Nashville, Tenn., are Australian.
   Baker, 31, and Groth, who will turn 29 on Oct. 19, ended Reid and Smith's winning streak at seven matches. They won the title in the previous week's $100,000 Tiburon Challenger.
   Baker has come back from 11 operations (both hips, right elbow, back, sports hernia and four repairs of his right knee). Groth set an unofficial world record with a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) serve in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   Here are:
   --The complete Stockton singles and doubles draws.
   --The Fairfield singles qualifying draw, singles and doubles main draws, and Monday's schedule.
   --The complete Redding (Calif.) women's singles and doubles draws.

Once defaulted from match, King wins Tiburon title

Unseeded Darian King of Barbados celebrates after beating 18-year-old
qualifier Michael Mmoh of Bradenton, Fla., 7-6 (2), 6-2 Sunday to win
the $100,000 Tiburon Challenger. It was King's third (and biggest)
Challenger title, all in the last three months. Getty Images

   TIBURON, Calif. — Darian King was about as low as a player can get.
   Not in the rankings, although he was plenty low at No. 310.
   His reputation was in tatters, his spirit broken.
   Two years ago, King was defaulted from his first-round match in a $50,000 indoor tournament in Charlottesville, Va., for hitting a lineswoman with his racket, which he had thrown in anger at the tarpaulin hanging behind the court.
   The racket bounced off the tarp and lightly struck the lineswoman, standing nearby, in the back. She suffered only a minor knee injury as she fell to the court.
   King has come a long way since then. Faced with adversity in the final of the $100,000 Wells Fargo Bank Tiburon Challenger on Sunday, the unseeded King remained calm and defeated 18-year-old qualifier Michael Mmoh, one of several potential stars for the long-struggling United States, 7-6 (2), 6-2 on a windy day at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
   "I used to get very frustrated on court when things aren't going my way, but as you get older, you start to understand the game much better," admitted King, a 24-year-old native of Barbados, a small island nation in the Caribbean Sea. "I'm glad I'm starting to really understand my game. That's the most important thing. Don't get frustrated when your plan is not working. I think I've been doing a great job of that."
   King collected $14,400 for his third (and biggest) Challenger singles title, all in the last three months, and jumped 30 places in the world rankings to a career-high No. 135. He won back-to-back championships — although not in consecutive weeks — in Cali, Colombia, on clay and Binghamton, N.Y., on outdoor hardcourts in July. Both were $50,000 tournaments.
   King was asked what the difference is between him now and two years ago.
   "Much stronger, much faster, much fitter," replied King, a lithe 6-foot-1 (1.85 meters) and 170 pounds (77 kilograms). "I think I know my game now. I play the big points well, especially 30-all, 40-all. I've overcome that and become stronger mentally. Two years ago, I had a very bad incident, and, as you can see on court, I've improved a lot."
   Keith Crossland, the USTA supervisor in Charlottesville in 2014 and in Tiburon this week, has seen a change in King's attitude since the default.
   "Very definitely," Crossland asserted. "I think he's become much more professional. He's also playing better. Obviously, that helps (a player's) attitude.
   "He played Davis Cup for Barbados. That kind of excitement also has helped him improve and grow and become a much more professional tennis player."

After dominating Darian King early with power, Michael Mmoh tired from
his long week. Getty Images

   King faced a formidable, though weary, foe in Mmoh. A chiseled 6-foot-1 (1.85 meters) and 187 pounds (85 kilograms), he was playing in his eighth match, including three in qualifying, in eight days in this affluent community across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
   Crushing his serve and forehand in his first Challenger final, Mmoh won four straight games to lead 4-2 in the first set and served for the set at 5-4. King, however, raised his game and broke on an inside-out forehand passing shot.
   King saved two break points to hold for 6-5 and then came within two points of winning the set at 30-30, but Mmoh belted a forehand passing shot down the line and pounded a service winner to force the tiebreaker.
   As it turned out, Mmoh was done physically and mentally. He committed five errors while dropping the tiebreaker and promptly fell behind 4-0 in the second set.
   "I played a lot of matches, I came from qualies, and I started to get a little fatigued," moaned Mmoh, who won the USTA boys 18 title in August to earn an automatic wild card in the U.S. Open. "He's a tough guy to play. It's probably the worst matchup I could get in the condition I'm in. It's just unlucky.
   "He won't really miss the ball. He'll kind of just bunt the ball from side to side and make you work. It takes a very big physical toll. It's not exactly what my body wanted today."
   Mmoh's road to the final was not only long but treacherous. He prevailed 7-6 (7) in the third set against Erik Crepaldi of Italy in the second round of qualifying, survived three match points against American Tennys Sandgren in the first round of the main draw and escaped one match point in his 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over No. 3 seed and defending champion Tim Smyczek of the United States in the semifinals.
   Sandgren retired with a lower back injury while trailing 2-0 in the third set. King also benefited from a retirement while leading in the third set en route to the final. In the second round, top-seeded Benjamin Becker, 35, of Germany quit with a chest muscle strain with King ahead 4-2.
   Mmoh earned $8,480 (he turned pro last year) and, more importantly, soared 92 places to a career-high No. 264. A one-man United Nations, he was born in Saudi Arabia to Tony Mmoh, a former journeyman pro and Olympian from Nigeria, and Geraldine O'Reilly, an Irishwoman who also holds Australian citizenship.
   Tony was coaching the Saudi Arabian Davis Cup team, and Geraldine, an avid tennis fan, was working in Saudi Arabia as a nurse at the time.
   Michael was named after Michael Jordan. Tony became infatuated with the NBA legend while attending St. Augustine's College (now St. Augustine's University) in North Carolina and later gained U.S. citizenship.
   The Mmohs moved to Washington, D.C., when Michael was a child. He trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
   King, meanwhile, is the only man or woman from Barbados among the 4,000 or so players with a world ranking. Barbados is too small to run a marathon from one end to the other -- 21 miles (34 kilometers) long and up to 14 miles (23 kilometers) wide. Its population of 291,495 is about the same as that of Anchorage, Alaska, with about as many tennis players.
   As a youth, King trained at the Washington, D.C.-area center where Frances Tiafoe, another 18-year-old potential star, grew up.
   King said it was "very tough" to become a pro tennis player from Barbados.
   "I had to choose between football (soccer) and tennis, and I was more successful in tennis," explained King, who lost to American Steve Johnson in the first round of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August. "The sport in Barbados is not that big. I'm trying to be a role model for the young ones coming up and show them that whatever you put your mind to, you can do it. I'm glad I chose this sport, and I'm glad I'm putting my all into it."

Third-seeded Matt Reid, left, and John-Patrick Smith of Australia bump fists
during their 6-1, 6-2 victory over Quentin Halys of France and Dennis Novikov
of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area in the doubles final. Getty Images 

   In the doubles final, third-seeded Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith of Australia routed unseeded Quentin Halys, 19, of France and Dennis Novikov of Milpitas on the other side of San Francisco Bay 6-1, 6-2 in 45 minutes. Reid had lost the last two Tiburon doubles finals with countryman Carsten Ball.
   Here are:
    —The completed Tiburon singles and doubles draws.
    —The Stockton singles qualifying, singles main and doubles main draws and today's schedule. The $100,000 men's tournament, held in Sacramento for the past 11 years, has moved to the new Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center at the University of the Pacific. King and Mmoh could meet in the quarterfinals.
    —The Redding singles qualifying draw and today's schedule. The $25,000 women's tournament is being played at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness.

U.S. teens to vie for Sacramento Challenger title

No. 7 seed Jared Donaldson, 19, "was lasering
winners left and right," said No. 1 Denis Kudla.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An American teenager almost won last year's Sacramento Challenger.
   This year, one will.
   Two U.S. teens reached today's final in the $100,000 tournament at the Natomas Racquet Club.
   No. 7 Jared Donaldson, who turned 19 on Friday, used his devastating groundstrokes to topple No. 1 Denis Kudla 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Saturday. In the first semifinal, 17-year-old Taylor Fritz put on a serving clinic to defeat Matt Reid of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a matchup of wild cards.
   "I don't think I've been the older guy in too many matches in my professional life," said the 153rd-ranked Donaldson, a Providence, R.I., native who trains in Irvine, Calif., "but I think it's really good for tennis to have two young guys playing in a (final)."
   Donaldson noted that 18-year-old phenoms Borna Coric of Croatia and Alexander Zverev of Germany met in Cincinnati on the ATP World Tour, the major leagues of men's professional tennis, in August. 
   "But that was first round," Donaldson said. "For a final, albeit in a Challenger, it shows we belong to be where we are."
   Fritz, the world's No. 1 junior, will turn 18 on Oct. 28. If he beats Donaldson in their first meeting, he will not be the youngest champion ever on the minor-league USTA Pro Circuit, in which Challengers are the top level. Michael Chang holds the record of 15 years, 7 months in Las Vegas in 1987. 
   Stefan Kozlov reached the final of last year's Sacramento Challenger as a 16-year-old wild card, losing to 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) ATP veteran Sam Querrey of Las Vegas.

Kudla won seven straight games in the middle of the
match before Donaldson regained his form. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   Donaldson, who's listed at 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters) and only 160 pounds (73 kilograms), registered his fourth victory over a top-100 player this year. Kudla is ranked a career-high No. 67. Donaldson also has beaten No. 65 Nicolas Mahut of France, No. 70 Hyeon Chung of South Korea and No. 72 Tim Smyczek of Tampa, Fla. Chung is 19 years old.
   Donaldson led 2-0 in the second set Saturday, but Kudla reeled off the next seven games.
   "He started playing better, and I backed off a little bit," Donaldson said.
   Donaldson earned the only break of the third set at 2-2. Kudla fought off three break points in the game, but on the fourth one, Donaldson ripped a backhand passing shot down the line.
   "In the third set, I said I have to get back to playing offensive," Donaldson said. "That's what I did. I started dictating, and the rest is history."
   Donaldson showed no signs of nerves in the last game, serving out the match at love.
   "I said to myself, If I get nervous, I'm going to lose the match anyway," he said. "It's not worth it. I just have to go out there and play my game and enjoy the journey.
   "When I play my worst tennis, I get nervous and tentative and don't believe in myself. I start to not enjoy the journey of the match. I just had to remind myself that this is what you play for. This is where you want to be. You want to be in this situation."
   Kudla, 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), was helpless as Donaldson regained his form in the third set.

Taylor Fritz, 17, put on a serving clinic
against Matt Reid. Photo by Paul Bauman

   "He was lasering winners left and right," marveled Kudla, a 23-year-old resident of Tampa. "I did everything I could. It's a fast court. I maybe played a little shaky service game to get broken, but overall I thought he played really, really (well).
   "He's playing a match where I don't think he feels too much pressure, so he went out there and played lights out. Too good."
   So was Fritz's serve. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) resident of Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area won 34 of 40 points (85 percent) on his first serve and 15 of 18 (83 percent) on his second serve. He pounded seven aces, committed only one double fault and faced no break points.
   "I served really solid and played all my games solid," said Fritz, who survived three match points in his scintillating 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7) victory over third-seeded Dustin Brown of Germany in the second round. "I wasn't under the pressure I was under when I played Dustin Brown or even Marcos (Giron in the quarterfinals). I was holding pretty easily. I felt in control in the tiebreaker."
   Reid, a muscular 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), also played well. He hammered 13 aces, had three double faults and saved three of four break points. The only service break in the match gave Fritz a 4-2 lead in the first set.
   Appropriately, Fritz ended the match with a service winner and an ace.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.

Fritz said he had no thoughts of playing in the final
when he arrived in Sacramento. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Taylor defeated then-No. 66 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the opening round in Nottingham, England, on grass on the ATP World Tour in June. He turned pro in August before the U.S. Open and proceeded to win the boys singles title at Flushing Meadows.
   But Fritz said he had no thoughts of playing in the final when he arrived in Sacramento.
   "Coming in here, I had never won a match in a Challenger. It was my second Challenger," noted Fritz, who lost in the first round in Aptos, Calif., in August. "I was really looking one match at a time. I wanted to get the first Challenger win under my belt. I would have been happy with that, but I kept going and competing, and now I'm here."
   The top doubles seeds also lost, as Johan Brunstrom of Sweden and Frederik Nielsen of Denmark fell to Daniel Brands of Germany and Brown 6-2, 7-6 (9).
   Brands and Brown will face Blaz Kavcic and Grega Zemlja of Slovenia in the final. Kavcic and Zemlja beat Fritz and 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) countryman Reilly Opelka 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday.
   Nielsen and Jonathan Marray of Great Britain in 2012 became the only wild cards to win the Wimbledon men's doubles title.

$100,000 SACRAMENTO CHALLENGER

At Natomas Racquet Club

Singles semifinals

   Taylor Fritz, United States, def. Matt Reid, United States, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
   Jared Donaldson (7), United States, def. Denis Kudla (1), United States, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Doubles semifinal

     Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany, def. Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, 6-2, 7-6 (9).

Today's schedule

Court 1

(Starting at noon)

   Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany, vs. Blaz Kavcic and Grega Zemlja, Slovenia.
   Jared Donaldson (7), United States, vs. Taylor Fritz, United States.

Wild cards to meet in Sacramento Challenger semis

Taylor Fritz, a 17-year-old wild card from the San Diego area,
dismissed qualifier Marcos Giron, the 2013 NCAA singles
champion from UCLA, in 68 minutes. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- One wild card was a no-brainer.
   The other was controversial.
   Taylor Fritz is the No. 1 junior in the world at 17 years old. He beat Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, then ranked No. 66 among men, on grass in the first round in Nottingham, England, in June on the elite ATP World Tour and won the U.S. Open boys title last month. And he's American.
   Case closed. You want a wild card into the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger, Taylor? You got it. The USTA chose Fritz and American Sekou Bangoura, 23, for its two wild cards.
   Matt Reid had pretty good credentials, too. Two years ago in Sacramento, he reached the singles quarterfinals and won the doubles title with John-Patrick Smith. The only problem is he's not American.
   No matter. Tournament director Brian Martinez picked Reid, a 25-year-old Australian, and Alex Kuznetsov, a 28-year-old American and two-time Sacramento singles semifinalist, with his two wild cards.
   Fritz, ranked No. 694, and Reid, ranked No. 357, turned out to be wise selections. They are scheduled to meet on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in the semifinals at the Natomas Racquet Club. It's rare for one wild card to reach the semis, let alone two.

Matt Reid, a 25-year-old wild card from Australia,
needed 2 hours, 25 minutes to subdue qualifier
Nicolas Meister. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fritz, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters), dismissed 22-year-old qualifier Marcos Giron, the diminutive 2013 NCAA singles champion from UCLA, 6-3, 6-4 in 68 minutes today.
   "It means a lot to have a good run in my second Challenger," said Fritz, who lost in the first round in the $100,000 Aptos, Calif., Challenger in August to 28-year-old left-hander Mischa Zverev of Germany. "It's really encouraging."
   After having his right (serving) shoulder treated several times in his 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) victory over third-seeded Dustin Brown on Thursday, Fritz had no problems with it on Friday.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals. Guy is one of Taylor's coaches.
   Taylor said he has improved dramatically since Aptos while training at the USTA center in Carson in the Los Angeles area.
   "I've been working really, really hard. It showed today after I won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, won a doubles match and came back and played a pretty physical match today. It's something I couldn't have done a couple months ago," said Fritz, who's from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, . 
   Reid needed to be in good shape, too. He turned back U.S. qualifier Nicolas Meister, another former UCLA All-American, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in 2 hours, 25 minutes as the temperature topped 80 degrees (26.7 Celsius).
   Like Fritz, Reid said advancing to the semis as a wild card "means a lot. I've had a rough year with results. I'm really happy to be able to win a few matches before I go home."  

Top-seeded Denis Kudla eliminated Daniel Brands
of Germany 6-4, 6-3. Both players have reached the
fourth round at Wimbledon. Photo by Paul Bauman

   After the Fritz-Reid encounter, top-seeded Denis Kudla of Tampa, Fla., will face seventh-seeded Jared Donaldson of Irvine, Calif.
   Kudla, only 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters), used a strong return to neutralize the powerful serve of 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) German Daniel Brands of Germany in a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Both players have reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, Kudla this year and Brands in 2010. Brands is five years older at 28.
   Donaldson, playing on his 19th birthday, outclassed Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-4, 6-1. Donaldson won the $50,000 Maui Challenger in January.
   Martinez said he "got a little bit of grief because I didn't give the wild card to an American, but we're hosting Americans, and having (the tournament) in America is enough for Americans. If you look at the draw, there are 20 some odd Americans. There are plenty of opportunities without a wild card. I'm fine with the decision I made."
   Reid overcame a bad line call that trimmed his lead to 4-3 in the second-set tiebreaker against Meister.
   "I was fuming," said Reid, who recorded the only service break of the third set in the last game. "It's been a long week and a long trip. I thought that was the end, to be honest. I'd just had enough. I guess I was lucky that I started off pretty well in the third (set). I was serving first, and I was in front the whole time."        
   Reid and Kudla are each 1-0 against their semifinal opponents.   

Seventh-seeded Jared Donaldson, playing on his 19th
birthday, outclassed Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont
in the San Francisco Bay Area. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Reid outlasted Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of a $10,000 Futures tournament in Costa Mesa in Southern California in September last year.
   "He was unknown (to) me back then," admitted Reid, who was seeded first in the tournament and eventually lost in the quarterfinals. "I thought it was going to be a great draw, but it was an absolute battle. I told him after the match that he was going to be a great player, and he's already No. 1 in the world in the juniors, so he's started pretty quick."
   Fritz smiled while recalling the Costa Mesa match.
   "That was so long ago," he said. "At the time, it was a really tough matchup for me. I had a lot of chances in that match. I really could have won it. It would have been a huge win for me. I'm not even near the player I was back then, so I'm really excited for tomorrow."
   In addition to his improvement in the past year, Fritz will be fresher than Reid after Friday's matches. Fritz wouldn't declare himself the favorite but said, "I like my chances a whole lot more than the last time."                    
   Kudla beat Donaldson 6-3, 6-3 on clay in the second round of qualifying in Houston in April on the ATP World Tour.
   "He (hits) very big on the baseline," said Kudla, who was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States at age 1. "I know he's not that comfortable moving forward, but his forehand and backhand are as good as anyone's. He crushes it on both sides, so it's tough to slow the points down when he's playing well.
   "But he can be all over the place with his mind. I feel like if you can be mentally tough, you can find ways to break it down that way and the match can go in your favor."

$100,000 SACRAMENTO CHALLENGER

At Natomas Racquet Club

Singles quarterfinals

   Taylor Fritz, United States, def. Marcos Giron, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
   Denis Kudla (1), United States, def. Daniel Brands, Germany, 6-4, 6-3.

   Jared Donaldson (7), United States, def. Mackenzie McDonald, Piedmont, 6-4, 6-1.  

   Matt Reid, Australia, def. Nicolas Meister, United States, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4.

Doubles semifinal

   Blaz Kavic and Grega Zemlja, Slovenia, def. Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, United States, 7-5, 6-3.

Saturday's schedule

Court 1

(Starting at 10:30 a.m.)

   Taylor Fritz, United States, vs. Matt Reid, Australia.
   Denis Kudla (1), United States, vs. Jared Donaldson (7), United States.

(Not before 1:30 p.m.)

   Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, vs. Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany.

Kudla isn't kidding around in Sacramento Challenger

Top-seeded Denis Kudla eyes a forehand during his
6-4, 6-2 win over 18-year-old qualifier Tommy Paul
in the second round of the $100,000 Sacramento
Challenger. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- At 23, Denis Kudla already feels like an old man.
   The top seed defeated an 18-year-old for the second consecutive match today, dismantling qualifier and fellow American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger for the second straight year.
   "I feel like I've been around a while," said Kudla, who beat Quentin Halys of France 7-5, 6-4 in the first round. "I went pro when I was 16. I've been out here a long time. I was in their shoes five years ago, so I know these guys can play. They believe they can beat us older guys. I'm glad to see that Tommy Paul, an American, is doing well."
   Kudla reached the final of last week's $100,000 Tiburon Challenger as the top seed, losing to his close friend and training partner Tim Smyczek after holding four match points. The net cord played a role on two of the match points.
   Four of Kudla's five matches in Tiburon went to three sets, including a first-rounder in which he came within two points of losing to unheralded American Connor Smith. The exception was a 6-4, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Blaz Rola of Slovenia. Rola, a 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) left-hander, won the 2013 NCAA singles title as a junior at Ohio State before turning pro.
   Kudla, ranked a career-high 67th, needed only 58 minutes to dismiss Paul.
   "Today was definitely one of the better matches I've played probably since Rola last week," said Kudla, who trains in Tampa, Fla. "Everything went well, I played my game, and I couldn't ask for a better match.
   "The court is a little quicker (than in Tiburon), which I like. It was one of those days when I felt the ball well, I did everything right, I had a good warmup, and my body felt good. When those things happen, you usually have a good match."

Paul, one of only three Americans to win the
French Open boys singles title, unleashes a
forehand against Kudla. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Paul was impressed with Kudla's intensity.
   "He competes very hard every point," said Paul, who trains in Boca Raton, Fla. "He plays high-energy every single point, so it's tough to play against."
   In June, Paul joined John McEnroe (1977) and Bjorn Fratangelo (2011) as the only Americans to win the French Open boys singles title.
   Paul also qualified for the men's singles draw in the recent U.S. Open before losing to 25th-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-0, 7-5 in the first round. Seppi stunned Roger Federer in the third round of the Australian Open in January.
   The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Paul crushed his serve and forehand against Kudla but made repeated errors with his two-handed backhand.
   "I didn't hit my backhand too well yesterday, either," Paul said of his 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over U.S. wild card Alex Kuznetsov, a two-time Sacramento semifinalist. "I think he saw that I wasn't hitting it well and kind of targeted it."
   Kudla denied that.
   "Not necessarily," he said. "He likes to move, and he's such a good ball striker. Guys like that are constantly on the run. I like to keep them in one spot and play the points the way I want to play them and not the way they want to play them."
   Paul lost his serve in the opening game of each set.
   "That didn't help," he conceded.
   Kudla led 5-2 in the first set and 5-1 in the second. Paul's only glimmer of hope came when he broke back for 3-5 in the first set, held for 4-5 and led 0-30 as Kudla served for the set. But Kudla reeled off the next four points.

Qualifier Nick Meister connects on a forehand
during his three-set victory over Darian King.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kudla will go back to being the young guy when he faces 28-year-old Daniel Brands of Germany in an intriguing quarterfinal on Friday. Brands, who has plunged from a career-high No. 51 in 2013 to No. 177, defeated wild card Sekou Bangoura of Tampa, Fla., 7-6 (4), 6-2.
   Both Kudla and Brands have reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. Kudla was the only U.S. man to advance that far this year, and Brands did so in 2010.
   In addition to age, the big difference between the players is, well, size. Brands is 6-foot-5 (1.96 meters) and Kudla 5-foot-11 (1.80).
   In the other quarterfinal decided today, wild card Matt Reid of Australia will meet qualifier Nick Meister of the United States.
   Reid surprised the fifth-seeded Rola 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
   "I've got to thank (tournament director Brian Martinez) for giving me a wild card," said the 357th-ranked Reid, who won the 2013 Sacramento doubles title with countryman John-Patrick Smith. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to play. When someone gives you a wild card, it shows they believe in you."
   Meister, a former UCLA All-American ranked No. 328, outlasted Darian King of Barbados 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. King knocked out second-seeded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain in the first round.
   Meister reached the final of the $50,000 Maui Challenger in January as a qualifier, losing to Jared Donaldson of Irvine, Calif.
   Donaldson, the seventh seed in Sacramento who will turn 19 on Friday, is scheduled to play Tennys Sandgren of Wesley Chapel, Fla., on Thursday in the second round.
   Sandgren, 24, won the 2012 Sacramento doubles crown with former University of Tennessee teammate Rhyne Williams and played for the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis in July. 

$100,000 SACRAMENTO CHALLENGER

At Natomas Racquet Club

Second-round singles

   Matt Reid, Australia, def. Blaz Rola (5), Slovenia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. 

   Daniel Brands, Germany, def. Sekou Bangoura, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

   Nicolas Meister, United States, def. Darian King, Barbados, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. 

   Denis Kudla (1), United States, def. Tommy Paul, United States, 6-4, 6-2.

First-round doubles

   Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, def. Evan King, United States, and Dimitar Kutrovsky, Bulgaria, 6-4, 2-6 [10-8].

   Ariel Behar, Uruguay, and Ruben Gonzales, Philippines, def. Brydan Klein, Great Britain, and Jose Statham, New Zealand, 6-3, 3-6 [10-5].

   Carsten Ball and Matt Reid (4), Australia, def. Darrin Cohen, Walnut Creek, and Kiryl Harbatsiuk, Sacramento/Belarus, 6-3, 7-5.

   Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany, def. Philip Bester and Peter Polansky, Canada, 4-6, 6-4 [10-4].

Doubles quarterfinals

   Blaz Kavcic and Grega Zemlja, Slovenia, def. Sekou Bangoura, United States, and Marek Michalicka, Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-6 (0).

Thursday's schedule

Court 1

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Tim Smyczek (4), United States, vs. Mackenzie McDonald, Piedmont.

 (Not before 11:30 a.m.)

   Dustin Brown (3), Germany, vs. Taylor Fritz, United States.

   Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Frederik Nielsen (1), Denmark, vs. Ariel Behar, Uruguay, and Ruben Gonzales, Philippines.

   Jared Donaldson (7), United States, vs. Tennys Sandgren, United States.

Court 7

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Blaz Kavcic (8), Slovenia, vs. Marcos Giron, United States.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Carsten Ball and Matt Reid (4), Australia, vs. Daniel Brands and Dustin Brown, Germany.

   Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, United States, vs. Marcos Giron and Tommy Paul, United States.   

Stanford's Fawcett scores big upset in Tiburon qualies

   Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, isn't defending his title in the Tiburon Challenger this week.
   But another 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) American with Bay Area ties pulled off a big upset on Sunday in qualifying for the $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger.
   Wild card Tom Fawcett, a Stanford sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., ousted fourth-seeded Matt Reid of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the Tiburon Peninsula Club. Reid reached last year's semifinals as a qualifier.
   Fawcett is scheduled to meet fifth-seeded Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland today at 10 a.m. for a berth in the main draw.
   The top two qualifying seeds also lost on Sunday. No. 1 Benjamin Mitchell, a 2013 quarterfinalist from Australia, fell to American Sekou Bangoura 7-5, 6-3. No. 2 Joshua Milton of Great Britain retired after losing the first set to American Dennis Nevolo, a former University of Illinois All-American, 6-2.
    Meanwhile, Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the Bay Area could meet Ryan Harrison of Austin, Texas, for the third straight week. But this time, it would be in the second round.
   Novikov, 21, beat Harrison, 23, in a $50,000 Challenger final for the second straight week on Sunday. Novikov, seeded eighth, topped Harrison, seeded fourth, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in Columbus, Ohio, after winning 6-4, 7-5 in Cary, N.C.
   Harrison, the 2010 Tiburon runner-up to Tobias Kamke of Germany, is seeded fifth this year. Novikov is unseeded. 

$100,000 WELLS FARGO TIBURON CHALLENGER

At Tiburon Peninsula Club

Second-round qualifying

   Nicolas Meister (3), United States, def. Conor Berg, United States, 6-4, 6-0.    Sekou Bangoura, United States, def. Benjamin Mitchell (1), Australia, 7-5, 6-3. 
   Tom Fawcett, United States, def. Matt Reid (4), Australia, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
   Jose Statham (6), New Zealand, def. Bernardo Saraiva, Portugal, 6-3, 6-2.
   Dennis Nevolo, United States, def. Joshua Milton (2), Great Britain, 6-2, 0-0, retired.
   Henri Laaksonen (5), Switzerland, def. Eric Johnson, United States, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
   Marcos Giron (7), United States, def. Filip Bergevi, Sweden, 7-6, (3), 6-1.
   Andre Dome (8), United States, def. Joseph Cadogan, Trinidad and Tobago, 6-1, 6-2.

Today's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Henri Laaksonen (5), Switzerland, vs. Tom Fawcett, United States (final-round qualifying).

(Not before 11:30 a.m.)

   Jared Donaldson (8), United States, vs. Darian King, Barbados.
   Kyle Edmund (2), Great Britain, vs. Brydan Klein, Great Britain.

(Not before 4 p.m.)

   Denis Kudla (1), United States, vs. Connor Smith, United States.   

Court 1

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Marcos Giron (7), United States, vs. Dennis Nevolo, United States (final-round qualifying).

 (Not before 11:30 a.m.)

   Tennys Sandgren, United States, vs. Quentin Halys, France.
   Peter Polansky, Canada, vs. Dimitar Kutrovsky, Bulgaria.

   Sekou Bangoura, United States, and Marek Michalicka, Czech Republic, vs. Andre Dome and Eric Johnson, United States.

Court 4

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

    Sekou Bangoura, United States, vs. Andre Dome, United States (final-round qualifying).

(Not before 11 a.m.)

   Nicolas Meister, United States, vs. Jose Statham, New Zealand (final-round qualifying).

(Not before 2:30 p.m.)

   John Paul Fruttero, United States, and Ben McLachlan, New Zealand, vs. Adrien Bossel, Switzerland, and Quentin Halys, France.