Game, set, match: Czar says so long after 10 1/2 years

Australian Christopher O'Connell and his coach, David Moore, encountered a wall
of flames 200 yards (183 meters) ahead while evacuating during qualifying for the
2017 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger. They quickly turned around and were shaken but
unharmed. Photo courtesy of Christopher O'Connell

   After 10 1/2 years, this is my 3,324th and last post. That's almost one a day, mostly while working full-time. But who's counting?

   At 66 (ugh), I'm ready to move on. I will, however, keep this website active in case anyone wants to peruse past articles.

   I've seen a lot of great tennis in the past 10 1/2 years, but I will most remember the friendly players from around the world and the revealing interviews. Here are some highlights of the past decade-plus:

Dmitry Tursunov, a former top-20 player, detailed
his rigid upbringing in a four-hour interview in 2011.
2017 photo by Paul Bauman

   —Former top-20 player Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native who trained in Northern California as a junior and professional, spilling his guts about his rigid upbringing during a four-hour interview in 2011. As Vivian Kensington (Selma Blair) says in the hilarious 2001 movie "Legally Blonde," "Four hours."

   —Australian John Millman, like Tursunov one of the true nice guys in sports, candidly recalling the low point of his career in a 90-minute interview.

   —Millman becoming the first No. 1 seed in the 28-year history of the Aptos (Calif.) Challenger to win the title and shocking Roger Federer to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

   —Strolling on the beach in Aptos as the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean.  

   —Santiago Giraldo, a former top-30 player from Colombia, looking at a ball with a smiley face on it during changeovers in the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger to remind himself how lucky he was to be playing professional tennis. Giraldo won the title and retired four years later at 32. 

   —Belgium's An-Sophie Mestach, the world's top junior in 2011, hurting her wrist twirling her racket while bouncing the ball 25 times — yes, 25 times — before each serve.

   —Christopher O'Connell of Australia recounting his harrowing evacuation from Northern California wildfires during qualifying for the 2017 Fairfield Challenger. O'Connell won the title two years later.

Santiago Giraldo displays the smiley-face ball
he looked at during changeovers in the 2016
Fairfield Challenger "to remember how lucky
I am." Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Attending the Australian Open in 2012 — has it really been 10 years? — the U.S. Open in 2015 and 2016, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., annually.

   —Sorry to name-drop, but interviewing International Tennis Hall of Famers Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Pam Shriver and Nick Bollettieri. All were gems.

   —The inimitable Wayne Bryan, tennis ambassador, father of Bob and Mike Bryan, and former longtime coach of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis. Wayne Bryan is smart, funny, exuberant and down-to-earth. Not a bad combination.

   —Serena Williams winning the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

   —Naomi Osaka stunning 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in the first round at Stanford in 2014 as a 16-year-old qualifier playing her first main-draw match on the WTA Tour.

   —Germany's Sabine Lisicki breaking the record for the fastest women's serve (131 mph or 210.8 kph) in a first-round loss at Stanford in 2014.

   —Milos Raonic winning his third consecutive SAP Open title in 2013 in San Jose, Calif. The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Canadian with a pulverizing serve never lost a set in 13 matches in the indoor tournament, which folded in 2014 after 125 years in one form or another.

   —Covering the 100th-anniversary celebration of the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club in Sacramento, Calif. Shriver moderated a poignant question-and-answer session with fellow Hall of Famers Dennis Ralston, Rosemary Casals and Charlie Pasarell. Beforehand, I sat at a dinner table with Ralston, who died 14 months later at 78.

Serena Williams poses after winning the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford for the third and final time in 2014. Tri Nguyen/
TriNguyenPhotography.com

   —Interviewing San Francisco Bay Area product Brad Gilbert after the renowned coach, author and commentator and former top-five player addressed 125 juniors and parents at the beautiful, stately Olympic Club in San Francisco in 2013. 

   —Sofia Kenin winning a Northern California Challenger for three consecutive years as a teenager, triumphing in Sacramento, Stockton and Berkeley. Eighteen months after the latter tournament, she stormed to the Australian Open title.

   —Sam Querrey, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) San Francisco native, sweeping the three-week NorCal Challenger swing through Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon in 2014. Querrey had decided to stay on familiar ground rather than try to qualify in Asia on the elite ATP World Tour.

   —Cameron Norrie of Great Britain winning back-to-back NorCal Challengers in Tiburon and Stockton at 22 in 2017 and Taylor Fritz of the United States doing likewise in Sacramento and Fairfield at 17 in 2015. They are now ranked No. 1 in their countries at No. 12 and No. 22 in the world, respectively.

John McEnroe spoke to reporters before a 2014
legends match in Sacramento, Calif. Photo by
Paul Bauman 

   —The spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay from the town of Tiburon ("shark" in Spanish).   

   —American Bjorn Fratangelo — yes, he was named after Bjorn Borg — winning the 2018 Fairfield Challenger after almost quitting tennis.

   —American Stefan Kozlov — yes, he was named after Stefan Edberg — reaching the final of the 2014 Sacramento Challenger at 16.

   —Interviewing Jenson Brooksby at 12, CiCi Bellis at 13, Katie Volynets at 15 and Sam Riffice at 15.

   Brooksby and Bellis were voted the Newcomer of the Year on the ATP Tour last year and WTA Tour in 2017, respectively. Bellis, who underwent three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow in 2018-19, has not played in 14 months.

   Volynets, who turned 20 on Dec. 31, has climbed to No. 178 in the world. Riffice helped Florida win the NCAA team championship last May, then added the singles title.

   Brooksby and Riffice were born in Sacramento, Bellis in San Francisco and Volynets in Walnut Creek in the Bay Area.

   —Interviewing Stanford alumni Bob and Mike Bryan, Bradley Klahn, Nicole Gibbs and Kristie Ahn. All bias aside, fellow alums are the classiest, most articulate, most introspective athletes I've encountered in 47 years covering tennis. Granted, the tightly wound McEnroe wasn't exactly classy on the court, but he has always been refreshingly candid. Plus, he attended Stanford for only one year.

   Gibbs discussed her battle with depression. Others would have said, "Tennis questions only, please."

At 16, Naomi Osaka stunned Samantha Stosur in the first
round at Stanford in 2014. Photo by Paul Bauman

   True, Ahn flung her racket high into the crowd — accidentally, she said — during the semifinals of the 2019 Berkeley Challenger. But she patiently discussed the incident with a reporter afterward. Others would have hid in the locker room.

   —Nice guys Tommy Haas, Mardy Fish, Tim Smyczek, Denis Kudla, Noah Rubin, Liam Broady and Marc Polmans.

   —The sensational final between Smyczek (pronounced SMEE-check) and Kudla, close friends and training partners, in the 2015 Tiburon Challenger. Smyczek saved four match points and Kudla one in Smyczek's 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) victory.

   —Nice gals Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Zheng Saisai, Kimiko Date (pronounced DAH-tay), Mayo Hibi, Sachia Vickery and Grace Min.

   —Date, a former top-five player from Japan who retired at 26 for 12 years, reaching the semifinals of the Stockton Challenger at 44 in 2015 and losing in the final round of Stockton qualifying at 46. Date was Tom Brady before Tom Brady.

   —The "Gentle Giant," 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Ivo Karlovic.

   —The "Little Giant," 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter), 120-pound (54-kilogram) Danielle Lao.

The drive to the Tiburon Men's Challenger offers a spectacular view of the
Golden Gate Bridge from the town of Tiburon. 2017 photo by Paul Bauman 

   —Jan Tiilikainen, after winning the national men's 30 indoor title for the fifth time in 2014 in the Sacramento area, recalling his grueling workouts as a teenager in Finland.

   —Interviewing Wayne Thiebaud, a world-renowned artist who played tennis until the day after he turned 100 in November 2020, on the phone. The gracious, humble Thiebaud (pronounced TEE-bow) died this past Christmas.

   —The "cookie lady."

   —Speaking of sweets ... buying heavenly brownies and chocolate croissants at Fournée Bakery in Berkeley, taking them across the street to the venerable Berkeley Tennis Club and munching them while watching world-class tennis courtside in beautiful weather. It doesn't get any better than that.

Serena out of U.S. Open; Cal coach Wright retires

Serena Williams, who will turn 40 next month, hasn't played
on the tour since retiring from her first-round match at Wim-
bledon. 2018 photo by Mal Taam 

   Serena Williams withdrew from the U.S. Open today, citing a torn hamstring.

   Williams, who will turn 40 on Sept. 26, hasn't played on the tour since retiring in the first set of her opening-round match at Wimbledon in late June because of a right hamstring injury.

   Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, reigning champion Dominic Thiem and Venus Williams also have pulled out of the U.S. Open, Monday through Sept. 12, with injuries.

   Williams won the last of her six U.S. Open singles titles and the last of her three Bank of the West Classic singles crowns at Stanford in 2014. She has been stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one short of Margaret Court's record, since giving birth on Sept. 1, 2017. Williams has reached four major finals since then, two in 2018 and two in 2019, losing in straight sets as the favorite each time. 

   U.S. Open qualifying — In her tournament debut, No. 4 seed Mayar "Who Shot The" Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt defeated Clervie Ngounoue, a 15-year-old wild card from Washington, D.C., 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.

   WTA Tour — In a late doubles quarterfinal in Cleveland, top-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a San Francisco Bay Area native) of Japan edged Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Lidziya Marozava of Belarus 6-2, 3-6 [10-8].

   College — Peter Wright announced his retirement as director of men's tennis at the University of California, Berkeley after 29 years as the head coach.

   Wright, a 57-year-old Berkeley native, amassed a 383-256 record at Cal. He guided the Bears to the NCAA Championships 25 times, including a semifinal berth in 2016, and four appearances in the top 10. 

   Under Wright, 16 Cal players combined to earn 20 ITA All-America selections. Former Bears Ben McLachlan (2011-14), a New Zealand product who represents his mother's native Japan, and Andre Goransson (2014-17) of Sweden are ranked No. 29 and No. 65, respectively, in doubles in the world. 

   Amanda Augustus, now in her 14th season as the Cal women's head coach, will serve as the interim men's coach while the school conducts a national search. 

Serena retires from Wimbledon opener with leg injury

Serena Williams retired in a Grand Slam match for only the
second time. 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   Sixth-seeded Serena Williams retired from her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus at Wimbledon today with a right leg injury.

   Williams, who won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles five years ago, slipped on the grass while hitting a forehand at 3-1 in the first set. The match ended two games later at 3-3. 

   It's only the second time that Williams — who won the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — has retired from a Grand Slam match. The first occurred in the third round at Wimbledon in 1998.

   In the preceding match on Centre Court, Adrian Mannarino of France retired against eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer at two sets apiece after a similar fall. The roof had been closed because of rain. 

   Williams, who will turn 40 in September, failed for the 13th time since becoming a mother to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

   Williams' last major crown came in the 2017 Australian Open. She has reached four Grand Slam finals since then, including two at Wimbledon, but none since the 2019 U.S. Open.

   Sam Querrey's first-round match against 11th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain was postponed until Wednesday.

   Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals in 2016 and 2019. Carreno Busta, a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist, is 0-5 at Wimbledon.

Serena, Federer say au revoir to 2021 French Open

SERENA WILLIAMS
File photo by Paul Bauman

   Serena Williams and Roger Federer, who have combined for 43 Grand Slam singles titles, exited the French Open today.

   No. 21 seed Elena Rybakina, a hard-hitting 21-year-old Moscow native who represents Kazakhstan, eliminated the erratic Williams, seeded seventh, 6-3, 7-5 in Paris to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

   Williams failed to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 major singles crowns for the 12th time and has not reached a final in her last seven Grand Slam tournaments.

   The eighth-seeded Federer, who won Roland Garros in 2009, was scheduled to play ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy on Monday.

   "After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation, it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery," Federer tweeted. "I am thrilled to have gotten three matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court."

ROGER FEDERER
File photo by Paul Bauman

   Federer and Williams will turn 40 in August and September, respectively. It's uncertain whether either will return to the French Open next year.

   "I'm definitely not thinking about it at all," the three-time champion of the French Open and Bank of the West Classic at Stanford told reporters. "I'm definitely thinking just about other things but not about that."

   Rybakina's victory assures a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist. In the bottom half of the draw, Rybakina will face No. 31 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, and No. 33 seed Paula Badosa, a New York native who plays for Spain, will meet unseeded Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia. 

   Pavlyuchenkova, who played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in 2006 at age 15, also reached the French Open quarterfinals 10 years ago at 19. 

   The quarters in the top half of the draw, featuring defending champion Iga Swiatek and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, will be determined Monday.

   In the first round of boys singles:

   —Aidan Mayo of Roseville, Calif., in the Sacramento area defeated Matthew William Donald of the Czech Republic 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2.

   —No. 16 seed Viacheslav Bielinskyi of Ukraine beat Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

   WTA Tour —Kristie Ahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, topped British wild card Jodie Burrage 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on grass in the first round of the Viking Open Nottingham. Ahn had been 0-5, including three ITF (minor-league) matches, since March.

   Lucky loser Marina Melnikova of Russia edged qualifier Katie Volynets, 19, of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6).

Osaka outslugs Serena to reach Australian Open final

Naomi Osaka, shown at 16 in 2014, improved to 3-1
against Serena Williams. Osaka will meet Jennifer Brady
for the Australian Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Showdown? What showdown?

   In a much-anticipated match, third-seeded Naomi Osaka outslugged 10th-seeded Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4 tonight to reach the Australian Open final in Melbourne.

   Williams, a seven-time Australian Open champion, fell short for the 11th time in her attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. 

   Williams, 39, put her hand over her heart as she said goodbye to the crowd, leading to speculation that this was her last Australian Open.

   "If I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone," Williams — who won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — said in her post-match news conference before walking off in tears.

   Osaka, 23, of Japan improved to 3-1 against Williams, including a victory in the contentious 2018 U.S. Open final.

  The 2019 Australian Open champion, Osaka is scheduled to meet 22nd-seeded Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton, Fla., on Saturday at 12:30 a.m. PST on ESPN in a rematch of their U.S. Open semifinal last September. Osaka triumphed 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 en route to the title. She is 2-0 against Brady at the tour level.

   Brady, 25, beat 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam final.

   Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at 16 at Stanford in 2014. Brady starred in Northern California Challengers, sweeping the singles and doubles titles in Redding ($25,000) in 2014 at age 19 and advancing to the quarterfinals as the top seed in Sacramento ($60,000) in 2017, losing to Sofia Kenin. 

   In the first men's semifinal, top-ranked Novak Djokovic eliminated qualifier Aslan Karatsev of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Djokovic, seeking his ninth Australian Open singles title, will play the winner of the Friday, 12:30 a.m. (PST) match between fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev and fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas on ESPN.

   Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Rajeev Ram, a 36-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, reached the mixed doubles final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Australian wild cards Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans.

   Krejcikova and Ram will meet either unseeded Desirae Krawczyk of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain or Australian wild cards Samantha Stosur and Matthew Ebden.

   Krejcikova eyes her third consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles crown after triumphing with Ram in 2019 and Nikola Mektic of Croatia last year.

Pera ousts 2016 champion Kerber in Australian Open

Angelique Kerber, shown at Stanford in 2015 en route to the title, lost
to Bernarda Pera 6-0, 6-4 today in the first round of the Australian
Open. Photo by Mal Taam 

   Bernarda Pera of the United States dismissed No. 23 seed and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-0, 6-4 in a first-round matchup of left-handers today in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

   Kerber, who won the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, had no aces, committed seven double faults and won only 25 percent of the points on her second serve (six of 24).

   Third seed and 2019 champion Naomi Osaka, 10th seed and seven-time champion Serena Williams and two-time finalist Venus Williams, unseeded at 40, won in straight sets. 

   Osaka, who has won three Grand Slam singles titles, made her WTA main-draw debut at Stanford in 2014. As a 16-year-old qualifier, she saved a match point and ousted 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in the first round before losing to eighth-seeded Andrea Petkovic.

   Serena Williams is making her 11th attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Williams won the Bank of the West Classic in 2011, 2012 and 2014, defeating Kerber in the latter final.

   Venus Williams made her professional debut indoors in Oakland at 14 years old in 1994. She reached the Stanford final eight times, winning in 2000 and 2002, before the tournament moved down the road to San Jose, Calif., in 2018.

   Third-seeded Dominic Thiem, who won his first major title in the U.S. Open last September and reached last year's Australian Open final, beat Mikhail Kukushkin, a Russia native who plays for Kazakhstan, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3. 

   Kukushkin advanced to the final of the 2014 Aptos, Calif., Challenger, losing to 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis. 

Serena withdraws because of Achilles injury

   One player's quest to tie a record for career Grand Slam singles titles ended for the year while another's continued.

   Sixth-seeded Serena Williams withdrew from the French Open today with an Achilles tendon injury suffered in her semifinal loss to Victoria Azarenka in the recent U.S. Open.

   Williams, who turned 39 on Saturday, had been scheduled to play Tsvetana Pironkova, a 33-year-old Bulgarian, in a second-round matchup of mothers.

   Williams has been stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles crowns, one short of Margaret Court's record, for the past three seasons. The three-time French Open and Stanford champion did not reach a major final this year.

   This is the second time in the last three seasons that Williams has withdrawn from Roland Garros because of injury. In her first Grand Slam tournament since giving birth, she pulled out before her scheduled match against Maria Sharapova with a chest muscle problem in the fourth round in 2018.

   Williams said doctors advised her to rest for four to six weeks, adding that she "more than likely" will not play the rest of the year. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, almost every scheduled tournament has been canceled until 2021.  

   Also today, second-seeded Rafael Nadal dismissed Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour, 40 minutes.

   Nadal, seeking his fourth consecutive French Open crown and 13th overall, never faced a break point. He can tie Roger Federer's mark of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

   Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia ousted Azarenka, the 10th seed and U.S. Open runner-up, 6-2, 6-2 for her second consecutive victory over a Grand Slam champion. Schmiedlova, 26, eliminated 40-year-old Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round.

   Schmiedlova, who has plunged from a career-high No. 26 in 2015 to No. 161, came to Paris with a 12-match losing streak in Grand Slam main draws dating back five years. 

   Qualifier Martina Trevisan, a 5-foot-3 (1.60-meter) left-hander from Italy, surprised 16-year-old Coco Gauff of Delray Beach, Fla., 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round of a major for the first time.

   Gauff, the French Open girls singles champion at 14 in 2018, committed 19 double faults, including four straight at one point.

   Fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens, a French Open semifinalist in 2016, saved a match point and overcame cramps in her 7-6 (5), 3-6, 9-7 victory over 33-year-old Italian qualifier Sara Errani, the 2012 runner-up to Sharapova at Roland Garros, in 3 hours, 11 minutes.

   Bertens, who had been 0-5 against Errani, left the court in a wheelchair. Errani committed 14 double faults.

   Top-seeded Simona Halep, who won the 2018 French Open for the first of her two Grand Slam singles titles, beat fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-4 to set up a rematch against 25th-seeded Amanda Anisimova, a 19-year-old American. 

   Anisimova, who won her first professional title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger at 15, stunned Halep 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of last year's French Open. 

   In the first round of men's doubles:

   —Third-seeded Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley, and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat French wild cards Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys 6-4, 7-6 (1). 

   Halys reached the singles final of the 2016 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger.

   —Second-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina edged California natives Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, who was born in San Francisco, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

   In Northern California Challenger singles, Granollers advanced to the 2018 final in Tiburon, Johnson won the Aptos crown in 2012 and 2019, and Querrey swept the three-week swing in 2014.

   —Ninth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia downed Luke Bambridge of Great Britain and former Cal star Ben McLachlan, a New Zealand native who plays for his mother's native Japan, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

   Koolhof and Mektic reached the U.S. Open final, losing to Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil.

Stanford grad Ahn draws Serena again in French Open

Stanford graduate Kristie Ahn will meet Serena
Williams in the first round for the second consecutive
Grand Slam tournament. 2019 photo by Paul Bauman

   Until Sept. 1, Kristie Ahn had never played Serena Williams.

   Now, the Americans will meet in a Grand Slam tournament for the second time within one month.

   Three weeks after Williams, a three-time winner of the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, defeated Ahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open, they drew each other in the French Open.

   Williams, who will turn 39 on Saturday, is seeded sixth at Roland Garros, which begins Sunday. Ranked ninth, she seeks her fourth singles title in the French Open and record-tying 24th in a Grand Slam tournament. Williams has not reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros since falling to Garbine Muguruza in the 2016 final.

   Williams withdrew from last week's Italian Open with an Achilles tendon injury suffered during her three-set loss to Victoria Azarenka in the U.S. Open semifinals two weeks ago. Ahn, ranked No. 102, will play in the main draw of the French Open for the first time.

   The winner of the match could face the 10th-seeded Azarenka, the U.S. Open runner-up to Naomi Osaka, in the fourth round. Osaka withdrew from the French Open with a hamstring injury.

   Fresno, Calif., product Sloane Stephens, the 29th seed and 2018 French Open runner-up to Simona Halep, is scheduled to play Vitalia Diatchenko, a 30-year-old Russian ranked No. 115, for the first time. 

   Stephens is 3-10 this year with eight first-round losses in 10 tournaments. Ranked a career-high No. 3 in 2018, she has plunged to No. 34.

   Diatchenko reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2018 as a qualifier, ousting 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in the first round.

   Stephens or Diatchenko could play second-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the third round. Pliskova retired from Monday's Italian Open final against Halep with a left-thigh problem.

   CiCi Bellis, a 21-year-old San Francisco native who grew up down the peninsula in Atherton, is set to meet left-hander Bernarda Pera, a 25-year-old American born in Croatia, for the first time. 

   Bellis will play in the French Open for the first time since reaching the third round in 2017. She underwent three operations on her right wrist and one on her right elbow in 2018-19, 

   The survivor of the Bellis-Pera match likely will play 25th-seeded Amanda Anisimova, an American who advanced to last year's French Open semifinals at 17, in the second round. Anisimova won her first professional title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger at 15.

   In the men's draw, Sam Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native now based in Las Vegas, will take on 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev, 22, of Russia.

   Rublev, who reached his second U.S. Open quarterfinal this month, seeks his first main-draw victory at the French Open.

   Querrey, who became a father in February, is 0-3 since the ATP and WTA tours resumed in early August. He has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros in 12 appearances.

   Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, drew a qualifier to be determined. McDonald reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2017 but underwent hamstring surgery in June 2019 and missed the rest of the season.

   McDonald or the qualifier will face either second-seeded Rafael Nadal, seeking his 13th French Open crown, or Belarus' Egor Gerasimov, a semifinalist in the $81,240 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger last year.

   Other intriguing first-round matchups in the French Open are:

   —No. 16 seed Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion and 2017 runner-up, versus Andy Murray, the 2016 runner-up, in a matchup of three-time Grand Slam singles winners rebounding from multiple surgeries.

   —Third-seeded Dominic Thiem, the runner-up to Nadal in the last two French Opens and reigning U.S. Open champion, against Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open titlist.

   —Ninth-seeded Johanna Konta, a semifinalist last year at Roland Garros and the 2016 Bank of the West champion, versus 16-year-old Coco Gauff. 

Vika shocks Serena, will face Osaka in U.S. Open final

Victoria Azarenka reached her first Grand Slam singles final
since winning her second consecutive Australian Open title
seven years ago. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Victoria Azarenka continued her stunning comeback in stunning fashion tonight.

   In a loud, hard-hitting battle of mothers in their 30s and former world No. 1s, the unseeded Azarenka subdued third-seeded Serena Williams 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Williams strained an Achilles tendon in the second game of the third set and took a medical timeout, but she seemed fine after that.

   Azarenka raced to a 3-0 lead in the third set of the shriek-fest, and both players held serve the rest of the way in a rematch of the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Open finals, both of which Williams won in three sets.

   "We both know the match is never over (until the last point)," Azarenka said in an on-court interview regarding her turnaround after the first set. "I knew it's not going to be over at 5-3 (in the third set) either. I've been there before. Today was going to be different."

   Not only is Azarenka eight years younger than Williams, who will turn 39 on Sept. 26, the Belarusian was fresher. Williams played in her fourth consecutive three-set match, including one on Wednesday (players normally have a day off between singles matches in Grand Slam tournaments). Azarenka, meanwhile, annihilated 16th-seeded Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-0 in 73 minutes on Wednesday.

   Azarenka, who had been 0-10 against Williams in Grand Slam tournaments, reached her first major singles final since the 2013 U.S. Open. The two-time Australian Open champion will meet fourth-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT (ESPN). 

   Osaka outslugged 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady of Orlando, Fla., 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-3 to reach her second U.S. Open final in three years. At age 20, Osaka shocked Williams in straight sets in a chaotic match for the first of her two Grand Slam titles.

   Azarenka extended her winning streak to 12 matches, including a walkover against Osaka in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows, after going 0-3 since August 2019. She will climb at least 13 spots to No. 14 in the world rankings on Monday.

   Azarenka won the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford 10 years ago and ascended to No. 1 in 2012 after capturing the first of her two consecutive Australian Open crowns. She played only two tournaments between May 2016 and March 2018 because of her pregnancy and a subsequent child custody dispute, plummeting to No. 978 in May 2017.

   Williams, who claimed the last of her three Bank of the West Classic titles in 2014, again fell short in her quest to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

   Williams has failed to win any of the nine majors in which she has played since capturing the 2017 Australian Open title — losing four finals, all in straight sets — or to reach a final in her last four tournaments. She had a daughter on Sept. 1, 2017, and suffered life-threatening complications.

   Osaka, who made her WTA main-draw debut in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic, is 2-1 against Azarenka, but both victories came on clay.

   Azarenka drubbed Osaka 6-1, 6-1 in the third round of the 2016 Australian Open in their first meeting, but Osaka was only 18 at the time.

   Men's singles semifinals — Fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany will meet 20th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on Friday at 1 p.m. PDT (ESPN), followed by second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia versus third-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.

    Either Zverev, the 23-year-old son of former Russian pro Alexander Zverev Sr., or Carreno Busta, 29, will play in his first Grand Slam final.

   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev defeated Carreno Busta 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the 2018 Miami semis in their only previous meeting.

   Carreno Busta advanced to the quarterfinals when top-ranked Novak Djokovic was defaulted for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. Carreno Busta had just broken serve to lead 6-5.

   The 24-year-old Medvedev, last year's runner-up to Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic, is the only men's semifinalist who has not lost a set in the tournament.

   Thiem, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, is 2-1 against Medvedev. However, the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Russian won the last meeting 6-3, 6-1 in the Montreal quarters last year.

   Men's doubles final — Unseeded Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil won their first Grand Slam title together, defeating eighth-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia 7-5, 6-3.

   Soares, 38, claimed his third major men's doubles crown and Pavic, a 27-year-old left-hander, his second. They split $400,000.

   In the first round, Pavic and Soares trailed by a service break in the third set against fifth seeds and 2019 U.S. Open runners-up Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina. In the second round, Americans Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow served for the match against the eventual champions.

   Koolhof and Mektic, both 31, were playing in their first Grand Slam men's doubles final. They shared $240,000. 

In matchup of moms, Serena rallies to beat Pironkova

Serena Williams played her third consecutive three-set match
and eighth in 10 matches since the women's tour resumed.
2018 photo by Mal Taam

   Serena Williams survived another three-set match today to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

   Overcoming a sluggish start, the third-seeded Williams beat unranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., in the first major quarterfinal between mothers.

   Pironkova, a Bulgarian who will turn 33 on Sunday, was playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2017 after starting a family.

   Williams, who will turn 39 on Sept. 26, slugged 20 aces, her most in a match in eight years, and committed only one double fault. She twice returned a serve left-handed, winning each point, as she improved to 5-0 against Pironkova in their first meeting in five years.

   It was Williams' third consecutive three-set match and eighth in 10 matches since the women's tour resumed after a five-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. She turned the match around after losing her serve in the opening game of the second set.

   "I was definitely feeling it a little in my legs," the former world No. 1 said in an on-court interview. "For whatever reason, an hour in, I get more energy. ... In the beginning, I was a little fatigued. Obviously, I can't do that if I want to keep winning, so I'm going to try to figure that out."

   Added ESPN commentator Chris Evert, a six-time U.S. Open champion: "Serena did not play her best, but she got herself out of trouble. She has to raise her level if she wants to win this tournament."

   Williams is 0-8 in attempts to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles crowns since her daughter, Olympia, was born on Sept. 1, 2017. Williams won the last of her six U.S. Open singles titles in 2014, losing the last two finals to upstarts Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu. 

   Williams — the champion of the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014 —  is scheduled to play unseeded Victoria Azarenka on Thursday after the first semifinal between the fourth-seeded Osaka and 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady (4 p.m. PDT on ESPN).

   Azarenka, a 31-year-old mother, demolished 16th-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-0 in 73 minutes to extend her winning streak to 11 matches, including a walkover against Osaka in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows, after going 0-3 since August 2019. She won the Bank of the West Classic 10 years ago and ascended to No. 1 in 2012 after winning the first of her two consecutive Australian Open crowns.

   Mertens, a semifinalist in the Australian Open and inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., in 2018, had not lost a set in four tournament matches. She was coming off a 6-3, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Sofia Kenin, the reigning Australian Open champion.

   Williams leads Azarenka 18-4 overall and 10-0 in majors, including three-set victories in the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Open finals, in the head-to-head series. 

   In the first all-Russian men's quarterfinal in a major, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev downed 10th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (5). The volatile Rublev led 5-1 and 6-3 in the first-set tiebreaker. 

   Medvedev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) right-hander, took a medical timeout at 4-5 in the third set for apparent cramps in his legs and for treatment on his right arm.

   The 24-year-old Medvedev, last year's runner-up to Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic, has not lost a set in this year's tournament.

   Rublev, 22, was playing in his second U.S. Open quarterfinal. He reached the last eight at Flushing Meadows in 2017 before missing three months in 2018 with a lower-back stress fracture and six weeks in 2019 with a wrist injury.

   Medvedev will face second-seeded Dominic Thiem, 27, of Austria on Friday. Thiem, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, dismantled 21st-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. De Minaur, 21, was playing in his first major quarterfinal.

   Thiem is 2-1 against Medvedev, but the Russian won the last meeting 6-3, 6-1 in the Montreal quarterfinals last year on a hardcourt. 

Mamma mia: Serena, Pironkova, Vika reach quarters

Serena Williams avenged a loss to Maria Sakkari two weeks ago
in the Western & Southern Open. File photo by Paul Bauman 

   Two mothers in their 30s will meet in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.

   One of them was expected, the other far from it. 

   Third-seeded Serena Williams, who will turn 39 on Sept. 26, defeated 15th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 today in the fourth round in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Tsvetana Pironkova, a 32-year-old Bulgarian, beat Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in a matchup of unseeded players. Pironkova is playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2017 after starting a family.

   A third mother in her 30s, unseeded Victoria Azarenka, topped 20th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-1, 6-4. Muchova, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist last year, appeared on the verge of retiring with a hamstring injury early in the third set.

   It's the first time that three mothers have advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

   Williams overcame a 0-2 deficit in the third set to even her record against Sakkari at 1-1. Sakkari beat Williams 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the third round of the Western & Southern Open two weeks ago in Flushing Meadows.

   Williams won the last of her six U.S. Open singles titles in 2014. She has reached the last two U.S. Open finals, losing to upstarts Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu in straight sets in an attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. That quest continues.

   Sakkari, the runner-up in the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., in 2018, was trying to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

   Williams — who won the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — is 4-0 against Pironkova. Williams won the last encounter 7-5, 6-3 in the second round in Cincinnati in 2015. Three weeks later, the top-ranked Williams lost to No. 43 Roberta Vinci of Italy in one of the biggest upsets in sports history while trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. 

   Azarenka, 31, extended her winning streak to 10 matches, including a walkover in the final of the Western & Southern Open, after going 0-3 since August 2019. She won the Bank of the West Classic 10 years ago and ascended to No. 1 in 2012.

   Azarenka will face 16th-seeded Elise Mertens, 24, of Belgium for the first time in the quarters. Mertens, a semifinalist in the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, dominated second-seeded Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-3, 6-3.

   Kenin won Northern California Challengers in 2016 at 17, 2017 and 2018 and stormed to her first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open in January.

   In the men's draw, second-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria eliminated 15th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 20-year-old Canadian, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1.

   Thiem, a three-time runner-up in Grand Slam tournaments, is set to play 21st-seeded Alex de Minaur on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Australian beat unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first major quarterfinal.

   Pospisil won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2014 with American Jack Sock, advanced to the singles final in the 2017 San Francisco Challenger and underwent back surgery in January 2019.

   Thiem, 26, is 2-0 against de Minaur, including a straight-set victory in the first round of the 2017 U.S. Open.

   The other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the draw will be an all-Russian affair. 

   Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, last year's runner-up to Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic, dismissed the last remaining U.S. man, unseeded Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 24, has not lost more than four games in a set in four tournament matches.

   Tiafoe won the 2016 Stockton, Calif., Challenger at 18 years old to crack the top 100 and climbed to a career-high No. 29 in February 2019. He will rise 16 places to No. 66 after the U.S. Open.

   Tenth-seeded Andrey Rublev outplayed sixth-seeded Matteo Berrettini, a semifinalist in last year's U.S. Open, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

   Rublev, 22, avenged a straight-set loss to the 24-year-old Italian in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows in 2019 and reached his second Grand Slam quarterfinal. He also advanced to the Elite Eight in the 2017 U.S. Open at 19 before missing three months in 2018 with a lower-back stress fracture and six weeks in 2019 with a wrist injury.

   Medvedev has not lost a set in three career matches against Rublev.

   Barty out of French Open — Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty announced on Instagram that she will not defend her French Open title.

   The 24-year-old Australian cited coronavirus concerns and inadequate preparation. The French Open, normally held in late May and early June, was moved to Sept. 27-Oct. 11 because of the pandemic.

   "It has been a difficult decision to make but unfortunately I will not be competing in Europe this year," Barty wrote. "Last year's French Open was the most special tournament of my career so this is not a decision I have made lightly. There are two reasons for my decision. The first is the health risks that still exist with Covid. The second is my preparation, which has not been ideal without my coach being able to train with me due to the state border closures in Australia."

   Barty, who also skipped the U.S. Open, said she will not play again this year.

Serena subdues Stephens, earns rematch vs. Sakkari

Serena Williams improved to 6-1 against Sloane Stephens and reached the round
of 16 in the U.S. Open. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   In a matchup of American former U.S. Open champions, third-seeded Serena Williams defeated 26th-seeded Sloane Stephens 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 today in the third round of the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Williams pounded 12 aces and Stephens none. Williams had 29 winners and 23 unforced errors to Stephens' 25 and 18, respectively.

   "I don't think she made any errors in the first set," Williams, who improved to 6-1 in the head-to-head series, said in an on-court interview. "She just was playing so clean. I just said, 'I don't want to lose in straight sets. OK, Serena, just get a game, get a game. Next thing I know, I won the second set, and I was like, OK, great.' "

   Williams, who will turn 39 on Sept. 26, won the last of her six U.S. Open singles titles in 2014. She has reached the last two finals in Flushing Meadows, losing to upstarts Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu in straight sets in an attempt to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Williams also won the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

   Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product now based in Florida, captured her only Grand Slam title in the 2017 U.S. Open. She also reached the 2018 French Open final, losing to Simona Halep.

   Williams, ranked eighth, is scheduled to face Greece's Maria Sakkari, seeded 15th and ranked 22nd, for the second consecutive tournament on Monday at a time to be announced (ESPN2). 

   Sakkari, the runner-up in the inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., in 2018, routed 22nd-seeded Amanda Anisimova, a 19-year-old American, 6-3, 6-1 in 55 minutes. Anisimova won her first professional title in the 2017 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger at 15.

   Sakkari surprised Williams 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the third round of last week's Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows in their only previous meeting.

   Also today, unranked Tsvetana Pironkova, playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2017 after starting a family, beat 18th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4, 6-1. Vekic advanced to the San Jose semifinals last summer.

   In the first featured night match, French veteran Alize Cornet beat seventh-seeded Madison Keys, the 2017 runner-up to Stephens at Flushing Meadows and champion of the last Bank of the West Classic, 7-6 (4), 3-2, retired (neck).

   In the men's draw, unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada ousted eighth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. 

   Pospisil, ranked No. 94 after climbing to a career-high No. 25 in 2014, had back surgery in January 2019 and missed the first six months of the season. He won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2014 with American Jack Sock and advanced to the singles final in the 2017 San Francisco Challenger, falling to China's Ze Zhang.

  The 30-year-old Pospisil — one of three Canadian men in the round of 16 with 12th-seeded Denis Shapovalov, 21, and 15th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, 20 — had not advanced past the second round of a major since reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2015. 

   Pospisil will play 21st-seeded Alex de Minaur, a 21-year-old Australian who eliminated 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. De Minaur leads the head-to-head series 2-0. 

   Frances Tiafoe, 22, dominated Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in a clash of unseeded players to become the only American man in the round of 16. 

   Tiafoe, who won the 2016 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger to crack the top 100 at age 18, will face third-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who lost a five-set epic to Rafael Nadal in last year's final. 

   Medvedev, a 24-year-old Russian who stands 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), has not lost more than four games in a set in three matches this week. He is 2-0 against Tiafoe in tour-level events, including a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the first round of the Australian Open in January.  

In her first event in 3 years, Pironkova stuns Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza has played in the final of every Grand Slam tournament
except the U.S. Open. The former world No. 1 has never reached the quarter-
finals in Flushing Meadows. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   Tsvetana Pironkova wanted to see if she still had it.

   Apparently, she does.

   Playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2017, the unranked Pironkova shocked 10th-seeded Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, 7-5, 6-3 today in the second round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Pironkova, who climbed to a career-high No. 31 shortly after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals 10 years ago, missed the competition after leaving to start a family. She took advantage of a new WTA rule allowing new mothers to play 12 tournaments, including two Grand Slams, with their ranking when they stopped competing.

   "I was really curious what my level is at the moment," the 32-year-old Bulgarian said after dismissing Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round. "I was really curious to see if my preparation was adequate and could yield good results. I'm happy to see I did the right things. I wanted to see if I still have it."

   Muguruza has played in the final of the three other Grand Slam tournaments, winning Wimbledon and the French Open, but the former world No. 1 has never advanced to the U.S. Open quarterfinals. In the now-defunct Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, she reached the semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals in 2014 and won the doubles title in 2014 with fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro. 

   Suarez Navarro, Muguruza's close friend who turned 32 today, revealed Tuesday that she has Hodgkin lymphoma. 

   Pironkova next will meet 18th-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia. Vekic advanced to the semifinals of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., and quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last summer.

   Later today in the Battle of Belarus, Victoria Azarenka extended her winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in 67 minutes.

   The resurgent Azarenka, another former No. 1, won last week's Western & Southern Open in Flushing Meadows when Naomi Osaka withdrew from the final because of a hamstring injury.

   Azarenka, a 31-year-old mother, won the Bank of the West Classic 10 years ago and reached the U.S. Open final in 2012 and 2013, falling to Williams each time.

   Sabalenka last year advanced to the San Jose final, losing to China's Zheng Saisai, and won the U.S. Open doubles title with Elise Mertens of Belgium.

   Sorana Cirstea of Romania surprised ninth-seeded Johanna Konta, who won the first of her three WTA singles titles at Stanford in 2016.

   No. 26 seed Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, outclassed Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes. 

   Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product now based in Florida, has not lost more than three games in a set in her two matches this week. She was 1-7 this year entering the U.S. Open.

   Stephens will face third-seeded Serena Williams, who won the last of her six U.S. Open titles in 2014, on Saturday. Williams, a part-time Silicon Valley resident who will turn 39 on Sept. 26, beat Margarita Gasparyan of Russia 6-2, 6-4 in the first featured night match. 

   Williams is 5-1 against Stephens, but they have not met in five years. Stephens' victory came in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Australian Open at age 19.

   In the men's draw, Vasek Pospisil eliminated 25th-seeded Milos Raonic, the Wimbledon runner-up to Andy Murray in 2016, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in a matchup of injury-plagued Canadians. The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Raonic hammered 29 aces, and the 6-foot-4 Pospisil had 20. 

   Pospisil, ranked No. 94 after reaching a career-high No. 25 in 2014, had back surgery in January 2019 and missed the first six months of the season. He reached the final of the $100,000 San Francisco Challenger in 2017, losing to China's Ze Zhang.

   Raonic won three of his eight career ATP singles titles in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose. He never lost a set in the tournament, winning the last three titles (2011, 2012 and 2013).

   In the second featured night match, 15th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada dominated 33-year-old Andy Murray, who won the first of his three Grand Slam singles titles in the 2012 U.S. Open, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

   Murray, who had right hip surgery in January 2018 and January 2019, was coming off a stirring five-set victory over Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan on Tuesday. Murray prevailed in 4 hours, 39 minutes, overcoming a two-sets-to-none deficit and saving a match point.

   Murray also never lost in the SAP Open, winning the first of his 46 singles titles in San Jose in 2006 at age 18 and repeated the following year.