French Open Day 3 highlights: Kerber ousted, etc.

Angelique Kerber slugs a forehand during her victory over Karolina
Pliskova in the final of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last
August. Mal Taam/www.malt.photo

   Five highlights from Day 3 of the French Open:
   1. Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands upset third-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round. In retrospect, it's not terribly surprising.
   Whereas Bertens swept the clay-court Nuremberg titles last week (qualifying in singles), Kerber was coming off two first-round losses on clay.
   Kerber won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last August and stunned Serena Williams in the Australian Open in January for her first Grand Slam title at age 28.
   Although Kerber has had some good results since Melbourne, it's natural to suffer a letdown after achieving a lifetime goal. In such cases, it often takes a year or more to regain intensity.
   2. Fifth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a right knee injury with Karin Knapp of Italy leading 6-3, 6-7 (6), 4-0. This, too, was less than shocking.
   Azarenka, the Bank of the West Champion in 2010, has battled injuries since winning the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013. She recovered to win Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back on hardcourts in March and April, but the grind took a toll.
   Azarenka withdrew from her third-round match in Madrid on clay earlier this month with a back injury and lost meekly in her Rome opener the following week.
   3. Second-seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain completed a 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory over 37-year-old qualifier Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.
   The match was halted by darkness on Monday with Murray leading 4-2 in the fourth set.
   Murray and Stepanek won three titles combined in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, Calif. Murray captured the first of his 36 tour-level championships there at 18 in 2006 and repeated in 2007 in his only two appearances in the tournament. Stepanek triumphed in 2009 and reached a career-high No. 4 in 2012.
   4. Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams and fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal won easily.
   Djokovic, attempting to become the eighth man to earn a career Grand Slam, dismantled Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
   Williams, trying to tie Steffi Graf for second place all-time with 22 major singles titles, demolished Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-0 in 44 minutes. Williams won the Bank of the West in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
   Nadal, seeking to become the first player in the Open era (since 1968) to win 10 singles titles in a Grand Slam tournament, dismissed Australian Sam Groth 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in 80 minutes.
   Groth is credited with the world's fastest serve, 163.7 mph (263.4 kph) in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   5. Dmitry Tursunov, a 33-year-old Russian who trains in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, lost to 14th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
   The injury-prone Tursunov, who reached a career-high No. 20 in 2006, hadn't played a match since mid-April or won one since mid-March. His manager, Michael Gorin, wrote in an e-mail last week that "Dmitry is not at 100 percent" but would not elaborate.

Kerber shocks Serena for first Grand Slam title

Angelique Kerber poses with a stuffed bear, the symbol
of California and San Francisco-based Bank of the West,
after winning the title at Stanford last August.
Photo by Mal Taam

   Less than six months after winning the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, Angelique Kerber earned her first Grand Slam title in stunning fashion.
   Kerber, who lost in the first round of last year's Australian Open and survived a match point in the opening round this year, shocked Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 today in Melbourne.
   "When I was match point down (in the first round), I actually had one leg in the plane back to Germany," Kerber, fighting back tears of joy, told the crowd afterward. "I got a second chance, and I took that chance to be here in the finals to play against Serena. I'm really honored to be in this final and to win it. My dream came true tonight.
   "My whole life I was working really hard, and now I'm here, and I can say I'm a Grand Slam champion, and it sounds really crazy. These have been the best two weeks of my life."
   Kerber, seeded seventh, played her trademark outstanding defense against Williams and showed unusual composure in her first major final.
   The top-seeded Williams, meanwhile, was jittery in her attempt to tie Steffi Graf -- Kerber's fellow German, idol and mentor -- for second place with 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Margaret Court of Australia has 24.
   Williams, who committed 46 unforced errors to Kerber's 13, succumbed to nerves and a gritty, inspired opponent for the second straight Grand Slam tournament.
   Trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Graf in 1988, Williams lost to unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci, playing in her first major semifinal at age 32, in the U.S. Open in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

Serena Williams displays the Bank of the West trophy
after beating Kerber for the 2014 title. Tri Nguyen/
TryNguyenPhotography.com

   Kerber, a 28-year-old left-hander, broke Williams' serve to lead 4-2 in the third set on her fifth break point of the game. Kerber then held serve at love for 5-2, but the title would not come easily.
   Williams, 34, fought back to serve at 4-5. From deuce, she netted a cross-court forehand and floated a forehand volley long to end the 2-hour, 8-minute battle.
   Kerber, who became the first German woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Graf in the 1999 French Open, tossed her racket and fell flat on her back along the baseline with her arms outstretched above her head. Once she rose, Williams graciously walked to Kerber's side of the net, gave her opponent a warm smile and embraced the euphoric champion.
   "Angie, congratulations," Williams, the defending and six-time Australian Open champion, said during the awards ceremony. "You really deserved it. Let me be the first to congratulate you. I hope you enjoy this moment."
   Williams, who smiled and laughed with Kerber during the ceremony, was the happiest loser of a Grand Slam final in memory. It helps when you've won 21 of them, but she also might have been relieved that she won't have to relive the pressure of pursuing a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2016.
   Williams had been 5-1 against Kerber with a four-match winning streak. In their last meeting before today, Williams triumphed 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic for her third Stanford title. Kerber led 5-1 in the first set and had two set points at 5-2.
   In last year's Bank of the West final, Kerber defeated 6-foot-1 (1.86-meter) Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Williams, citing a right elbow injury, withdrew before the Aug. 3-9 tournament.
   Kerber will rise from No. 6 to a career-high No. 2 behind Williams when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Jamie Murray, shown at the U.S. Open last Septem-
ber, and Bruno Soares won their first Grand Slam
men's doubles title today. Photo by Paul Bauman 

   The Australian Open men's doubles final followed Kerber's dramatic victory. Seventh-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil, playing their first Grand Slam tournament together, outlasted unseeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
   It was the maiden Grand Slam men's doubles title for both Murray, who was playing in his third straight major final, and Soares. The left-handed Murray will turn 30 on Feb. 13, and Soares will be 34 on Feb. 27.
   Murray won the doubles title in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose in 2007 with American Eric Butorac, and younger brother Andy Murray took the singles title.
   Nestor, 43, and Stepanek, 37, were the oldest men's doubles finalists in a Slam in the Open era. Nestor has won eight majors in the event and Stepanek two. Both have captured the Australian Open once, Nestor in 2002 with Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Stepanek in 2012 with Leander Paes of India.
   Stepanek swept the singles and doubles titles in the 2009 SAP Open. He played doubles with Tommy Haas of Germany.
   Andy Murray is scheduled to play Novak Djokovic for the Australian Open men's singles title on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. PST (ESPN).
   Murray, who had said it would be too stressful for him to watch Jamie's final, made a surprise appearance in the players' box during the awards ceremony and filmed the trophy presentations on his cellphone.

Hewitt's singles career ends with loss to Ferrer

Lleyton Hewitt, returning serve in the 2013 SAP Open in San Jose,
lost to eighth-seeded David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 today in the second
round of the Australian Open. Hewitt won the San Jose title in 2002
and reached the final there in 2006. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fittingly, Lleyton Hewitt's singles career ended against David Ferrer.
   In the featured night match at Rod Laver Arena, the eighth-seeded Ferrer of Spain dispatched Australia's Hewitt 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 today in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Hewitt, who won the title of the now-defunct San Jose (Calif.) tournament on the ATP World Tour in 2002 and reached the 2006 final there, announced last year that he would retire after this Australian Open. He and countryman Sam Groth are scheduled to play eighth-seeded Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia today in the second round of men's doubles in Melbourne.
   Groth holds the unofficial record for the world's fastest serve of 163.7 mph (263.4 kph) in the 2012 Busan, South Korea, Challenger.
   Hewitt is not entered in mixed doubles in the Australian Open.
   Hewitt and Ferrer are similar in age, size and playing style. Hewitt, who will turn 35 next month, is 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters). Ferrer, who will be 34 in April, is 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters). Both compensate for their small size with tenacity.
   Hewitt, however, is more accomplished.

   He has won three Grand Slam titles (two in singles and one in men's doubles), while Ferrer's best result in a major is runner-up in singles in the 2013 French Open.
   Hewitt remains the youngest man to reach No. 1, at 20 years, 8 months in 2001. That's one month younger than Marat Safin of Russia in 2000. Ferrer climbed to a career-high No. 3 in 2013.

Ferrer, practicing at Indian Wells last March, said Hewitt
"is a mirror for me." Photo by Paul Bauman

   Ferrer has the edge in Davis Cup championships, three to two.  

   After today's match, video tributes to Hewitt from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were shown in the arena.
   "Out on the court, obviously you've got so many things going through your head," Hewitt said on ausopen.com. "You're trying to soak it up as much as possible out there one last time. It was an unbelievable atmosphere out there. A couple of the roars during the match tonight were as loud as I've ever played in front of. I was getting goose bumps at times.
   "Obviously just watching the video and hearing those great players talk about you in that light was pretty emotional. ... It's sort of a strange feeling because you're obviously disappointed not to keep going but obviously proud of everything we've done as well."
   Ferrer discussed Hewitt before the match.
   "He's a mirror for me," Hewitt said on ausopen.com. "I remember when I was younger, my game was similar. It's not like he was my idol, because I don't have an idol, but it's similar to idol."
   Hewitt was one of the five active singles champions in the San Jose tournament, which ended in 2013 after 125 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, to play on Day 4 of the Australian Open.
   Winning were No. 2 seed Andy Murray (2006 and 2007) of Great Britain and No. 13 Milos Raonic (2011-13) of Canada. Losing, in addition to Hewitt, were 32-year-old Fernando Verdasco (2010) of Spain and 37-year-old Radek Stepanek (2009) of the Czech Republic.
   Verdasco fell to 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Dudi Sela of Israel 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after upsetting Rafael Nadal, the 2009 champion and a two-time runner-up in the Australian Open, in 4 hours, 41 minutes in the first round.

Australian John Millman, playing in the U.S. Open last
September, reached the third round of a Grand Slam
tournament for the first time. Millman won the 2015
Aptos and 2010 Sacramento Challengers. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   Australia's John Millman, who won the 2015 Aptos and 2010 Sacramento Challengers, advanced to the third round of a Slam for the first time. Millman, 26, outlasted Gilles Muller, a 32-year-old left-hander from Luxembourg, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
   The 38th-ranked Muller, a quarterfinalist in the 2008 U.S. Open as a qualifier, served at 4-3, 40-0 in the second set but was broken.
   "It's probably a breakthrough win," Millman, ranked 95th, said in an understatement on ausopen.com. "I managed to turn the tables around today when I was being outplayed at the start of the match. I was down a set and a break (and) had to dig deep today and change things up and find a way."
   Millman is scheduled to face countryman Bernard Tomic, seeded 16th, for the second time on Friday (PST). Tomic won 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6) in the second round of the 2011 Caloundra (Australia) Challenger.
   On the women's side, No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany outclassed Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-2, 6-4.

Seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber, shown after winning
the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last summer,
will play American Madison Brengle, the runner-up in
the 2013 Sacramento Challenger, in the third round of
the Australian Open. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kerber, a 28-year-old left-hander who won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last summer, is set to play 25-year-old American Madison Brengle, who defeated Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-5, 4-6, 6-1, on Friday.
  Brengle lost to Mayo Hibi of Japan in the final of the 2013 Sacramento Challenger while playing with a debilitating stomach illness. Hibi was 17 at the time.
  Naomi Osaka, an 18-year-old qualifier from Japan, eliminated 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina, a 21-year-old Ukrainian who lost to Kerber in the semifinals at Stanford last year, 6-4, 6-4 today.
   As a 16-year-old qualifier in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic, Osaka saved a match point to shock Samantha Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, in the first round.
   The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Osaka, a hard hitter with a Haitian father and Japanese mother, will meet 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 and the Bank of the West Classic in 2010.
   The player with the world's fastest women's serve also lost. No. 30 seed Sabine Lisicki, a German who uncorked a 131.0-mph (210.8-kph) delivery at Stanford in 2014, fell to Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Mischa Zverev tops Stepanek, gains Aptos main draw

Mischa Zverev, left, poses with fellow Moscow natives Dmitry Tursunov, middle,
and Igor Andreev three years ago in Aptos. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Mischa Zverev hasn't achieved the success of Radek Stepanek.
   Few players have.
   But Zverev is no stranger to the ATP World Tour, the major leagues of men's tennis.
   Zverev, a 27-year-old Moscow native who plays for Germany, beat the eighth-seeded Stepanek 6-4, 7-5 on Monday in the final round of qualifying for the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, Calif.
   Zverev finished in the top 100, allowing him to play regularly on the ATP World Tour, for four straight years (2007-10). But he has plummeted from a career high of No. 45 in 2009 to No. 311.
   Stepanek, a 36-year-old Czech, was ranked as high as No. 8 in singles in 2006 and No. 4 in doubles of 2012. He won the deciding match in the 2012 and 2013 Davis Cup finals and earned his two Grand Slam titles in those years. Stepanek teamed with Leander Paes of India for the men's doubles crowns in the 2012 Australian Open and 2013 U.S. Open.
   But Stepanek sat out for seven months, from last September until April, with a lower back injury. Consequently, he has tumbled to No. 273 in singles and No. 146 in doubles.
   Zverev is scheduled to face 17-year-old wild card Taylor Harry Fritz, the world's No. 1 junior from Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, today in the first round of the main draw.
   The winner of that match will play seventh-seeded Austin Krajicek, an American left-hander who edged Dennis Novikov of San Jose 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (7) in 2 hours, 24 minutes. San Jose is 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Aptos.
   The length of the Krajicek-Novikov match pushed back the meeting between top-seeded John Millman of Australia and American Alexander Sarkissian, last year's NCAA singles runner-up as a Pepperdine senior, to today. 

$100,000 COMERICA BANK CHALLENGER 

At Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

  Final-round singles qualifying

   Tennys Sandgren, United States, def. Takuto Niki, Japan, 6-3, 7-5.
   Daniel Nguyen (2), United States, def. Ernesto Escobedo, United States, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
   Ze Zhang (3), China, def. Deiton Baughman, United States, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
   Mischa Zverev, Germany, def. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-5.

First-round singles

   Yoshihito Nishioka (8), Japan, def. Mitchell Krueger, United States, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
   Austin Krajicek (7), United States, def. Dennis Novikov, United States, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (7).
   Jared Donaldson, United States, def. Gastao Elias, Portugal, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
   Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, def. Brydan Klein, Great Britain, 6-4, 6-4.

Today's schedule

Center Court

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Kyle Edmund (3), Great Britain, vs. Takuto Niki, Japan.
   John Millman (1), Australia, vs. Alexander Sarkissian, United States.
   Bjorn Fratangelo (4), United States, vs. Marius Copil, Romania.
   Mischa Zverev, Germany, vs. Taylor Fritz, United States.

 (Not before 6 p.m.)

   Tommy Haas, Germany, vs. Andrey Rublev, Russia.

   Court 5

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Elias Ymer, Sweden, vs. Yuki Bhambri, India.
   Farrukh Dustov, Uzbekistan, vs. Tennys Sandgren, United States.
   Jurgen Zopp, Estonia, vs. Daniel Nguyen, United States.
   Somdev Devvarman, India, vs. Guilherme Clezar, Brazil.

(Not before 3:30 p.m.)

   Malek Jaziri (2), Tunisia, vs. Karen Khachanov, Russia.

(Not before 5 p.m.)  

   Matthew Ebden (6), Australia, vs. Liam Broady, Great Britain.

Court 6

(Starting at 2 p.m.)

   Taro Daniel (5), Japan, vs. Ze Zhang, China.

Stepanek set for Aptos Challenger qualifying

Radek Stepanek, a former top-10 player in singles and
doubles, is scheduled to play today in qualifying for the
Aptos (Calif.) Challenger. 2012 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Radek Stepanek, a former top-10 player in singles and doubles, is scheduled to play today in the first round of qualifying for the $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger in Aptos, Calif.
   The 36-year-old Czech will face Evan Song, a 23-year-old American left-hander, not before noon at the Seascape Sports Club.
   Stepanek reached career highs of No. 8 in singles in 2006 and No. 4 in doubles of 2012. He won the deciding match for the Czech Republic in the 2012 and 2013 Davis Cup finals and earned his two Grand Slam titles in those years. Stepanek teamed with Leander Paes of India for the men's doubles crowns in the 2012 Australian Open and 2013 U.S. Open.
   Stepanek sat out for seven months, from last September until April, with a lower back injury. Consequently, he has tumbled to No. 258 in singles and No. 145 in doubles.
   Today's schedule also features:
   --Former Wimbledon champions Frederik Nielsen of Denmark and Noah Rubin of New York. Nielsen and Jonathan Marray of Great Britain in 2012 became the only wild cards to win the men's doubles title, and Rubin triumphed in boys singles in 2013.
   --Daniel Evans, the 2013 Aptos runner-up to former Stanford star Bradley Klahn, of Great Britain.
   --Alex Kuznetsov, the 2006 Aptos champion, from Tampa, Fla.
   --William Griffith, a Cal sophomore from Fresno.
   The Comerica Bank Challenger, in its 28th consecutive year, is the second-longest-running men's event on the USTA Pro Circuit behind Little Rock, Ark. (34 years).
   Scenic Aptos is located on the Pacific Ocean 80 miles (129 kilometers) south of San Francisco.

$100,000 COMERICA BANK CHALLENGER 

At Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, Calif.

Today's schedule (first-round qualifying)

Center Court

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Alex Bolt (6), Australia, vs. Eric Johnson, United States.
   Yasutaka Uchiyama (1), Japan, vs. Takao Suzuki, Japan.

(Not before noon)

   Radek Stepanek (8), Czech Republic, vs. Evan Song, United States.
   Noah Rubin, United States, vs. Clay Thompson, United States.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Nicolas Jarry (5), Chile, vs. Eric Quigley, United States.

First available court

   Frederik Nielsen (7), Denmark, vs. William Griffith, United States.

Court 5

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   John Lamble, United States, vs. Takuto Niki, Japan.
   Ze Zhang (3), China, vs. Andre Dome, United States.

(Not before noon)

   Daniel Evans, Great Britain, vs. Kento Tanaka-Tamaki, United States.
   Enzo Couacaud (4), France, vs. Mischa Zverev, Germany.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Ernesto Escobedo, United States, vs. Nicholas S. Hu, United States.

Court 6

Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Tennys Sandgren, United States, vs. Matija Pecotic, Croatia.
   Alex Kuznetsov, United States, vs. Raymond Sarmiento, United States.

(Not before noon)

   Daniel Nguyen (2), United States, vs. Jeremy Hunter Nicholas, United States.
   Sekou Bangoura, United States, vs. Ruan Roelofse, South Africa.

(Not before 2 p.m.)

   Deiton Baughman, United States, vs. Fritz Wolmarans, South Africa.

Former champ Stepanek, Russell ousted in San Jose

   Age caught up with two 33-year-olds Thursday in the SAP Open.
   In the second round at HP Pavilion in San Jose, fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic lost to Steve Darcis of Belgium 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), and Michael Russell of Houston fell to Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-2.
   Stepanek swept the 2009 SAP Open singles and doubles titles, teaming with Tommy Haas of Germany, and lost to Andy Roddick in the 2008 singles final. But Stepanek has not won a singles match in San Jose since 2009, losing in the first round in 2010, skipping last year's event and drawing a first-round bye this year. He won his first Grand Slam title last month, pairing with Leander Paes of India in men's doubles at the Australian Open.
   Russell, seven months older than Stepanek, is the oldest player in this year's singles draw. He lost to Istomin in the second round of the SAP Open for the second consecutive year after falling 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) in 2011.
   Istomin reached the San Jose semifinals in 2010 and quarterfinals last year, losing to Fernando Verdasco of Spain each time. Verdasco, the 2010 champion and 2011 runner-up, did not return this year.
   In Thursday night's featured match, 19-year-old Ryan Harrison saved two match points and beat fellow American Robby Ginepri, a 29-year-old wild card, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (0). Harrison won the last 10 points of the two-hour, eight-minute battle.
   Highlighting today's quarterfinals will be the first career meeting between Canada's Milos Raonic, the No. 3 seed and defending champion, and South Africa's Kevin Anderson, the No. 6 seed. Both are tall (Anderson is 6-8 and Raonic 6-5) with booming serves,  ranked in the 30s (Raonic is No. 32 and Anderson No. 35) and possibly headed to the top 10.
   Anderson, though, is four years older at 25. He starred at Illinois for three years, whereas Raonic turned pro out of high school.
   “It’ll come down to just a few opportunities,” Anderson told reporters about today's matchup. “Service game is going to be a big focus, so hopefully I’ll be able to serve well and capitalize on a few opportunities.”
   Also in the top half of the draw, Harrison will meet qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky of Bulgaria. In the bottom half, No. 2 seed Roddick will take on Istomin, and fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France will play Darcis.
   Roddick, a three-time SAP Open champion, is still recovering from a partially torn tendon in his right hamstring and twisted his right ankle during his second-round victory over 19-year-old American qualifier Denis Kudla on Wednesday night.
   In the doubles quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Xavier Malisse of Belgium dispatched James Cerretani of Reading, Mass., and Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-3, 6-2. The 40-year-old Knowles, a longtime Sacramento Capitals star in World TeamTennis, won the 2001 SAP Open doubles title with former Capitals teammate Brian MacPhie.
   Ex-Cal star reaches doubles semis -- Raquel Kops-Jones, a former NCAA doubles champion from Cal, and fellow Californian Abigail Spears defeated Vera Dushevina of Russia and Shahar Peer of Israel 6-0, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals of the $2,168,400 Qatar Total Open in Doha.
   Sanchez stuns top seed -- Qualifier Maria Sanchez of Modesto recorded her first victory over a top-100 player when she shocked top-seeded Irina Falconi of Atlanta 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of the $25,000 City of Surprise (Ariz.) Women's Tennis Classic.
   Falconi is ranked No. 100 after climbing to a career-high No. 73 last October. Sanchez, a 22-year-old former USC All-American, jumped from No. 699 to a career-high No. 605 this week. She beat her doubles partner, qualifier Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.
   Sanchez and Schnack, seeded fourth in doubles, will meet top-seeded Wan-Ting Liu and Shuai Zhang of China in today's semifinals.
   Former Sac State standout eyes return -- Ex-Sacramento State star Kiryl Harbatsiuk hopes to return to the Futures circuit next month after a long bout with the flu, Sac State director of tennis Bill Campbell said.
   Harbatsiuk, a 24-year-old native of Minsk, Belarus, is training in Sacramento. He has not played in a tournament since the first week of November.
   Stanford women rise to No. 1 -- The Stanford women replaced Florida at No. 1 in the nation after beating the Gators 5-2 Sunday at Stanford in a rematch of the past two NCAA team finals. The Cardinal had been No. 2.
   No. 3 Allie Will of Florida defeated No. 5 Nicole Gibbs 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles. Stanford's Kristie Ahn, playing for the first time since suffering an ankle injury last May, beat Alex Cercone 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (4) at No. 4 singles.   
  Stanford won the 2010 NCAA title but, playing without then-No. 15 Ahn, lost to Florida 4-3 last year as the Gators snapped the Cardinal's NCAA-record 184-match home winning streak.  

Bryan brothers clinch year-end No. 1 ranking again

   The honors keep rolling in for Bob and Mike Bryan.
   And they're not done yet.
   The former Stanford All-Americans clinched the year-end No. 1 ATP doubles team ranking for a record seventh time Wednesday with their victory in the $2.85 million Valencia (Spain) Open. They dismissed Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2 in the first round.
   The Bryans won two Grand Slam titles (the Australian Open and Wimbledon) this year to give them 11 for their career, tying the Open Era record of International Tennis Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.
   Overall, the Bryans have won eight titles this year and an Open Era-record 75 for their career. Individually, the 33-year-old twin sons of Sacramento Capitals coach Wayne Bryan have been ranked No. 1 in doubles for 265 weeks and will surpass John McEnroe's record of 270 weeks on Dec. 12.
   The twins will compete in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Nov. 20-27 in London.
   "We're obviously extremely pumped to finish at No. 1, especially with the quality of teams on the doubles tour," Bob said on the ATP's Web site. "It's always our ultimate goal when we start the year, and we'll definitely look back on 2011 with positive feelings. I want to congratulate our biggest rivals -- (Max) Mirnyi-(Daniel) Nestor, (Michael) Llodra-(Nenad) Zimonjic and the Indian Express (Mahesh Bhupathi-Lander Paes) on highly successful seasons, and we look forward to another awesome event with the eight best teams in London.
   "Breaking McEnroe's record is something that is hard to fathom. He's such a legend, and to achieve something like this won't truly set in for a while. Thanks (go) to our great coach; David Macpherson; my beautiful and supportive wife; our parents, who are always rooting from their computer screen back home; and all the tennis fans who get behind the great game of doubles."
  Added Mike: "It's always a special feeling finishing the year as the top team. I think it's more satisfying than winning a Slam because it represents the season as a whole. When we now look back at 2011, it will be with a lot of fond memories. The level of tennis always keeps getting stronger, so I'm most proud of our willingness to improve as we get older.
   "I especially want thank our coach and one of our best friends, David Macpherson, who always is there for us win or lose and always pushes us to strive for more."      
   In the first round of singles in Valencia, Folsom resident Dmitry Tursunov lost to sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, the runner-up in Vienna last week and 2009 U.S. Open champion, 6-4, 6-1.
   Top seed and defending champion David Ferrer of Spain ousted qualifier Vasek Pospisil, a promising Canadian, 6-3, 6-3.
   Roddick vs. Radek -- Almost four years ago, Andy Roddick defeated Radek Stepanek to win the SAP Open in San Jose and mocked the Czech's trademark "worm dance" afterward.
   The Roddick vs. Radek show will resume Thursday in the second round of the $2.6 million Swiss Indoors in Basel.
   The seventh-seeded Roddick, a three-time SAP Open champion (2004, 2005 and 2008), beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 6-4, and the unseeded Stepanek, who won the 2009 SAP Open, breezed past Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-1, 6-3.
   Also in 2009, Haas and Stepanek won the doubles title in San Jose, and Giraldo captured the singles crown in the Sacramento Challenger.
   Roddick, 29, is 6-1 lifetime against Stepanek, 32.
   Second-seeded Andy Murray, the San Jose champion in 2006 and 2007, withdrew before his first-round match with a right gluteal strain.
    In doubles, former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky suffered his fifth consecutive loss. The Huntington Beach resident and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico fell to third-seeded Christopher Kas of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria 7-6 (0), 6-2.
   Lipsky and Gonzalez became partners at Barcelona in April and saved four match points to beat the Bryans and win the title. Lipsky also won the doubles crown in the inaugural Sacramento Challenger in 2005 with former Stanford teammate David Martin, and Gonzalez reached the doubles final in Sacramento in 2009 with Travis Rettenmaier.
   Schnack beats ex-Capital -- Yasmin Schnack, a Sacramento-area resident, coasted past former Capital Tammy Hendler 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Grapevine (Texas) Women's $50,000 Tennis Classic.
   Hendler, a 19-year-old South Africa native, lives in Bradenton, Fla., and plays for Belgium. Her mother was born in the former Belgian Congo.
   Ilyushin wins twice -- Artem Ilyushin won twice in the $10,000 Bluewater Bay Professional Tournament in Niceville, Fla.
   Ilyushin, a Mississippi State senior from the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, outlasted qualifier Maverick Banes of Australia 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of singles. Ilyushin then teamed with Gilad Ben Zvi of Israel to beat Benjamin Balleret of Monaco and Didier Lanne of France 7-5, 6-1 in the doubles quarterfinals.
   Kiryl Harbatsiuk, a former Sacramento State star from Belarus, and Boris Nicola Bakalov of Bulgaria lost to Americans Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant 6-4, 7-5.