Stephens, Tiafoe stage big upsets as Wimbledon begins

Sloane Stephens, a Fresno, Calif., product, ousted two-time Wimbledon champion
Petra Kvitova today. 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   Two players with Northern California ties, one woman and one man, scored major upsets on the first day of Wimbledon.

   In a matchup of Grand Slam singles champions, Fresno, Calif., product Sloane Stephens ousted No. 10 seed Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4 today. Also, Frances Tiafoe, who won the 2016 Stockton, Calif., Challenger at 18, dispatched No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the French Open runner-up two weeks ago, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

   Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion now based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had not played on grass in two years. She withdrew from Bad Homburg, Germany, last week because of a foot injury.

   Since Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title in 2014, the Czech has not advanced past the fourth round at the All England Club in five attempts.

   Stephens, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2013, has tumbled from a career-high No. 3 in 2018 to No. 73. She is set to play lucky loser Kristie Ahn, a 29-year-old Stanford graduate from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., on Wednesday.

   Ahn, who has dropped from a career-high No. 87 in 2019 to No. 117, rallied from a break down twice in the third set and saved a match point in a 2-6, 7-6 (3), 8-6 victory over Heather Watson of Great Britain.

   Ahn, who advanced to the fourth round of the 2019 U.S. Open, prevailed in 3 hours, 3 minutes for her first Wimbledon main-draw victory. She and Stephens will meet for the first time at the tour level and the first time overall since 2009. Ahn has not lost a set in two minor-league matches against Stephens.

   Watson won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2016 with Henri Kontinen of Finland and the doubles crown of the 2012 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand.

   Tiafoe, ranked No. 57, earned his first victory over a top-five player in 12 attempts. Tsitsipas had not played on grass since losing to Thomas Fabbiano of Italy in the first round at Wimbledon two years ago.

   Two qualifiers who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area fell in the opening round.

   Mackenzie McDonald, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018, lost to No. 25 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3). 

   Katie Volynets, making her Wimbledon main-draw at 19, bowed out against Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 7-5.

Bellis to make BNP Paribas Open debut vs. Flipkens

CiCi Bellis, shown last July, is coming off a quarterfinal
appearance in Dubai, where she stunned No. 6 Agnieszka
Radwanska for her first career win over a top-10 player.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   CiCi Bellis is scheduled to make her debut in the BNP Paribas Open, considered the "fifth" Grand Slam, this week against Kirsten Flipkens.
   The women's draw for the Indian Wells tournament was held Monday, and the first round begins Wednesday at 11 a.m. PST (Tennis Channel).
   Bellis, a 17-year-old product of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Flipkens, a 31-year-old Belgian, will meet for the first time.
   Bellis, ranked No. 55, is by far the youngest player in the top 100. She will turn 18 on April 8. Next is No. 33 Ana Konjuh, a Croat who's 15 months older.
   Bellis is coming off a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai, where she stunned No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska for her first victory over a top-10 player.
   Flipkens is ranked No. 87 after climbing to a career-high No. 13 in 2013. She reached the Wimbledon semifinals that year and ousted Venus Williams in the first round of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last August en route to the third round.
   The winner of the Bellis-Flipkens match will take on seventh-seeded Garbine Muguruza, the reigning French Open champion. All 32 seeds at Indian Wells receive first-round byes.
   Meanwhile, the pressure is on U.S. wild card Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13). Ranked No. 94, she will continue to fall if she doesn't at least match her fourth-round showing as a qualifier at Indian Wells last year.
   Good luck with that. Gibbs will play Heather Watson of Great Britain in the first round, and the winner will face 11th-seeded Johanna Konta, a British citizen born in Australia.

   Gibbs and Watson have many similarities despite their different nationalities. Both are 24. Both are undersized -- Gibbs is 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters), and Watson is 5-foot-7 (1.70). Watson is ranked No. 108 and also has reached the fourth round at Indian Wells, having upset Radwanska in the third round in 2015.
   Furthermore, Watson has a Stanford connection. She teamed with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand for the doubles title in the 2012 Bank of the West Classic on Gibbs' home courts at the time.

Nicole Gibbs eyes a backhand during her fourth-round loss to
Petra Kvitova in last year's BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   In fact, Gibbs and Watson played doubles together in last year's French Open, losing in the first round to Germans Sabine Lisicki and Andrea Petkovic.
   Watson, though, has made her biggest news at Wimbledon. She twice came within two points of stunning Serena Williams in the third round in 2015 before falling 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Watson led 3-0 (two service breaks) in the third set and served for the match at 5-4, but Williams rallied and went on to win her sixth Wimbledon crown. Williams made it seven last year.
   Watson also won last year's Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Henri Kontinen of Finland.
   Gibbs and Watson have split two career matches. Gibbs won 7-5, 6-2 in the first round at Seoul in 2014 on a hardcourt similar to those at Indian Wells, and Watson triumphed 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of last year's French Open.
   Women's qualifying for the BNP Paribas Open began Monday. Wild card Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product, lost to 13th-seeded Mona Barthel of Germany 6-2, 7-5.
   Dennis Novikov, a 23-year-old resident of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area, faces a tough assignment today in the opening round of men's qualifying. He will face second-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
   Istomin shocked two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Australian Open en route to the fourth round in January.
   The men's drawfor the BNP Paribas Open will be held today, and the first round begins Thursday.

Gibbs, Querrey fall in first round of French Open

Heather Watson of Great Britain won all five
games in the resumption of a suspended match
to beat ex-Stanford star Nicole Gibbs in the
first round of the French Open. 2012 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs suffered an agonizing loss and Sam Querrey's Grand Slam struggles continued today in the French Open.
   Gibbs, a 23-year-old former Stanford All-American from Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, lost all five games in the resumption of a suspended match and fell to Heather Watson of Great Britain 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in Paris.
   The match between the doubles partners had been halted by rain on Sunday with Gibbs serving at 40-30. After 27 minutes today, it was over.
   "Obviously disappointed but looking forward to being on the same side of the net as this one later this week," Gibbs tweeted with a photo of her shaking hands with Watson after the loss.
   Watson, who laced 46 winners to Gibbs' 14, likely secured a spot on the British Olympic team with the victory. Gibbs, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 in the French Open, including a 2014 loss in qualifying.
   Watson, ranked No. 56, evened her career record against Gibbs, No. 72, at 1-1 and set up a match against 13th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, held off Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
   Watson twice came within two points of stunning Serena Williams in the third round at Wimbledon last year before falling 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Watson led 3-0 (two service breaks) in the third set and served for the match at 5-4, but Williams rallied and went on win her sixth Wimbledon crown.
   Like Gibbs, the 24-year-old Watson has a Stanford connection. She teamed with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand to win the doubles title in the 2012 Bank of the West Classic on Gibbs' former home courts.
   Querrey, a 28-year-old San Francisco native living in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, lost to U.S. wild card Bjorn Fratangelo, the 2011 French Open boys singles champion, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey, ranked No. 37, has won one match in his last six Grand Slam tournaments since reaching the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open.
   Also, Querrey has lost in the first round of singles in seven of his 10 appearances in the French Open. He advanced to the third round in 2013 for his best result at Roland Garros.
   Fratangelo, who was named after Bjorn Borg, made his French Open main-draw debut at 22 with a career-high ranking of No. 103.
   Fratangelo is one of only three Americans in the Open era (since 1968) to win the French Open boys singles title, along with John McEnroe (1977) and Tommy Paul (2015).
   Fratangelo will play ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet of France. Gasquet dismissed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-1, 6-3, 6-4.

Gibbs leads Watson in suspended French Open match

Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, leads Heather Watson of Great
Britain in the first round of the French Open. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs, a former Stanford star from Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, led Heather Watson of Great Britain 7-5, 2-6, 2-1 (one service break) on Sunday when rain suspended their first-round match in the French Open in Paris.
   The match is scheduled to resume today after a 2 a.m. PDT men's singles encounter, although rain is forecast again.
   Watson, ranked No. 54, faces more pressure in the match than No. 72 Gibbs. Watson, 24, has points to defend after reaching the second round at Roland Garros last year and is trying to qualify for the Olympics. The 23-year-old Gibbs, who seeks her first career French Open victory, has neither of those issues.
   Watson twice came within two points of stunning Serena Williams in the third round at Wimbledon last year before falling 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Watson led 3-0 (two service breaks) in the third set and served for the match at 5-4. Williams went on to win the title.
   Sam Querrey, a 28-year-old San Francisco native living in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, is scheduled to play U.S. wild card Bjorn Fratangelo, who won the 2011 French Open boys singles title, today in the first round.
   The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey is ranked No. 37, and Fratangelo is a career-high No. 104.
   Querrey won the Geneva doubles title last week with fellow Los Angeles-area resident Steve Johnson.

Tursunov, Querrey, Gibbs learn French Open foes

Dmitry Tursunov, who trains in the Sacramento area, practices
at Indian Wells in 2014. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Dmitry Tursunov, ailing as usual, drew a seed.
   Sam Querrey will play a former French Open junior champion named after Bjorn Borg.
   And Nicole Gibbs will face a player who almost beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon last year.
   The three players with Northern California connections learned their first-round opponents in the French Open when the draw was held Friday. The year's second Grand Slam tournament is scheduled for Sunday through June 5.
   Tursunov, a 33-year-old Russian who trains in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, will meet 14th-seeded Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain.
   Tursunov is 2-0 against Bautista-Agut, including one match on clay, without dropping a set but hasn't played a match since losing in the first round of the Sarasota (Fla.) Challenger on clay in mid-April.
   "Dmitry is not at 100 percent" Tursunov's manager, Michael Gorin, wrote in an e-mail without elaborating.
   Tursunov retired from his first-round match in the Australian Open in January with a hip injury while trailing Stan Wawrinka two sets to none.
   Tursunov also missed the last half of 2014, except the U.S. Open, and the first 9 1/2 months of 2015 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and pain in his left ankle that was operated on twice in 2009.
   Ranked as high as No. 20 in 2006, Tursunov has tumbled to No. 484.
   Querrey, a 28-year-old San Francisco native living in Santa Monica in the Los Angeles area, will play Bjorn Fratangelo, a 22-year-old wild card originally from Pittsburgh, for the first time.
   Querrey is ranked No. 37 and Fratangelo a career-high No. 104. Fratangelo in 2011 joined John McEnroe (1977) as the only Americans in the Open era (since 1968) to win the French Open boys singles title. Tommy Paul became the third last year.
   Querrey reached the third round of the 2013 French Open, his best result in nine appearances at Roland Garros. Fratangelo will play in the main draw for the first time.
   Gibbs, a 23-year-old former Stanford star, will take on Heather Watson, 24, of Great Britain in a matchup of undersized players.
   Watson twice came within two points of stunning Williams in the third round at Wimbledon last year before falling 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Watson led 3-0 (two service breaks) in the third set and served for the match at 5-4. Williams went on to win the title.
   The 72nd-ranked Gibbs is 1-0 against the 54th-ranked Watson, winning 7-5, 6-2 on a hardcourt in the first round at Seoul in 2014.
   At Roland Garros, however, Gibbs is 0-1 in the main draw, and Watson has reached the second round four times.
   Watson teamed with Marina Erakovic of New Zealand to win the doubles title in the 2012 Bank of the West Classic on Gibbs' former home courts at Stanford.

Wimbledon Day 5 recap: Serena survives thriller

Serena Williams twice came within two points
of losing to Heather Watson. 2014 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- The Queen of Comebacks did it again. Top-ranked Serena "Vanessa" Williams, who twice was two points from losing, held off No. 59 Heather "Elementary My Dear" Watson of Great Britain, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the third round. Watson led 3-0 (two service breaks) in the third set and later served for the match at 5-4. Serena will play older sister Venus "And Mars" Williams on Monday in a matchup of five-time Wimbledon singles champions. It will be their first meeting in a major since Serena won the 2009 Wimbledon final. Serena leads the head-to-head series 14-11.
   Upset of the day -- No. 26 seed Nick "I'm Just" Kyrgios, 20, avenged a loss to Milos "Kunis" Raonic in last year's quarterfinals, beating the seventh-seeded Canadian 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Raonic still hasn't recovered from surgery for a pinched nerve in his right foot on May 13, which caused him to miss the French Open.
   Notable -- The match between No. 9 "Cheech" Marin Cilic, the reigning U.S. Open champion, and No. 17 John "Wayne" Isner was suspended by darkness at 10-10 in the fifth set. Five years ago at Wimbledon, Isner topped Nicolas "I Don't Give A" Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set in the first round. Spread over three days, it's the longest match in tennis history. 
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 1 Novak "It's No" Djokovic, No. 4 Stan "The Man" Wawrinka, No. 14 Kevin Anderson "Cooper," No. 16 David "Gerry" Goffin, No. 21 Richard "Don't Blow A" Gasquet, No. 26 Kyrgios.
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 7 Raonic, No. 11 Grigor "Mortis" Dimitrov, No. 24 Leonardo "Da Vinci" Mayer, No. 27 Bernard "A." Tomic. 

   Women's seeded winners -- No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 4 Maria "Shriver" Sharapova, No. 6 "I Love" Lucie Safarova, No. 16 Venus Williams, No. 23 Victoria "Station" Azarenka, No. 30 Belinda "Johnny" Bencic.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 14 Andrea Petkovic "Park," No. 22 Samantha "Stephens" Stosur, No. 29 Irina-Camelia "Ain't Too Proud To" Begu.
   Stars and stripes -- Unseeded CoCo "Chanel" Vandeweghe and wild card Denis "The Menace" Kudla reached the fourth round of a major for the first time. Vandeweghe, the 23-year-old niece of former NBA star Kiki Vandeweghe, whipped 22nd-seeded Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, 6-2, 6-0. Kudla, 22, outlasted Santiago Giraldo "Rivera" of Colombia 6-2, 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. See my 2012 story on Vandeweghe here and 2013 article on Kudla and U.S. men's tennis here.
   Fast fact -- Serena Williams, who's trying to win the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi "Para" Graf in 1988, has won 24 consecutive matches in majors.
   Northern California connection -- Top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan beat Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the second round of men's doubles. The 37-year-old Bryan twins starred at Stanford in 1997 and 1998, and are scheduled to play part-time this month for the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis.
   Three full-time members of the Dream played in the first round of mixed doubles. Jarmila Gajdosova and Anabel Medina Garrigues won, but Aisam Qureshi lost. Also falling was former Stanford standout Scott Lipsky. 
   Quote -- Serena Williams: "I honestly didn't think I was going to win. How I pulled through, I really don't know."
   Today's top matches (beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on ESPN) -- Centre Court: Roger Federer "Express" (2) vs. Sam "Adams" Groth, Petra "Fied Forest" Kvitova (2) vs. Jelena "Weird Al" Jankovic (28), Andy "Bill" Murray (3) vs. Andreas Seppi "Blatter" (25).
   Court 1: "Sweet" Caroline Wozniacki (5) vs. Camila Giorgi "Girl" (31), Cilic (9) vs. Isner (17), James "Montgomery" Ward vs. Vasek "Anything Is" Pospisil, Gilles "Paul" Simon (12) vs. Gael "Sayers" Monfils (18).