Novikov tops U.S. nemesis in Australian Open qualies

Dennis Novikov, a San Francisco Bay Area resident playing in the U.S.
Open last September, beat James Ward of Great Britain to reach the
final round of qualifying in the Australian Open.  Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 32 seed Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area scored a big win today to move within one victory of his first main-draw berth in the Australian Open.
   The 22-year-old former UCLA standout defeated James Ward of Great Britain 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of qualifying in Melbourne.
   Ward, who will turn 29 on Feb. 9, reached the third round at Wimbledon last summer and helped Great Britain win its first Davis Cup championship in 79 years in 2015.
   Ward has been a United States nemesis in the Davis Cup, stunning Sam Querrey and John Isner in the first round in the past two years.
   Novikov, who will face 12th-seeded Yuichi Sugita of Japan on Friday (California time), is trying to reach the singles main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time.
   Novikov received an automatic wild card in the 2012 U.S. Open as the USTA boys 18 champion and shocked then-No. 86 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland in the first round before losing to Julien Benneteau of France in the second round. 
   Janowicz, 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals the following year.

Novikov advances in Australian Open qualifying

Dennis Novikov serves in the $100,000 Tiburon
(Calif.) Challenger last September. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   No. 32 seed Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area defeated Marc Polmans of Australia 6-4 7-6 (4) today in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Novikov, a 22-year-old former UCLA star, faces a tough assignment in the second round against James Ward, 28, of Great Britain.
   Ward, who beat Peter Polansky of Canada 7-6 (6), 6-4, reached the third round at Wimbledon last summer and helped Great Britain win its first Davis Cup championship in 79 years in 2015.
   Ward has been a United States killer in the Davis Cup, stunning Sam Querrey and John Isner in the first round in the past two years.
   The 156th-ranked Ward is 1-0 lifetime against No. 153 Novikov, winning 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the second round in Manchester on grass last June.
   Novikov is trying to reach the singles main draw in the Australian Open for the first time and in a Grand Slam tournament for the second time.
   Novikov received an automatic wild card in the 2012 U.S. Open as the USTA boys 18 champion and shocked then-No. 86 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland in the first round before losing to Julien Benneteau of France in the second round. Janowicz, 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals the following year.
   In a late match, Tennys Sandgren, 24, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., dismissed Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan 6-1, 6-3 in the opening round of Australian Open qualifying. Sandgren will meet another Japanese player, 13th-seeded Tatsuma Ito, in the second round.
   Sandgren, a former University of Tennessee All-American, helped the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis reach the Western Conference final in July in the team's inaugural season.

Querrey's collapse puts U.S. in Davis Cup hole

Sam Querrey blew a big lead and lost to 175th-ranked
James Ward of Great Britain. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   The rap on Sam Querrey long has been that, for all his size and power, he lacks heart and mopes around on the court when things don't go well.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) American did little to dispel that notion Friday in San Diego in the first round of the Davis Cup.
   Querrey was playing in his home state. He was facing a guy ranked No. 175 in the world. He was two games from winning. And he lost.
   James Ward won 10 of the last 11 games to pull out a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory on clay at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team, and give Great Britain a 2-0 lead.
   In the opening match, two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray demolished Donald Young 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. Young, a late replacement for injured John Isner, made his Davis Cup debut at 24 years old.
   Ward, in contrast to Querrey, played with inspiration.
   "Look, I love playing for my country," the 26-year-old Ward, who improved to 9-5 in Davis Cup singles, told reporters. "Every time I do it, it obviously brings out something in me that's a bit different, which I didn't see in the first set."
   He said team captain Leon Smith told him to come out of his shell.
   "And I did," said Ward, who lost to fifth-seeded Wayne Odesnik 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in the first round of the Aptos Challenger last August
   Querrey, a 26-year-old San Francisco native and Sacramento Capitals veteran in World TeamTennis, has plunged from a career-high No. 17 in January 2011 to No. 49. He led Ward 4-2 in the fourth set before collapsing.
   After falling to 4-7 in Davis Cup singles (1-6 on clay), the down-to-earth Querrey put a positive spin on perhaps the most disappointing loss of his eight-year career.
   With typical understatement, Querrey said he was "a little bummed, obviously, that I couldn't help the team. But it's not over. You have to win three points. And if we can bounce back (today) and Bob and Mike (Bryan) win the doubles, then I think our side takes two on Sunday."
   Oh, really?
   The Bryans, who have won a record 15 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, will be favored against the likely pairing of Colin Fleming and Murray (Tennis Channel, noon PST).
   But Querrey is going to beat the sixth-ranked Murray in Sunday's first match after losing to Ward? Murray leads the series 5-1, although he has never played Querrey on clay.
   And then Young is going to handle the pressure of a deciding match and beat the far more experienced Ward in their first career meeting?
   Good luck with all that, United States.

COLLEGE RESULTS

Women

    No. 1 Stanford def. No. 17 Texas 6-1 in Austin, Texas. No. 1 singles: No. 6 Kristie Ahn (S) def. No. 22 Breaunna Addison 6-4, 6-3. Clinching match: At No. 5 singles, 94th-ranked Ellen Tsay def. Pippa Horn 6-1, 6-4. Team records: Stanford 3-0, Texas 3-1. Notes: Tsay clinched the victory for the third consecutive dual match. ... Texas coach Patty Fendick-McCain, 48, faced her alma mater. She was born and raised in Sacramento, won NCAA singles titles in 1996 and 1997, and reached No. 4 in the world in doubles and No. 19 in singles. Fendick-McCain won 25 WTA doubles titles, including the 1991 Australian Open with Mary Joe Fernandez, and three in singles.
   No. 8 Cal def. USF 7-0 in Berkeley. No. 1 singles: No. 26 Anett Schutting def. Thyra Taune 6-0, 6-4. Clinching match: At No. 3, Klara Fabikova def. Andrea Ka 6-4, 6-3. Team records: Cal 3-0, USF 4-1.