Muguruza conquers Kontaveit for title in WTA Finals

Garbiñe Muguruza excelled in the now-defunct Bank
of the West Classic at Stanford. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   No. 6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain defeated No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-3, 7-5 tonight to win the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico.

   Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, was the first Spaniard to reach the title match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost to Steffi Graf in 1993.

   Not only did Muguruza feel at home in Mexico, the 5,138-foot (1,566-meter) altitude accentuated the 6-foot (1.82-meter) veteran's powerful game.

   Muguruza won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament in 2017 before it moved to San Jose.

   Kontaveit was seeking her third consecutive title. She won four championships in 10 weeks after hiring coach Dmitry Tursunov.

   In the doubles final, No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic beat No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

   ATP Finals — No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway outlasted alternate Cameron Norrie of Great Britain 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Turin, Italy.

   Ruud, a semifinalist in the 2018 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger, improved to 1-1 in round-robin play. Norrie, who won Tiburon and Stockton back-to-back in 2017 Northern California Challengers, replaced Stefanos Tsitsipas (elbow injury).

   Ruud is scheduled to play No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev (1-1) of Russia on Thursday for a semifinal spot. Norrie cannot advance.

   Meanwhile, No. 2 doubles seeds Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain saved two match points in a 6-7 (7), 6-0 [13-11] victory over No. 3 seeds and 2019 champions Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France.

   Ram and Salisbury, who won the U.S. Open doubles title last month, moved to 2-0 but are not guaranteed to reach the semis.

   Ram took the doubles crown in San Jose on the ATP Tour in 2011 with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky. Salisbury captured the 2017 Stockton Challenger with Brydan Klein. 

Muguruza, Kontaveit to meet for title in WTA Finals

Garbiñe Muguruza won doubles title in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament
in 2017 before it moved to San Jose. 2017 photo by Mal Taam

   In the first all-Spanish semifinal in WTA Finals history, No. 6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza dispatched No. 7 seed Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-3 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

   The 6-foot (1.82-meter) Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, became the first Spaniard to reach the title match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost to Steffi Graf in 1993.

   Muguruza won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament in 2017 before it moved to San Jose.

   Muguruza is scheduled to face No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. PST (Tennis Channel). Kontaveit, playing in the WTA Finals for the first time this year, beat No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 for her 13th victory in her last 14 matches.

   Muguruza leads the head-to-head series 3-2. Kontaveit, who hired coach Dmitry Tursunov in August, seeks her third consecutive title.

   Sakkari advanced to the San Jose final in 2018, losing to Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania. 

   In the doubles semifinals, No. 1 seeds and reigning French Open champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic topped No. 4 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez of Stuart, Fla., and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3 [10-6].

   No. 3 seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Elise Mertens of Belgium routed No. 2 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-2, 6-2.

   The doubles final is set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Tennis Channel. 

   Shibahara, 23, was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA. Melichar-Martinez won the San Jose doubles title in 2019 with Kveta Peschke, who was 44 at the time.

   ATP Finals — Alternate Jannik Sinner, playing in his home country, drubbed No. 7 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2, 6-2 in a round-robin match in Turin, Italy.

   Sinner, 20, will rise one notch to crack the top 10 in the year-end rankings at No. 10. He reached the second round of the 2019 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger at 17 after winning the Lexington (Ky.) Challenger the previous week.

   Also today, No. 4 doubles seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina defeated No. 1 seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (4) to improve to 2-0. 

   Granollers, the singles runner-up in the 2018 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger at age 32, and Zeballos qualified for the semifinals when No. 6 seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek beat No. 8 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau 7-6 (2), 7-5.

   College — Blue-chip recruit Emma Sun of Newbury Park in the Los Angeles region verbally committed to Stanford. Sun is ranked No. 14 in the class of 2022 by tennisrecruiting.net.

Sakkari subdues Sabalenka, advances in WTA Finals

No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari will face No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit in the semifinals
of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   In a matchup of former San Jose runners-up, No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece defeated No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (1), 6-7 (6), 6-3 tonight to reach the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

   Sakkari won the last five games to snap a four-match losing streak to Sabalenka, who contracted COVID early last month and said she "couldn't move for four days."

   Sakkari is scheduled to face No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Estonian is 28-5 with three titles since hiring coach Dmitry Tursunov in August. A 38-year-old Moscow native, Tursunov trained in Northern California as a junior and professional.

   Also Tuesday, No. 6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza is set to play No. 7 seed Paula Badosa in the first all-Spanish semifinal in the history of the WTA Finals. 

   No. 5 seed Iga Swiatek beat Badosa, who won Indian Wells last month, 7-5, 6-4 today to end Badosa's winning streak at eight matches. Badosa already had qualified for the semis, while Swiatek had been eliminated from contention.

   In San Jose finals, Sakkari lost to Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania in the inaugural 2018 tournament, and Sabalenka fell to Zheng Saisai of China in 2019.

   Muguruza won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament in 2017 before it moved to San Jose.

   Meanwhile, the top four doubles seeds advanced to the semifinals: No. 1 Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, No. 2 Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, No. 3 Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens, and No. 4 Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Demi Schuurs.

   Shibahara was born in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area and starred at UCLA but represents Japan. Melichar-Martinez won the San Jose title in 2019 with Kveta Peschke, who was 44 at the time.

   ATP Finals — No. 1 seed and five-time champion Novak Djokovic downed No. 8 seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a round-robin opener in Turin.

   Ruud, a semifinalist in the 2018 Fairfield (Calif.) Challenger at 19, became the first Norwegian to compete in the ATP Finals in the tournament's 51-year history.

   No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev topped No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4. Rublev played in the 2015 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger at 17, losing to former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round.

   No. 2 doubles seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury beat No. 7 seeds Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother, and Bruno Soares 6-1, 7-6 (5).

   Murray won the first of his 26 tour-level doubles titles in San Jose in 2007 with Eric Butorac. Ram took the San Jose crown four years later with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky. Salisbury captured the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger with Brydan Klein.

Muguruza ends Kontaveit streak, advances in Finals

Garbiñe Muguruza snapped Anett Kontaveit's winning streak at 12 matches.
2017 photo by Mal Taam

   Garbiñe Muguruza had two psychological advantages over Anett Kontaveit tonight in the WTA Finals.

   Muguruza, a 28-year-old Spaniard, was more motivated and feels at home in Mexico.

   Those factors helped the sixth-seeded Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, defeat the eighth-seeded Kontaveit 6-4, 6-4 to finish 2-1 in round-robin play and reach the semifinals in Guadalajara. Kontaveit, a 25-year-old Estonian, already had qualified for the semifinals.

   Muguruza struggled with her service toss, and Kontaveit had trouble with her forehand.

   Kontaveit's winning streak ended at 12 matches. She lost for only the third time in her last 31 matches, a hot streak that began shortly after she hired Dmitry Tursunov as her coach. A 38-year-old Moscow native, Tursunov trained in Northern California as a junior and professional.

   Muguruza won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro and reached the singles semifinals in the last year of the tournament in 2017 before it moved to San Jose.

   Earlier today, No. 3 seed Karolina Pliskova outlasted No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Czech encounter. Krejcikova, who won her first Grand Slam singles title in the French Open in June, led 4-2 in the second set.

   It was the second consecutive match in which a player or team triumphed after getting blanked in the first set. In doubles Saturday night, Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk edged Sharon Fichman and Giuliana Olmos, a San Francisco Bay Area product who represents Mexico, 0-6, 6-3 [11-9].

   Pliskova finished 2-1 in round-robin play but was eliminated when Muguruza won. Krejcikova went 0-3.

   In round-robin doubles, No. 5 seeds Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai, the reigning U.S. Open champions, topped No. 2 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, a 23-year-old Bay Area native, 4-6, 6-3 [10-7] to improve to 1-2. Aoyama and Shibahara (2-1) already had clinched a semifinal berth.

   No. 4 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Demi Schuurs beat No. 7 seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac 6-4, 3-6 [10-2] in an elimination match. In San Jose, Melichar-Martinez won the 2019 title with then-44-year-old Kveta Peschke, and Jurak and Klepac took this year's crown.

Badosa beats Sakkari in WTA Finals to extend streak

   No. 7 seed Paula Badosa of Spain defeated No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (4), 6-4 today in the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

   Badosa, who won Indian Wells last month in her previous tournament, improved to 2-0 in round-robin play with her eighth consecutive victory. Sakkari, the runner-up in the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, fell to 1-1. 

   No. 1 doubles seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova also improved to 2-0, dominating No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-1.

   No. 1 singles seed Aryna Sabalenka topped No. 5 seed Iga Swiatek 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 to move to 1-1. Swiatek, last year's French Open champion, was eliminated at 0-2.

   No. 6 doubles seeds Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk edged No. 8 seeds Sharon Fichman and Giuliana Olmos, a San Francisco Bay Area product who represents Mexico, 0-6, 6-3 [11-9]. Guarachi and Krawczyk improved to 1-1, and Fichman and Olmos dropped to 0-2.

   Krawczyk has captured the last three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, two with Joe Salisbury and one with Neal Skupski. Krawczyk and Olmos won the doubles crown in the 2017 (last) Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger.

   ATP Tour — Tommy Paul, the champion of the 2019 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger, claimed his first ATP title. Unseeded, he outlasted third seed and defending (2019) champion Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the Stockholm Open.

Kontaveit extends win streak, clinches semifinal berth

Anett Kontaveit earned her first victory in four career
matches against Karolina Pliskova. 2016 photo by
Paul Bauman

   Nobody seems to be able to stop Anett Kontaveit these days.

   The Estonian, seeded eighth, defeated Karolina Pliskova, seeded third, 6-4, 6-0 today in the WTA Finals in Guadalajara for her 12th consecutive victory and 28th in her last 30 matches. 

   The hot streak began just after Kontaveit hired Dmitry Tursunov, a 38-year-old Moscow native who trained in Northern California as a junior and professional, as her coach.

   Kontaveit beat Pliskova, the Stanford runner-up in 2015, for the first time in four meetings and clinched a semifinal berth with a 2-0 round-robin record. Pliskova fell to 1-1.

   Later, sixth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza, who won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro, outlasted second-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to improve to 1-1 in round-robin play. Krejcikova, this year's French Open champion, dropped to 0-2.

   In doubles, second-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, a 23-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, beat fourth-seeded Nicole Melichar and Demi Schuurs 6-4, 7-6 (5) to improve to 2-0 in round-robin play. Melichar won the San Jose title in 2019 with Kveta Peschke, who was 44 at the time.

   Fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai, the reigning U.S. Open champions, lead seventh-seeded Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac, the San Jose winners in August, 7-6 (10), 2-2.

Sakkari wins WTA Finals debut; Sabalenka upset

Maria Sakkari became the first Greek woman to play in the WTA Finals
in singles or doubles. 2019 photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari defeated No. 5 seed Iga Swiatek, last year's French Open champion, 6-2, 6-4 today in a round-robin opener in the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

   Sakkari, the runner-up in the 2018 (inaugural) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, became the first Greek woman to play in the WTA Finals in singles or doubles.

   In a doubles round-robin opener, No. 3 seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens beat No. 6 seeds Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk 7-6 (3), 6-2.

   During the night session, No. 7 seed Paula Badosa of Spain dominated No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, the San Jose runner-up in 2019, 6-4, 6-0. Badosa, the Indian Wells champion last month, reeled off the last 10 games to extend her winning streak to seven matches.

   Sabalenka tested positive for COVID just before Indian Wells and said she "couldn't move for four days."

   No. 1 doubles seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova beat No. 8 seeds Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Sharon Fichman 6-4, 6-1.

   Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty chose not to defend her 2019 title because of COVID travel and quarantine restrictions. The WTA Finals were not held last year due to the pandemic.

   ATP Tour — In the doubles quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open, an ATP 250 tournament, Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andres Molteni of Argentina eliminated wild cards Andre Goransson (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) and Robert Lindstedt (Fresno State, 1995-97), 44, of Sweden 6-3, 6-4.

   Gonzalez and Molteni were coming off a 6-7 (5), 7-5 [10-7] victory over No. 1 seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.

   College — Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose, Calif., signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Texas, and Alexis Blokhina of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., verbally committed to Stanford. They are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in the girls' class of 2022 by tennisrecruiting.net.

   Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., signed to enroll at Georgia. He is the third-ranked high school boys senior at tennisrecruiting.net.

Kontaveit wins WTA Finals debut, extends streak

Anett Kontaveit has won 11 consecutive matches
and 26 of her last 28. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Red-hot Anett Kontaveit, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova, the reigning French Open champion, 6-3, 6-4 today in a round-robin opener in the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

   Both 25-year-olds made their WTA Finals singles debuts. Kontaveit, from Estonia, has won 11 consecutive matches and 26 of her last 28. She began working with coach, Dmitry Tursunov, a 38-year-old Moscow native who trained in Northern California as a junior and professional, just before her hot streak.

   In a doubles round-robin opener, No. 2 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, a native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, downed No. 7 seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac, the San Jose champions in August, 6-0, 6-4.

   During the night session, No. 3 seed Karolina Pliskova, the Stanford runner-up in 2015, edged No. 6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who won the Stanford doubles title in 2014 with just-retired Carla Suarez Navarro, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a battle of former world No. 1s. No. 4 seeds Nicole Melichar, the San Jose doubles champion in 2019 with then-44-year-old Kveta Peschke, and Demi Schuurs dominated No. 5 seeds Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-2. 

   ATP Challenger Tour — In the first round of doubles in the €66,640 ($76,530) Peugeot Slovak Open in Bratislava, N.Sriram Balaji and Divij Sharan of India ousted No. 3 seeds David Pel and "Yosemite" Sem Verbeek (University of the Pacific, 2013-16) of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4.

   In the opening round of doubles in the $52,080 Knoxville (Tenn.) Challenger, Ruben "Sandwich" Gonzales of the Philippines and Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia dismissed JC "Penney" Aragone of Yorba Linda in the Los Angeles region and Dennis "Vladimir" Novikov of San Jose, Calif., 6-1, 6-3. 

   Jason "Carl" Jung, a native of Torrance in the L.A. area who represents Chinese Taipei, and Mitchell "Freddy" Krueger of Dallas beat wild cards Martin "God" Damm of Bradenton, Fla., and Govind Nanda of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area 6-4, 6-4.

   USTA Pro Circuit — No. 6 seed Strong Kirchheimer of Cary, N.C., outplayed wild card Keenan "Pass The" Mayo of Sacramento 6-0, 6-4 in the first round of a $25,000 tournament in Harlingen, Texas.

Svitolina subdues Stephens for title in WTA Finals

   Five of the last seven women's Grand Slam singles champions have been first-time winners.
   Elina Svitolina could add to that list in 2019.
   The 24-year-old Ukrainian, seeded sixth, defeated 25-year-old Fresno product Sloane Stephens, seeded fifth, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in 2 hours, 23 minutes today to win the WTA Finals in Singapore.
   "This is a very special moment for me in my career, and it will give me plenty of confidence for the season coming ahead," Svitolina said.
   Svitolina went 5-0, including four three-set victories, in the tournament for the biggest title of her career. She pocketed $2,209,000 and evened her career record against Stephens at 2-2 (1-1 in 2018). Stephens, who played in the tournament for the first time, collected $1,049,000.
   Svitolina finished the year with four singles titles, also winning Brisbane, Dubai and Rome. Stephens' only singles crown of 2018 came in Miami.
   Jelena Ostapenko began the run of first-time Grand Slam champions by winning last year's French Open two days after turning 20. Then came Stephens in the U.S. Open, Caroline Wozniacki in the Australian Open, Simona Halep in the French Open and Naomi Osaka in the U.S. Open. The exceptions were Garbine Muguruza and Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
   Second-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France won the doubles title in the WTA Finals, beating top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-5.
   Babos claimed her second consecutive title in the tournament after pairing with Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic last year in Singapore.
   Babos and Mladenovic shared $500,000, and Krejcikova and Siniakova split $260,000.
   The teams combined to capture three of this year's four Grand Slam titles. Babos and Mladenovic won the Australian Open for their first major crown together, and Krejcikova and Siniakova became the first pair in 15 years to sweep the French Open and Wimbledon.
   ATP World Tour in Vienna -- Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski of Great Britain won their first ATP title as a team, defeating Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) of Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 7-6 (5), 6-3. Both teams were unseeded.
   Both Salisbury and Skupski won doubles titles with other partners in $100,000 Northern California Challengers last year. Salisbury and countryman Brydan Klein triumphed in Stockton, and Skupski and Jonathan Erlich of Israel prevailed in Aptos.
   Skupski also played for the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis in 2015, the squad's only year of existence.

Stephens stages huge rally to gain final in elite tourney

   Sloane Stephens overcame a terrible start today to reach the title match in her first WTA Finals.
   Seeded fifth, Stephens downed seventh-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 after losing the first eight games in Singapore.
   "I came out here a little bit nervous, and I wasn't really feeling the ball," Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product now based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said on wtatennis.com. " ... I had a bit of an adrenaline dump after I finally won one game. I was really fired up, so I was like, 'OK, come on, let's do this. I can win one game; maybe I can win two, then three.' And I just started to feel the ball a little bit better. ... I just tried to stay in it and get as many balls back as I could. I'm just really proud of my fight today."
   Stephens, who won last year's U.S. Open and reached the French Open final in June, will meet sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Sunday not before 4:30 a.m. PDT. Svitolina, 24, outlasted eighth-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in 2 hours, 38 minutes.
   Stephens leads Svitolina 2-1 (2-0 on hardcourts) in their head-to-head series. Stephens won the last meeting 6-3, 6-3 in the Montreal semifinals in August before losing to Simona Halep 6-4 in the third set.
   ATP World Tour in Vienna -- Unseeded Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) of Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France edged top-seeded Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (2) [10-7] in the semifinals.
   Bryan and Roger-Vasselin, playing in their second tournament together, will meet unseeded Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski of Great Britain for the title on Sunday.
   Salisbury and Skupski ended the winning streak of second-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil at 10 matches with a 2-6, 6-3 [10-8] triumph on Friday.

Stephens stops Kerber to reach semis in WTA Finals

   Sloane Stephens continued her domination of Angelique Kerber today to reach the semifinals in her first WTA Finals.
   The fifth-seeded Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product, dismissed the top-seeded Kerber, a 30-year-old German left-hander, 6-3, 6-3 to finish 3-0 in the Red Group in Singapore.
   After losing her first meeting against Kerber, at Indian Wells in 2012, Stephens has won their last five matches without dropping a set.
   Also today, eighth-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands led 6-3 when third-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan retired with a hamstring injury. Bertens finished 2-1 in the Red Group, followed by Kerber at 1-2 and Osaka at 0-3.
   None of the top four seeds reached the semifinals. No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki (1-2), the defending champion from Denmark, and No. 4 Petra Kvitova (0-3) of the Czech Republic were eliminated Thursday in the White Group.
   In Saturday's semifinals, Bertens will meet sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina (3-0 in the White Group) of Ukraine not before 1 a.m. PDT, followed by Stephens against seventh-seeded Karolina Pliskova (2-1 in the White Group) of the Czech Republic in the White Group) not before 4:30 a.m. PDT.
   Bertens and Svitolina have split two career matches, both on hardcourts. In their last meeting, Bertens won 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Cincinnati en route to the title in August.
   Stephens is 2-1 against Pliskova, winning on a hardcourt and grass and losing on clay.
   It will be the fourth consecutive year in which the champion of the WTA Finals did not win a Grand Slam singles title. Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska won the crown in 2016 and 2015, respectively.
   In fact, Stephens is the only semifinalist this year who has ever won a major singles championship. She broke through in last year's U.S. Open.

Stephens beats Bertens, improves to 2-0 in WTA Finals

   Sloane Stephens snapped Kiki Bertens' streak and improved to 2-0 with one round-robin match left in the WTA Finals.
   But Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product, still hasn't clinched a berth in the semifinals of the tournament, featuring the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams of the year, in Singapore.
   Stephens, seeded fifth and ranked sixth, defeated Bertens, seeded eighth and ranked ninth, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 in a match that ended at almost 1 a.m. Thursday local time.
   Bertens, a 26-year-old Dutchwoman who replaced injured Simona Halep in the field, had beaten her last nine top-10 opponents. But Stephens needed to win in straight sets to advance.
   Earlier today, top-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany outlasted third-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in 2 hours, 30 minutes. On Friday in the Red Group, Stephens will face Kerber (1-1), and Bertens (1-1) will take on Osaka (0-2).
   On Thursday in the White Group, fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova (0-2) will play seventh seed and fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova (1-1) not before 1 a.m. PDT, followed by second seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki (1-1) of Denmark against sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina (2-0) of Ukraine.
   Kerber defeated Pliskova to win the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. The tournament moved to San Jose this year under a new sponsor, Mubadala, after 21 years at Stanford.
   Osaka earned her first big win in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic. As a 16-year-old qualifier playing her first main-draw match on the WTA tour, Osaka ousted 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 in the first round. Osaka saved a match point in the tiebreaker and overcame a 3-5 deficit in the third set.
   Osaka then fell to eighth-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 6-2. Petkovic reached a career-high No. 9 in 2011.

Stephens tops Osaka as both debut in WTA Finals

   In a matchup of the last two U.S. Open champions, No. 5 seed Sloane Stephens of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beat No. 3 Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 today in a round-robin opener at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
   The 20-year-old Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams in a controversial final at Flushing Meadows in September, committed 46 unforced errors and fell to 0-2 against Stephens, a 25-year-old Fresno product.
   Both players debuted in the tournament, which features the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams of the year.
   Also in the Red Group today, No. 8 seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands surprised No. 1 Angelique Kerber of Germany 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Bertens replaced top-ranked Simona Halep, who withdrew from the tournament with a herniated disc.
   No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 7 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic lead the White Group at 1-0. No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki, the defending champion, and No. 4 Petra Kvitova are 0-1.
   On Wednesday, Kerber is scheduled to face Osaka at 4:30 a.m. PDT, followed by Stephens versus Bertens. If Stephens wins in straight sets, she will qualify for the semifinals. If Stephens and Osaka win, Stephens will qualify as the group winner, and Kerber will be eliminated.

NorCal connections of players in WTA Finals

Garbine Muguruza reached the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford in August in her first tournament after winning Wimbledon.
Photo by Mal Taam

   All eight singles players in this week's WTA Finals in Singapore have played in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Here's how they have fared (world rankings and seedings in parentheses):
   Simona Halep (1), Romania -- In her only appearance, lost to Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-1, 6-2 in first round in 2011.
   Garbine Muguruza (2), Spain -- Reached quarterfinals in 2014 and semifinals this year in her only appearances. Won 2014 doubles title with compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro.
   Karolina Pliskova (3), Czech Republic -- Has made two appearances, losing in second round in 2014 to eventual champion Serena Williams and in 2015 final to Angelique Kerber.
   Elina Svitolina (4), Ukraine -- Reached 2015 semifinals, losing to Kerber, in her only appearance.
   Venus Williams (5), United States -- Has won the singles title twice (2000 and 2002) and reached six other finals in 13 appearances. Made her WTA debut at 14 in 1994 (when the tournament was played indoors in Oakland), losing to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in second round. Has played doubles once, winning the 2009 title with Serena Williams.
   Caroline Wozniacki (6), Denmark -- In her only appearance, lost to Vavrara Lepchenko in second round in 2015 as top seed after receiving first-round bye.
   Jelena Ostapenko (7), Latvia -- In her only appearance, lost to 17-year-old CiCi Bellis of neighboring Atherton in first round in 2016.
   Caroline Garcia (8), France -- Lost in first round in both appearances (2014 and 2015).

King-Shvedova end year with loss in elite tournament

   It's tough to call a year in which doubles partners Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova reached the U.S. Open final and the season-culminating WTA Championships disappointing.
   But they set a very high standard.
   The third-seeded team of King, a member of the Sacramento Capitals living in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Shvedova, a Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, ended its 2011 season with a 6-3, 6-4 loss Saturday to top-seeded Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the semifinals (first round) of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul.
   King and Shvedova, who became partners in June 2010, are still looking for their first victory in the WTA Championships, featuring the top eight singles players and four best doubles teams of the year in the point standings. They also lost in the semifinals last year.  
   For the second consecutive year, King and Shvedova won two titles. But they won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010 and no Grand Slams this year. They almost repeated at the U.S. Open, falling to Americans Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in the final.
   Shvedova served for the U.S. Open crown at 5-4 in the second set. She also had the match on her racket at 5-4 in the second-set tiebreaker but double-faulted, and she and King lost the next point after Shvedova's 76-mph first serve.
  After the U.S. Open, King and Shvedova reached the semifinals in Tokyo and Beijing and the final in Osaka and won the title in Moscow before coming to Istanbul.
   When asked on Twitter to rate her 2011 season, King wrote, "not as good as last years, but hard to compare! But solid second half, esp from us open on."
   To read King and Shvedova's latest blog from Istanbul, go to wtatennis.com. 
   In the other semifinal, the second-seeded Huber and Raymond edged No. 4 seeds and defending champions Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 tiebreak. Huber and Raymond trailed 3-6 in the match tiebreaker.
  Below are Saturday's singles and doubles results and Sunday's schedule. Tennis Channel will broadcast the doubles final at 5:30 a.m. PDT (live) and 2:30 p.m. (taped) and the singles final between third-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at 5 p.m. (taped).
   Bryans reach final --Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, former Stanford All-Americans living in Wesley Chapel, Fla., advanced to their 10th final of the year with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland in the $905,000 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
   The Bryan twins are playing in Vienna for the first time since 2002. They will seek their seventh title of the year, but first since winning their second Wimbledon crown in July, when they face second-seeded Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Daniel Nestor of Canada.
  Ilyushin eliminated -- Unseeded Artem Ilyushin, a Mississippi State senior from Granite Bay, lost to top-seeded Nicolas Devilder of France 6-4, 6-2 Friday in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 Players' Choice Open in Birmingham, Ala. 

TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Istanbul

Singles semifinals

   Petra Kvitova (3), Czech Republic, def. Samantha Stosur (7), Australia, 5-7, 6-3, 63. Victoria Azarenka (4), Belarus, def. Vera Zvonareva (6), Russia, 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles semifinals 

   Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik (1), Slovenia, def. Vania King, Boynton Beach, Fla., and Yaroslava Shvedova (3), Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4.
    Liezel Huber, Houston, and Lisa Raymond (2), Wayne, Pa., def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina (4), and Flavia Pennetta, Italy, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 tiebreak.

Sunday's schedule

(Beginning at 5:30 a.m. PDT)

   Peschke and Srebotnik (1) vs. Huber and Raymond (2), Kvitova (3) vs. Azarenka (4) not before 7 a.m. PDT.

King, Shvedova to face Peschke, Srebotnik

   Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova figure to be the underdogs when they play Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik on Saturday in the semifinals (first round) of doubles at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul.
  Peschke, a 36-year-old Czech, and Srebotnik, a 30-year-old Slovenian, have won a WTA-high six titles this year. Among them was Wimbledon for their first Grand Slam crown.
   Peschke and Srebotnik became the first team to qualify for the WTA Championships, featuring the top eight singles players and top four doubles teams in this year's standings. They also reached last year's final, losing to Gisela Duko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
   King, a 22-year-old American who plays for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis, and Shvedova, a 24-year-old Moscow native who competes for Kazakhstan, have won two titles this year (Cincinnati in August and Moscow last week). They also lost a heartbreaker in the U.S. Open final as the defending champions.
   King and Shvedova are 2-1 lifetime against Peschke and Srebotnik but lost the most recent meeting 6-4, 6-4 indoors in the Beijing semifinals three weeks ago. The WTA Championships also are indoors.
   "We've played them a few times and had a good match against them in Beijing so we can't wait to play!" Shvedova blogged at wtatennis.com.
   In the other semifinal, Australian Open champions Dulko and Pennetta will face U.S. Open winners Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.
   Below are this week's singles results and Friday's schedule (live on Tennis Channel at 7 a.m. PDT and taped at 4 p.m.).
   Bryans survive -- No. 1 seeds and former Stanford All-Americans Bob and Mike Bryan saved one match point in a 6-7 (9), 7-6 (4), 11-9 tiebreak victory over Christopher Kas of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria in the first round of doubles at the $905,000 Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
   The Bryans are playing in Vienna for the second time after a nine-year absence.
   Tursunov ousted -- Eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native living in Folsom, lost to Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the $663,750 St. Petersburg (Russia) Open.
   Tursunov, a semifinalist in St. Petersburg last year, fell to 0-3 lifetime against Starace. The first two matches were on clay. St. Petersburg is played on an indoor hardcourt.
   Ilyushin advances -- Artem Ilyushin, a senior at Mississippi State from Granite Bay, beat wild card Austin Smith of Atlanta 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the $10,000 Players' Choice Open in Birmingham, Ala.
   Ilyushin will meet top-seeded Nicolas Devilder of France in Friday's quarterfinals.

TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Istanbul

Tuesday's results

Round Robin -- Red Group

   (1) Caroline Wozniaki (DEN) d. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. 

   (3) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 6-2, 6-4.

Round Robin -- White Group

   (7) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 6-1, 7-5.

Wednesday's results

Round Robin -- Red Group

   (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. (1) Caroline Wozniaki (DEN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Round Robin -- White Group

   (5) Li Na (CHN) d. (2) Maria Sharapova ((RUS) 7-6 (4), 6-4.

   (4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (7) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-2, 6-2.

Thursday's results
Singles

Round Robin -- Red Group

(3) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 64 62 (Kvitova qualifies for semifinals).
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (6) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 16 62 75 (saved three match points).

Round Robin - White Group

(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (5) Li Na (CHN) 62 62 (Azarenka qualifies for semifinals).

Friday's schedule
(Beginning at 7 a.m. PDT)

1. Li Na vs. Samantha Stosur.
2. Petra Kvitova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska.
3. Marion Bartoli (substitute for injured Maria Sharapova) vs. Victoria Azarenka.

King, Shvedova have extra incentive in elite tourney

   Of the four doubles teams in this week's TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, only Vania King and Yaroslova Shvedova did not win a Grand Slam title this year.
   Not that they didn't come close.
   As the defending U.S. Open champions, King and Shvedova lost to Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in the final.
   Shvedova, a Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. She also had the match on her racket at 5-4 in the second-set tiebreaker but double-faulted, and she and King, a member of the Sacramento Capitals living in Boynton Beach, Fla., lost the next point after Shvedova's 76-mph first serve.
   The top eight singles players and top four doubles teams in this year's point standings qualified for the WTA Championships.
   The tournament is being held in Istanbul for the first time after three years in Doha, Qatar. What, the WTA couldn't find somewhere more remote for its marquee event? Was Ulan Bator, Mongolia, booked?
   Competing in singles, in order of seeding, are Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Maria Sharapova of Russia, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Li Na of China, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, Samantha Stosur of Australia and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
   Defending champion Kim Clijsters, plagued by injuries, finished 13th in the standings.
   The doubles field consists of, in order of seeding, Wimbledon champions Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, Americans Huber and Raymond, King and Shvedova, and defending champions and Australian Open winners Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Flavia Pennetta of Italy and .
   French Open champions Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka finished 11th in the standings.
   Of course, the Venus and Serena Williams would demolish any of these teams, but they haven't been healthy at the same time since the Bill Clinton administration.
   Besides Dulko and Pennetta, Huber and Raymond are the only other former WTA Championships titlists in the field but with different partners. Raymond has won the crown three times, with Rennae Stubbs of Australia in 2001 and Stosur in 2005 and 2006. Huber has captured the title twice, with Cara Black of Zimbabwe in 2007 and 2008.
   King and Shvedova made their WTA Championships debut last year, losing to Dulko and Pennetta in the semifinals (first round).
   King and Shvedova are blogging from Istanbul. Here's the link: www.wtatennis.com/blog/20111024/vania-slavas-istanbul-blog-monday_2257191_2492902.
   Tursunov falls in doubles -- Dmitry Tursunov, a Moscow native living in Folsom, and Igor Kunitsyn of Russia lost to Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske of Germany 7-5, 6-4 Monday in the first round of doubles at the $663,750 St. Petersburg (Russia) Open.
   Tursunov, seeded eighth in singles, will face a qualifier in the first round.
   New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 27 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
   Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 42 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 39 in singles (+1), No. 234 in doubles (-83).
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 116 in singles (-2), No. 31 in doubles (no change).
   David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 106 in doubles (+2), No. 663 in singles (+39).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 133 in doubles (no change), 1,236 in singles (+10).
   Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 193 in singles (+10), unranked in doubles. 
   Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 281 in singles (+99), No. 551 in doubles (+2).
   Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 501 in doubles (no change), No. 1,525 in singles (+9).
   Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 763 in singles (+1), No. 1,253 in doubles (+6).

Women

   Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 7 in doubles (+2), No. 77 in singles (+2).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2011) -- No. 208 in doubles (career high, +4), No. 403 in singles (+3).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 377 in doubles (+1), No. 688 in singles (career high, +7).