Kozlov, 16, survives big scare to reach semis

Stefan Kozlov, 16, outlasted Rhyne Williams 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4
to reach the semifinals of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Stefan Kozlov pulled off his most dramatic victory yet in the $100,000 Sacramento Pro Circuit Challenger on Friday.
   The 16-year-old wild card outlasted fellow American Rhyne Williams 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 2 hours, 46 minutes in 90-degree (32.2 Celsius) heat at the Natomas Racquet Club to reach his first Challenger semifinal in only his third attempt. Challengers are equivalent to Triple A in baseball.
   Kozlov saved three break points at 3-4 in the third set, two on gutsy serve-and-volleys and one on Williams' ghastly long backhand return of a routine second serve.
   For all practical purposes, the 23-year-old Williams was done. Kozlov, potentially the male superstar the United States has waited so long for, won eight of the last nine points.
   Williams, who captured the 2012 Sacramento doubles title with former Tennessee teammate Tennys Sandgren, was broken at love to trail 4-5 and ended the match with three consecutive forehands long.
   Kozlov also was down a set and a break early in the second set and came within the tiebreaker of being bounced out of the tournament by Williams, ranked No. 211 in the world.
   Kozlov has won all three of his matches in the Sacramento Challenger in three sets. He stunned his mentor and fellow Floridian, 22-year-old Ryan Harrison, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round and outdueled John-Patrick Smith, a 25-year-old left-hander from Australia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round.

Williams led by a set and a break early in the second set.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Against Smith, Kozlov survived three break points at 4-4 in the third set before holding serve for the match.

   The hard-hitting Harrison is ranked No. 183 after reaching a career-high No. 43 two years ago. Smith is No. 230 in singles and No. 77 in doubles. He won last year's doubles title in Sacramento with countryman Matt Reid.
    "Every match I've played so far has been a mentally tough battle," said Kozlov, who spoke to his Russian father on the phone in fluent Russian after subduing Williams. "I've played three good players and gone into each match as an underdog, obviously, and I think I've just been the steadier one."
   Kozlov will meet second-seeded Tim Smyczek of Tampa, Fla., for the first time in today's first semifinal. Fortunately for Kozlov, at least, the match is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. on a day when the temperature is forecast to reach 95 degrees (35 Celsius).
   The 99th-ranked Smyczek (pronounced SMEE-check), last year's runner-up in Sacramento to Donald Young, dismissed fifth-seeded Denis Kudla of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 6-1 in 61 minutes.
   Smyczek, who has not lost a set in the tournament, will be much fresher than Kozlov. The average length of Smyczek's three matches, 1 hour and 12 minutes, is exactly half of Kozlov's.
   However, all the pressure will be on the 26-year-old Smyczek as the favorite.
   "I think Smyczek is very good, to be honest. Not very good, but he's ... not very tall, like me," said Kozlov, who at 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) is one inch (2.54 centimeters) taller than Smyczek. "He puts a lot of authority on every ball. He serves smart. I think he's just a really smart player."
   So is Kozlov, who was born in Macedonia and moved to South Florida at 1 with his parents. He and his 14-year-old brother, also a promising player, were named after Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, respectively.
   In the second semifinal, top-seeded Sam Querrey of Las Vegas will face unseeded John Millman of Australia for the first time.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey dispatched another top American prospect, 17-year-old Jared Donaldson, 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes. Donaldson, 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters), converted only 38 percent of his first serves. He had no aces and six double faults.
   Querrey, ranked No. 47 after climbing as high as No. 17 in 2011, has won 10 consecutive matches since losing to top-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the third round of the U.S. Open.
   Querrey's streak includes two wins against Slovakia in the Davis Cup in Chicago, five for the title in last week's $50,000 Napa Challenger and three in Sacramento.
   Millman, the 2010 Sacramento champion, dismantled American wild card Bjorn Fratangelo 6-1, 6-2 in 61 minutes.
   The right-handed Millman returned to competition in April after sitting out for 11 months because of right shoulder surgery.
   He said he has seen Querrey "play a fair bit, and he's pretty impressive player. He's a big, strapping lad. He's obviously got a really big serve, so you've got to try to nullify that and try to be really switched on with your returns. He tries to hit a lot of forehands and hits a really heavy ball.
   "I think what you've got to try and do is really look after your service games to try to maybe build a bit of pressure on his service games by making lots of returns. If I can do that, I'm sure I'll be in it."

$100,000 SACRAMENTO PRO CIRCUIT CHALLENGER

At Natomas Racquet Club

Singles quarterfinals

   Tim Smyczek (2), United States, def. Denis Kudla (5), United States, 6-2, 6-1.
   John Millman, Australia, def. Bjorn Fratangelo, United States, 6-1, 6-2.
   Stefan Kozlov, United States, def. Rhyne Williams, United States, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
   Sam Querrey (1), United States, def. Jared Donaldson, United States, 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles semifinals

   Peter Polansky and Adil Shamasdin (2), Canada, def. Daniel Nguyen and Eric Quigley, United States, 6-4, 6-2.

Today's schedule

(Starting at 10:30 a.m.)

Court 1

   Tim Smyczek (2), United States, vs. Stefan Kozlov, United States.
   Sam Querrey (1), United States, vs. John Millman, Australia.
   Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak (1), New Zealand, vs. Adam Hubble and John-Patrick Smith, Australia.

Baghdatis handles Belgian in rematch

   There was little drama this time.
   Second-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus outclassed unseeded Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 6-3, 6-4 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos.
   It was the eighth straight victory for Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up to Roger Federer. Baghdatis edged Bemelmans 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) last week in the semifinals of the $100,000 Vancouver Challenger en route to the title.
   Baghdatis will face fourth-seeded Go Soeda of Japan in a matchup of 29-year-old, 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) veterans.
   Soeda, the Aptos runner-up in 2006, dispatched eighth-seeded Marton Fucsovics, the 2010 Wimbledon boys champion from Hungary, 6-2, 6-3.
   Baghdatis, ranked No. 106 after reaching a career-high No. 8 in 2006, is 2-0 against Soeda, ranked No. 117. In their last meeting, Baghdatis won 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of last year's U.S. Open.
   In the other semifinal, top-seeded Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan will play unseeded Rhyne Williams of Boca Raton, Fla., for the first time.
   Kukushkin, ranked No. 55, topped fifth-seeded Somdev Devvarman of India 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. Devvarman, an Aptos semifinalist in 2009 and 2010, had needed 3 hours, 2 minutes to subdue Ze Zhang of China on Thursday.
   Williams, ranked No. 245, took out Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. 

$100,000 COMERICA BANK CHALLENGER

At Seascape Sports Club in Aptos

Singles quarterfinals

   Go Soeda (4), Japan, def. Marton Fucsovics (8), Hungary, 6-2, 6-3.
   Rhyne Williams, United States, def. Juan Ignacio Londero, Argentina, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
   Mikhail Kukushkin (1), Kazakhstan, def. Somdev Devvarman (5), India, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
   Marcos Baghdatis (2), Cyprus, def. Ruben Bemelmans, Belgium, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles quarterfinals

   Purav Raja and Sanam Singh (4), India, def. Andrea Collarini, Argentina, and Cesar Ramirez, Mexico, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Today's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Austin Krajicek, United States, and John-Patrick Smith (1), Australia, vs. Purav Raja and Sanam Singh (4), India.
   Mikhail Kukushkin (1), Kazakhstan, vs. Rhyne Williams, United States.
   Marcos Baghdatis (2), Cyprus, vs. Go Soeda (4), Japan.
   Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak (3), New Zealand, vs. Ruben Bemelmans, Belgium, and Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania.

Despite U.S. men's worst year ever, Kudla optimistic

Denis Kudla, shown in last week's Sacramento
Challenger, was the last American man remaining
in singles at Wimbledon. Photos by Paul Bauman

   TIBURON, Calif. — Mercifully for American men's tennis, the season will end in 5 1/2 weeks.
   Simply stated, this has been the worst year in U.S. men's history.
   No American reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time, and no U.S. man advanced to the third round at Wimbledon for the first time in 101 years.
   For one week last month, the United States was shut out of the top 20 in the world for the first time since the computerized rankings began 40 years ago.
   In addition, no American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick 10 years ago at the U.S. Open.
   At least Bob and Mike Bryan came within two match victories of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's doubles in 62 years.
   Despite the United States' woes in singles, 21-year-old Denis Kudla of Boca Raton, Fla., is optimistic. 
   "I don't think anyone is in his prime, except for John (Isner) and Sam (Querrey)," the top-seeded Kudla said today after crushing Austin Krajicek of Tampa, Fla., 6-0, 6-1 in 51 minutes in the second round of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger. "All the guys before were a lot older, at the end of their careers. I think every guy was at least 30, maybe 29. All the other guys are 19, 20, 21, 22, and we're coming up. We're right there — 100 (in the world), 95.
    "If you look at other big federations — the French, the Spanish — they don't have anyone 19, 20, 21. They may have one guy. We have maybe six, seven, even more than that coming up. Maybe in the next three or four years, I think something good is going to happen with American tennis."

Benjamin Mitchell, 20, of Australia edged No. 6 seed Rhyne
Williams 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1) in 3 hours, 1 minute in the second
round of the $100,000 Tiburon Challenger.

   Two seeds, both Americans, lost to Australians at the Tiburon Peninsula Club. No. 5 Rajeev Ram fell to John-Patrick Smith 7-6 (2), 6-4, and No. 6 Rhyne Williams of Knoxville, Tenn., finally succumbed to 20-year-old Benjamin Mitchell 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1) in 3 hours, 1 minute. Williams, 6-foot-1 (1.85 meters) with a pulverizing serve and forehand, saved one match point in the second set and five in the third set.
   Maybe the United States won't have to wait three or four years for a Grand Slam champion. Kudla said the 6-foot-10 (2.08-centimeter) Isner, 28, and the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey, 26, are capable of winning a Slam. But they have not advanced past the quarterfinals and fourth round, respectively.
   Isner is ranked No. 13 and Querrey No. 31. Prospects include 21-year-olds Jack Sock (No. 78), Kudla (No. 97) and Ryan Harrison (No. 106); 22-year-old Williams (No. 124); and 23-year-olds Bradley Klahn (No. 131) and Steve Johnson (No. 150).
   Further down the road are potential stars Christian Harrison, Ryan's 19-year-old brother, and Stefan Kozlov, 15.       
   In the meantime, Kudla contends that bad timing has victimized the United States at the highest level. Roger Federer of Switzerland, Rafael Nadal of Spain, Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Andy Murray of Great Britain have combined to win 37 of 40 Grand Slam singles titles since Roddick's triumph.

Williams saved six match points before
succumbing to Mitchell.

   "Tennis has gotten incredibly tough at the top level," said Kudla, the last American man remaining in singles at Wimbledon. "There are four guys setting the bar so high. I don't know if we'd be sitting in the same seat right now if those guys weren't there. I think Roddick would have seven, eight Slams and won a Slam probably in '09, '10, and it would be a (three- or four-year) drought instead of 10."
   Kudla rejects the argument that players from other countries are hungrier than Americans.
   "It's easy to say that, but I think we're pretty hungry," he said. "The toughest thing people sometimes don't look at — or maybe they do — is in other countries, tennis is the second sport. Everyone gets into tennis. Here, it's the seventh or eighth sport, so it's hard to get an unbelievable freak athlete into tennis and, even if (one is) into tennis, to like it."
   Kudla has a somewhat different perspective than other Americans. He moved from his native Ukraine to Fairfax, Va., with his family on his first birthday.   
   "I grew up in a European environment," said the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Kudla, who skipped college to turn pro. "My parents were strict but not crazy strict. I was never spoiled. I wanted tennis. It was always my dream."
   Vladimir Kudla, a successful architect, took his family out of Ukraine shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed.
   "It was dangerous," Denis said. "There were a lot of drugs and corruption everywhere. It was definitely not an easy place to grow up. My dad just said, 'I don't want that lifestyle for my kids. Come to America; we can do whatever we want; it's a lot safer.'
   "I definitely wouldn't have been a tennis player if I had stayed in Ukraine. Yeah, there are (pro) players, but even those guys now, they're all playing somewhere else. They're in France or Germany or Spain. None of them stay in Ukraine.

The road from the upscale town of Tiburon to the tournament
site offers a stunning view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

   "The only reason we started in tennis is because we came to America. My dad had friends here, and they were like, 'Let's go play tennis.' Tennis wasn't even an idea at all (in Ukraine)."
   Kudla's parents "came here not speaking a word of English and picked it all up in a year or two," he said. "It's pretty amazing what they did."
  Kudla reminisced in an otherwise empty locker room at the Tiburon Peninsula Club, tucked away in the hills across the bay from San Francisco. The road from the upscale town of Tiburon to the club offers a spectacular view of the city to the left and the Golden Gate Bridge to the right.
   Kudla has lost only two games in two matches after losing in the first round as the top seed in the Sacramento Challenger to alternate Daniel Cox 7-5, 6-0.
   "Last week was a disaster," moaned Kudla, who will face Smith in Friday's quarterfinals. "I played awful. I was getting frustrated with everything for no reason and just wasn't able to control it. I was just kind of weak-minded a little bit.
   "You can't do that with these guys, because they'll jump all over you. Give them an inch to breathe, and they're going to take it and beat you. That's exactly what happened last week. Definitely, I learned from that quick."
   Overall, Kudla has enjoyed a breakthough year. He cracked the top 100 for the first time after Wimbledon, also reached the second round of the U.S. Open and advanced to the semifinals at Queen's Club in London on the elite ATP World Tour.
   "I'm really happy with my year, but I want more," said Kudla, who is close to ensuring a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open in January. "There are bigger goals — top 50 now, hopefully top 20, top 10 — just keep pushing, keep working from now to the end of the year."
   It can't come soon enough for U.S. men's tennis in general.
   Following are the Tiburon singles and doubles draws and Thursday's schedule:
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/singles_draw293.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/doubles_draw294.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/schedule294.PDF

Kudla, other top Americans enter NorCal Challengers

   Denis Kudla heads a strong American contingent in the upcoming Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon Challengers.
   At No. 95 in the world this week, Kudla is the fourth-ranked American and only top-100 player entered in any of the tournaments. Next are fellow Americans Tim Smyzcek (No. 104), Rajeev Ram (No. 118), Rhyne Williams (No. 125), Alex Kuznetsov (No. 128) and Bradley Klahn (No. 133).

Qualifier Tim Smyczek signs autographs after beating fifth seed
and 2010 champion Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the
SAP Open in San Jose in February.  Smyczek and Daniel Evans,
below, reached the third round of the recent U.S. Open to earn
$93,000 each. Photos by Paul Bauman

   All except Ram are scheduled to play in each of the three tournaments. Ram is entered only in Sacramento and Tiburon.
   Smyczek and Great Britain's Daniel Evans, who also is entered in all three tournaments, reached the third round of the recent U.S. Open.
   The $50,000 Napa Valley Challenger, $100,000 Sacramento Pro Circuit Challenger and $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger will be held in consecutive weeks beginning Monday.
   The Napa tournament, at the Napa Valley Country Club, will be staged for the first time. Sacramento has been played annually since 2005, at the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club for the first four years and the Natomas Racquet Club since then. Tiburon has been contested since 2003 with a break from 2005 through 2008.
   Last year's singles champions in Sacramento and Tiburon -- James Blake and Jack Sock, respectively -- are not scheduled to return. Blake, who reached a career-high No. 4 in 2006, retired after the recent U.S. Open. Sock, ranked No. 88, plays primarily on the elite ATP World Tour. 
   Kudla, a 21-year-old Ukraine native who moved to Fairfax, Va., on his first birthday, played in the singles main draw of three Grand Slam tournaments this year. As a qualifier, he lost in the first round of the French Open on clay and reached the second round at Wimbledon on grass. Kudla earned direct acceptance into the U.S. Open on hardcourts and advanced to the second round, facing two of the top four Czechs.
   Kudla, a 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) right-hander, beat Jiri Vesely, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) left-hander, at Flushing Meadows before losing to fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych. Vesely, 20, climbed to No. 1 in the world junior rankings in January 2011.
   Kudla also reached the quarterfinals at Queen's Club, a Wimbledon tuneup tournament in London on the ATP World Tour, before losing to fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
   Smyczek, only 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), was the last American left in men's singles at the U.S. Open. John Isner and Sock also reached the third round. That was worth $93,000 for each player.

Evans gained the final of the Aptos Challenger
in July, losing to former Stanford star Bradley
Klahn after holding a championship point.

   Evans, also 5-9, held a championship point before losing to Klahn in the final of the $100,000 Aptos Challenger in July. As a qualifier at Flushing Meadows, Evans stunned 11th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan and 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic of Australia.
   Evans then fell to 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain. Robredo ousted five-time champion Roger Federer in the fourth round before losing to eventual winner Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
   Also scheduled to make the NorCal swing are 30-year-old American Robby Ginepri, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2005, and Australian Samuel Groth, who holds the record for the world's fastest serve (163.4 mph or 263 kph).
   Ram, 29, gained the second round of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year. At Flushing Meadows, he routed 16th-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round.
   Williams, 22, lost in the first round of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. He reached the semifinals on clay in Houston in April for his best result on the ATP Tour and won last year's doubles title in Sacramento with former University of Tennessee teammate Tennys Sandgren.
   Kuznetsov, a Sacramento semifinalist in 2011 and 2006, qualified for Wimbledon in June before losing to Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands in the opening round.               
   Klahn, the 2010 NCAA champion as a sophomore at Stanford, reached the second round of the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year. The 2012 Stanford graduate won his first Challenger title two months ago in Aptos. 
   Brian Baker, one of the greatest comeback stories of all time in any sport, is entered in Sacramento and Tiburon. The 28-year-old American missed six years while undergoing five operations, including the Tommy John (elbow ligament replacement) procedure dreaded by baseball pitchers.
   Baker returned in 2011 and, as a qualifier, advanced to the final at Nice on clay on the ATP World Tour and the round of 16 at Wimbledon last year.
   Disaster struck again in January, when Baker tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee in the second round of the Australian Open. He underwent surgery on Jan. 21 and returned the competition in Aptos. 
   Here are links to the Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon entry lists:
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/Napa.pdf
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/Sacramento_CH.pdf
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/Tiburon.pdf
   Aggie Pro Am -- The Sixth Annual UC Davis Aggie Pro-Am is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.
   Lunch, side events for prizes and T-shirts are included in a $100 donation to UC Davis women’s and men’s tennis programs. To enter or help sponsor the event, call Ashley Williams at (530) 754-2593.
   Clay Court League -- The registration deadline for the Sacramento Clay Court League at Ben Combs' house in the suburb of Orangevale is Oct. 4. The season is scheduled for Oct. 19 through Nov. 3.
   For more information, visit www.sacramentoclaycourtleague.com.

Blake shows he can still play at 32

James Blake (second from left) beat Mischa Zverev (third from left) Sunday
in the Sacramento Challenger final. Emcee Brad Gilbert is at far left and
tournament director Brian Martinez at far right. Photo by Paul Bauman   

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- James Blake isn't quite ready to get another job or be a stay-at-home father.
   The American veteran, who will turn 33 in December, showed in the $100,000 RelyAid Natomas Challenger that he still has some tennis left in him. Blake, seeded second, fought off unseeded Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 Sunday at the Natomas Racquet Club for the title.
   "It's nice to still be able to move around at 32 and do this for a living," Blake told the crowd afterward.

Doubles champions Rhyne Williams (far left) and Tennys Sandgren (holding
the trophy) pose with Gilbert and Martinez. Photo by Paul Bauman

   In an All-American doubles final, former University of Tennessee teammates Tennys Sandgren and Rhyne Williams saved four match points to defeat Devin Britton and Austin Krajicek 4-6, 6-4, 12-10 tiebreak for their first Challenger doubles crown. Both teams were unseeded.     
   Blake, ranked No. 97 entering the tournament after reaching a career-high No. 4 in 2006, underwent surgery on his right knee last November and earlier this year seriously considered retiring.
   "Without my legs, I'm a below-average player," he told ESPN.com in August at the U.S. Open. "To be honest, I was worried that my knee wasn't coming around. I was going to give it this summer. I was thinking that might be it."
   Love of the game brought him back, and his knee responded.
   Blake's life off the court also is looking up. He became a father when his fiancee, Emily Snyder, gave birth to a daughter, Riley, on June 10. The wedding is scheduled for November in California.       
   "Winning here is great," said Blake, who narrowly lost to 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic in last year's Sacramento final, "but nothing puts a smile on my face like seeing my daughter."
   Zverev had plenty of reason to smile, too.
   "I went to the Golden Gate Bridge and got to the final, so it was a good week," said the private pilot, who twice rented a plane and went for a spin during the week.
   Zverev, a 25-year-old left-hander, was born in Moscow but moved to Germany at 4. His father, who played Davis Cup for the Soviet from 1982 to 1987, received an attractive coaching offer there. Mischa climbed to No. 45 in the world in 2009 before injuries derailed his career. He was No. 168 entering the Natomas Challenger.      
   Blake and Zverev enthralled the crowd with vicious groundstrokes, amazing gets and outstanding athleticism. Zverev also volleyed crisply.
   The first two sets were almost exact opposites. There were two service breaks in each set, and both provided leads of 3-1 and 5-1.
   The only break of the third set came in the last game. From 15-15, Blake ripped a forehand winner off Zverev's second serve and a backhand cross-court passing shot off Zverev's first delivery for 15-40. After Zverev missed his first serve, Blake slugged a deep forehand, and Zverev sent a forehand long to end the battle. 
   Blake committed no double-faults in the match and won 20 of 23 points (87 percent) on his serve in the third set, including all 11 on his first serve.
   Looking ahead, Blake isn't eyeing a return to the top 20.

   "I never make ranking goals," he said. "I just want to get better and play as long as I can."