U.S. sensation Fritz reaches semis at 100K Aptos

After practicing, Taylor Fritz glances at a match
on Center Court in Aptos, Calif., on Wednesday.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Wild card Taylor Fritz, one of the United States' top prospects, defeated sixth-seeded Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, Tenn., 6-5, 7-6 (1) today in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

   Fritz, 19, of Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles area, saved three sets points while serving at 5-6 in the second set.
   Fritz made his Challenger debut two years ago in Aptos, losing to veteran Mischa Zverev, now ranked 26th, in the first round. Two months later, Fritz won the Sacramento and Fairfield Challengers, also in Northern California, back to-back at 17.
   He became the second-fastest American man to reach an ATP World Tour final last year at Memphis and stunned then-No. 7 Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, at Indian Wells in March.
   Ranked a career-high No. 53 one year ago, Fritz has tumbled to No. 131 because of knee problems.
   Fritz's mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally.  May peaked at No. 10 in the world in 1977 and played in three career Grand Slam quarterfinals.
   Taylor Fritz will meet qualifier Liam Broady of Great Britain in today's second semifinal. Broady, a 23-year-old left-hander, beat Raymond Sarmiento of Los Angeles 6-4, 6-4. Sarmiento, a 25-year-old former USC All-American, played in the Aptos quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
    In the first semifinal, which will follow an 11 a.m. doubles semi, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan will face Sam Groth of Australia.
   Bublik, a 20-year-old Russia native, eliminated wild card Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-1, 6-4 in 64 minutes. Milpitas is a one-hour drive north of Aptos.
   Bublik, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and only 165 pounds (75 kilograms), qualified for the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. He shocked France's Lucas Pouille, then ranked 16th, in the first round in Melbourne before losing to Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. Bublik fell to top-ranked Andy Murray 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round at Wimbledon.
   Groth held off countryman Akira Santillan, a 20-year-old Tokyo native, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Groth pounded 17 aces, and Santillan had 15.
   Groth, 29, set an unofficial record with a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) serve in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger and climbed to a career-high No. 53 in 2015.
    Both semifinals will be first-time meetings.
    The Aptos tournament, the oldest men's Challenger in the United States, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Past competitors include International Tennis Hall of Famers Patrick Rafter and Michael Chang, as well as future Hall of Famers Andy Murray, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

Qualifier Sarmiento ousts No. 6 seed in 100K Aptos

   Two more seeds lost today in the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger in Aptos, Calif., putting a wild card into the U.S. Open up for grabs.
   Qualifier Raymond Sarmiento, ranked No. 516, stunned fellow American Ernesto Escobedo, seeded sixth, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at the Seascape Sports Club.
   Also, James McGee of Ireland dismantled No. 9 Mitchell Krueger of the United States 6-3, 6-1. Krueger, from Aledo, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was seeded after No. 8 Dennis Nguyen of the United States withdrew with a right shoulder injury before the tournament.
   Escobedo (80 points) and Krueger (63) lead the U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge, which ends with the Aptos Challenger. The American with the most points in two of three tournaments, which also include $50,000 Binghamton, N.Y., and $50,000 Lexington, Ky., will earn a wild card into the U.S. Open, Aug. 29-Sept. 11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Escobedo will still receive the U.S. Open wild card unless one of the six Americans left in Aptos -- Sarmiento, No. 3 seed Bjorn Fratangelo, wild card Clay Thompson, qualifier Eric Quigley, Evan King or Sekou Bangoura -- wins the title. Then that player would get the wild card.
   Quigley eliminated Mackenzie McDonald, a 21-year-old Aptos wild card from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
   With 1 1/2 rounds completed in Aptos, the only seeds left are No. 1 Daniel Evans of Great Britain and Fratangelo.
   Evans, the 2013 Aptos runner-up, will play McGee in Friday's quarterfinals. Evans held a championship point against former Stanford star Bradley Klahn in the 2013 final.
   Fratangelo will face the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Thompson today in the top half of the draw, when the remaining quarterfinal berths are determined. Sarmiento will play Quigley on Friday, ensuring that a qualifier will reach the semifinals. Qualifier Cameron Norrie of Great Britain also remains alive in the bottom half of the draw.
   Fratangelo, a 23-year-old former French Open junior champion, turned pro out of high school. Thompson (UCLA), Sarmiento (USC) , Quigley (Kentucky), King (Michigan) and Bangoura (Florida) are former All-Americans.
   Here are the singles and doubles draws and Thursday's schedule.        

Brooksby, 14, wins in Futures qualies; college results

Jenson Brooksby, 14, plays in
the $2,000 Rio del Oro Open
two weeks ago in Sacramento.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby, 14, of Sacramento defeated Timothy Roe 6-3, 6-1 on Saturday in the first round of qualifying for the $15,000 Bakersfield (Calif.) Tennis Open.
   Brooksby, the USTA 12-and-under champion in 2013, will be a big underdog today in the second round. He will face second-seeded Raymond Sarmiento, who completed his eligibility at USC last year. A five-time All-American (four singles and one doubles), he helped the Trojans win three NCAA team championships.
   Ninth-seeded Connor Farren, a USC sophomore from Foster City in the San Francisco Bay Area, drew a first-round bye in qualifying. He is scheduled to play Jeremy Hunter Nicholas in the second round. 

COLLEGE DUAL MATCHES
Women

   No. 9 Cal def. No. 21 Pepperdine 4-3 in Malibu. No. 1 singles: Fifteenth-ranked Lorraine Guillermo (Pepperdine) def. fourth-ranked Maegan Manasse 4-6, 7-6 (4) [10-8]. Clinching match (No. 5): Sixtieth-ranked Karla Popovic def. Christine Maddox 6-1, 6-3. Records: Cal 11-2, Pepperdine 5-4.
   No. 60 San Jose State def. Pacific 4-3 in Stockton. No. 1 singles: Iveta Masarova (Pacific) def. Sybille Gauvain 6-3, 7-5. Clinching match (No. 4): Julianna Bacelar def. Francis Dean 5-7, 6-1, 7-5. Records: San Jose State 8-5, Pacific 7-5.
   No. 75 Sacramento State def. San Diego 4-3 in San Diego. No. 1 singles (clinching match): Alina Soltanici (Sac State) def. Marta Stojanovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (1). Records: Sac State 8-7, San Diego 1-6.
   Santa Clara def. UC Davis 5-2 in Santa Clara. No. 1 singles: Delphine Rouvillois (Santa Clara) def. Layla Sanders 6-3, 6-0. Clinching match (No. 4): Chelby Cooke def. Lani-Rae Green 7-5, 6-3.

Men

   Sacramento State def. Eastern Washington 6-1 in Cheney, Wash. No. 1 singles: Sean Kolar (Sac State) def. Robert Dula 6-1, 6-2. Clinching match (No. 4): Kasparas Zemaitelis def. Eduardo Martinez 6-1, 6-2. Records: Sac State 5-7 overall, 3-1 Big Sky Conference; Eastern Washington 3-9, 1-4.