Musetti, 18, stuns Stan in first round of Italian Open

Stan Wawrinka, 35, had two operations
on his left knee in August 2017. File
photo by Paul Bauman 

   Lorenzo Musetti's first tour-level victory was a big one.

   The 18-year-old Italian qualifier stunned 10th-seeded Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, 6-0, 7-6 (2) today in the opening round of the Italian Open in Rome.

   "When I was young, I used to come see champions like Rafa, Federer, Wawrinka," the 249th-ranked Musetti told reporters. " ... I think it's a dream that comes true. I'm still not believing what I did tonight."

   Musetti had played only one tour-level match, losing to then-No. 14 Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 in the first round at Dubai in February as a qualifier.

   Musetti, formerly ranked No. 1 in the juniors, won the 2019 Australian Open boys singles title by edging American Emilio Nava 14-12 in a third-set tiebreaker.

   Unlike Italy's eight top-100 men, Musetti has a one-handed backhand.

   "This kid's backhand is incredible!" commentator and former world No. 1 Jim Courier crowed during Tennis Channel's broadcast.

   Wawrinka, 35, won a Challenger in Prague last month. He reached the Italian Open final in 2008 (losing to Novak Djokovic) and semifinals in 2015 and underwent two operations on his left knee in August 2017.

   Musetti is scheduled to face Kei Nishikori, 30, of Japan on Thursday. Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up to Marin Cilic, defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Monday for his first win since Flushing Meadows in 2019. He had right elbow surgery last October.

   Another qualifier, Pedro Martinez of Spain, beat Sam Querrey, a 32-year-old San Francisco native, 6-3, 7-6 (3) today. Querrey, the Italian Open doubles champion in 2011 and runner-up in 2010 with John Isner, is 0-3 since advancing to the third round of the Australian Open in January.

   In a women's matchup of Grand Slam singles champions, ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain outplayed Sloane Stephens, a 27-year-old Fresno, Calif., product, 6-3, 6-3. 

   Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017. Stephens captured the U.S. Open in 2017 and reached the Roland Garros final in 2018, losing to Simona Halep.

   Muguruza will play 16-year-old U.S. sensation Coco Gauff, who defeated Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-4, 6-3. Gauff rebounded from two consecutive opening-round losses in New York, including the U.S. Open, to win her first tour-level main-draw match on clay. 

   Jabeur, the 2011 French Open girls singles champion, reached her first Grand Slam women's quarterfinal in the Australian Open in January.

   Wawrinka wasn't the only three-time Grand Slam singles champ who lost in the first round. Angelique Kerber, seeded 15th, fell to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-1 in 68 minutes. 

   Siniakova, formerly ranked No. 1 in doubles, ended a five-match losing streak at the WTA main-draw level dating to Dubai in February and defeated Kerber, the champion of the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, for the first time in four career meetings.

   Clay is Kerber's worst surface, which is odd because defense is her biggest strength. She has won every Grand Slam tournament except the French Open, in which she is a two-time quarterfinalist.

Dimitrov shocks Federer in U.S. Open quarterfinals

Grigor Dimitrov beat Roger Federer for the first
time in eight matches. File photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second consecutive year, Roger Federer wilted before the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

   Last year, it was against 55th-ranked John Millman in extreme humidity in the fourth round.

   On Tuesday night, it was against 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov, who had been 0-7 against the Swiss star, in the quarterfinals.

   Dimitrov, ranked a career-high No. 3 as recently as November 2017, beat the third-seeded Federer 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   "Grigor was able to put me away," Federer, who was seeking a record-breaking sixth U.S. Open singles title, told reporters. "I fought with what I had."

   Federer, 38, took a rare medical timeout after the fourth set for pain in his upper back and neck. He put up little resistance in the fifth set and finished with 60 unforced errors to Dimitrov's 41.

   "He started slowing down a little bit," the 28-year-old Dimitrov, who's known as "Baby Fed" because of his one-handed backhand and artistry on the court, said in an on-court interview. "For sure, in the end, he was not 100 percent of himself."

   Dimitrov, who had lost six of his last seven matches entering the U.S. Open, will jump to at least No. 25 on Monday. In his third Grand Slam singles semifinal, he is scheduled to meet fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Friday. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Medvedev, 23, beat 23rd-seeded Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

   In Medvedev's last three tournaments before the U.S. Open, he reached the finals in Washington, D.C., and Montreal and won his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. 

   Wawrinka won his third and last Grand Slam singles in the 2016 U.S. Open but underwent two knee operations in 2017. 

   Medvedev and Dimitrov have split two career meetings, both in 2017.

   In the women's quarterfinals, eighth seed and six-time champion Serena Williams demolished 18th-seeded Wang Qiang of China 6-1, 6-0 in 44 minutes. That tied Simona Halep's third-round victory over Viktoria Kuzmova in Madrid for the shortest WTA match of the year, wtatennis.com reported.

   Williams, a 37-year-old part-time resident of Silicon Valley, is set to play fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Thursday. 

   Svitolina, who reached the San Jose quarterfinals as the top seed this summer, eliminated 16th-seeded Johanna Konta, the champion of the 2016 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, 6-4, 6-4.
   Williams is 4-1 against the 24-year-old Svitolina, but they have not met since 2016.

   In junior singles:

   –Aidan Mayo, a 16-year-old product of Roseville in the Sacramento area, defeated Juan Bautista Torres of Argentina 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the second round.

   –Fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China dominated Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa region 6-0, 6-2 in the second round.

   –Katie Volynets, 17, of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, outplayed Carole Monnet of France 6-1, 6-3 in the first round.

   In the first round of junior doubles:

   –Sixth-seeded Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain and Gauthier Onclin of Belgium beat Cash Hanzlik of Portland, Ore., and Mayo 6-2, 6-2.

   –Nicolas Alvarez Varona of Spain and Bautista Torres defeated Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose and Benjamin Kittay of Potomac, Md., 7-5, 7-5.

   –Top-seeded Alexa Noel of Summit, N.J., and Diane Parry of France beat India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay Area and Carol Young Suh Lee of Northern Mariana Islands 6-1, 6-4.

   –Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei and Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand topped identical twins Allura and Maribella Zamarripa 7-5, 5-7 [10-2].

Djokovic quits with injury; Wawrinka reaches quarters

Stan Wawrinka led 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when
Novak Djokovic quit with a left-shoulder
injury in the U.S. Open round of 16.
 File photo by Paul Bauman

   Stan Wawrinka is regaining the form that carried him to three Grand Slam singles titles.

   Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, is hurting. 

   Wawrinka, seeded 23rd, led 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when the top-ranked Djokovic retired with a left-shoulder injury in the U.S. Open round of 16 on Sunday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   On the women's side, 18th-seeded Qiang Wang of China ousted second-seeded Ashleigh Barty of Australia 6-2, 6-4, and eighth-seeded Serena Williams rolled her right ankle in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Petra Martic of Croatia.   

   Wawrinka, 34, had two operations on his left knee in August 2017, returned too soon and sat out again from February to May last year.

   Djokovic, 32, won his third U.S. Open singles title last year. On Sunday, he was seeking his third Grand Slam singles title of 2019 and 17th of his career, which would have pulled him within one of second-place Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer has 20.

   Wawrinka, the 2016 U.S. Open champion, is scheduled to play fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Tuesday. Medvedev, 23, eliminated qualifier Dominik Koepfer, the runner-up in the Aptos (Calif.) Challenger three weeks ago, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (2).
   Medvedev beat Wawrinka in four sets in the first round at Wimbledon in 2017 in their only previous meeting.

   Wawrinka's Swiss countryman, the third-seeded Federer, thrashed 15th-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in 79 minutes. The 38-year-old Federer, who won the last of his five (consecutive) U.S. Open crowns in 2008, will meet resurgent Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

   Dimitrov, known as "Baby Fed" because his playing style is similar to Federer's, beat Alex De Minaur of Australia 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

   Federer is 7-0 against Dimitrov, who has tumbled from a career-high No. 3 in November 2017 to No. 78.
   Barty also lost in the round of 16 at Wimbledon after winning her first Grand Slam singles title in the French Open. The 37-year-old Williams, who has a residence in Silicon Valley, will face Wang for the first time. 

   In the other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the women's draw, fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is set to play 16th-seeded Johanna Konta of Great Britain.

   Svitolina, coming off her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, beat Madison Keys, who won the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and reached the U.S. Open final in 2017, 7-5, 6-4.

   Konta took out third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-5. In 2016, Konta won the Bank of the West Classic, and Pliskova advanced to the U.S. Open final.

   Svitolina, 24, is 4-0 against Konta, 28.

Gauff, 15, advances to third round at Wimbledon

   After defeating Venus Williams on Monday to become the youngest player to win a main-draw match at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991, Cori "Coco" Gauff easily could have suffered a letdown.
   Instead, the 15-year-old qualifier dismissed 30-year-old Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, 6-3, 6-3 in 69 minutes on Wednesday.
   "The last three days have definitely just kind of been surprising," Gauff, an Atlanta native now based in Delray Beach, Fla., told reporters. "It just shows if you really work hard, you can get where you want to go. Last week around this time, I didn't know I was coming here. It just shows you have to be ready for everything.
   "I believe everything happens for a reason. People were telling me to keep working hard and your time will come."
   Gauff next will take on unseeded Polona Hercog, a 28-year-old Slovenian who upset 17th-seeded Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 6-4.

Danielle Collins, a semifinalist in last year's inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley
Classic in San Jose, eliminated 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova on Wednes-
day in the second round at Wimbledon. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   Two other women's seeds lost. American Danielle Collins, a semifinalist in last year's inaugural Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, eliminated 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Sevastova, a semifinalist in last year's U.S. Open, has never reached the third round in seven Wimbledon appearances.
   Dayana Yastremska, a 19-year-old Ukrainian, topped 27th-seeded Sofia Kenin, a 20-year-old Moscow-born American, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Kenin won Northern California Challengers in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
   Unlike Gauff, Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and Madison Brengle of Dover, Del., couldn't back up big wins.
   Putintseva, who ousted second-seeded Naomi Osaka in the first round, fell to Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-4, 7-6 (3).
   Brengle, who surprised French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova in the opening round and won the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October, succumbed to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.
   In an all-Romanian encounter, seventh-seeded Simona Halep beat Mihaela Buzarnescu, the reigning San Jose champion, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
   In the second round of men's singles, 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka, a 21-year-old American, outlasted 22nd-seeded Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 in 3 hours, 13 minutes.
   Opelka, the 2015 Wimbledon boys singles champion, blasted 23 aces and committed just two double faults. He will face 15th-seeded Milos Raonic, the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up to Andy Murray.
   Fernando Verdasco, a 35-year-old Spanish left-hander, took out 30th-seeded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours, 43 minutes.
   Verdasco, who won the 2010 SAP Open in San Jose and reached the final there in 2011, trailed 0-3 in the third set against Edmund, a semifinalist in the $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger in 2015.
   Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic dispatched American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 33 minutes. Kudla reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the final of the $100,000 Tiburon (Calif.) Challenger in 2015.
   Thomas Fabbiano, a 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) Italian who advanced to the Aptos semifinals last August, held off 40-year-old Ivo Karlovic, a 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Croat, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in 3 hours, 7 minutes. Karlovic, who reached the San Jose final in 2007 and won the Sacramento and Tiburon Challengers in 2011, had 38 aces and eight double faults.
   In the first round of doubles:
   --Top seeds and 2017 Wimbledon champions Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil defeated Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
   --Marcelo Demoliner of Brazil and Divij Sharan of India beat 13th seeds and reigning French Open champions Kevin Kraweitz and Andreas Mies of Germany 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.
   --Desirae Krawczyk from Palm Desert, Calif., and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area who plays for Mexico, topped Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Sabrina Santamaria of Los Angeles 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Olmos and Santamaria were teammates at USC.
   --Top-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France eliminated Americans Jessica Pegula and Maria Sanchez, a Modesto product, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Babos and Mladenovic seek their second consecutive Grand Slam title. Sanchez defeated Pegula in the final of the 2012 Sacramento Challenger.

Serena routs Venus in third round of U.S. Open

Serena Williams, playing at Indian Wells in March, overwhelmed Venus Williams
6-1, 6-2 tonight in the third round of the U.S. Open. Photo by Mal Taam

   Neither an ankle injury nor her older sister could stop Serena Williams tonight.
   No. 17 seed Serena Williams, showing no mercy, dominated No. 16 Venus Williams 6-1, 6-2 in 71 minutes in the third round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   It equaled the most lopsided match in the head-to-head series, which Serena leads 18-12 with nine victories in the last 11 matches. Serena won by the same score in the Charleston semifinals on clay in 2013.
   Serena, a part-time resident of Silicon Valley who will turn 37 on Sept. 26, rolled her right ankle in the second game of the match and had it taped after holding serve for 2-1. The ankle never seemed to hinder during the match, her earliest against Venus, 38, since their first one 20 years ago in the second round of the Australian Open.
   Serena, whose serve is considered the best in women's history, pounded 10 aces and won 29 of 33 points (88 percent) on her first delivery versus only 19 of 40 (48 percent) for Venus.
   Serena has not lost more than four games in any of her three matches as she tries to win her seventh U.S. Open singles title and tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles championships.
   Next for Serena on Sunday is 33-year-old Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi, a two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist. Kanepi, who ousted top-ranked Simona Halep in the opening round, defeated Rebecca Peterson of Sweden 6-3, 7-6 (3).
   Serena has not dropped a set in four career matches against Kanepi, who's ranked 44th after reaching a career-high 15th in 2012. Their last encounter also occurred in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, with Serena winning 6-3, 6-3 in 2014.
   Meanwhile, No. 3 seed and defending champion Sloane Stephens outclassed two-time U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4. Azarenka, 29, has plummeted from a career-high No. 1 to No. 79 after having her first child in December 2016 and missing tournaments last year because of a child custody dispute.
   Stephens, who grew up in Fresno and still has relatives there, is scheduled to play No. 15 seed Elise Mertens, a 22-year-old Belgian who beat No. 23 seed Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (4), on Sunday.
   Mertens defeated Stephens 7-6 (8), 6-2 two weeks ago in the third round in Cincinnati in their first only previous matchup.
   No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic got past Sofia Kenin, 19, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-4, 7-6 (2).
   Pliskova reached the final of the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, losing to Angelique Kerber each time. Kenin has won a Northern California Challenger for the past three years, including last month's $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge.
   Last year's U.S. Open men's finalists, champion Rafael Nadal and Kevin Anderson, survived stern tests from rising stars.
   The top-seeded Nadal, who seeks his fourth title in Flushing Meadows, held off 27th-seeded Karen Khachanov, 22, of Russia, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in four hours, 23 minutes.
   Anderson, seeded fifth, outlasted 28th-seeded Denis Shapovalov, 19, of Canada 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in three hours, 43 minutes.
   No. 25 Milos Raonic of Canada eliminated Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 U.S. Open champion, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3. Wawrinka had two operations on his left knee last August, returned too soon and sat out again from February to May.
   In the second round of women's doubles, No. 2 seeds Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France crushed U.S. wild cards Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) and Sabrina Santamaria, both former NCAA doubles champions, 6-0, 6-2 in 51 minutes. Babos and Mladenovic won the Australian Open this year and reached the 2014 Wimbledon final.
   Alicja Rosolska of Poland and Nikola Mektic of Croatia nipped Makoto Ninomiya and Ben McLachlan (Cal, 2011-14) of Japan 4-6, 6-2 [10-6] in the first round of mixed doubles. McLachlan was born and raised in New Zealand but plays for his mother's native country.

Querrey tops Tiafoe to end clay-court skids

   Sam Querrey ended two clay-court skids today with his victory in the French Open. 

   In an all-American matchup, the 12th-seeded Querrey dispatched 20-year-old prospect Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in Paris.

   It was Querrey's first triumph of the year on clay after three losses and his first win at Roland Garros since 2014 after three consecutive first-round losses. 

   Tiafoe reached his second ATP World Tour final of the year last month, losing to Joao Sousa of Portugal on clay in Estoril, Portugal. Tiafoe won his first ATP title in Delray Beach on hard courts in February.

   Querrie, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, will try to match his best French Open showing (2013) when he meets 33-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-4, 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-4. 

   Simon, the runner-up to Dominic Thiem on Saturday in Lyon, has reached the fourth round of the French Open three times (2011, 2013 and 2015) for his best showings in 12 appearances.

   The 15th-ranked Querrey is 3-4 against Simon, who's ranked 65th after climbing to a career-high No. 6 in 2009. They are 1-1 on clay, including Simon's five-set victory in the third round of the 2013 French Open.

   Meanwhile, 34-year-old Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain eliminated 23rd-seeded Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion and 2017 runner-up who's rebounding from knee surgery, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. 

   Garcia-Lopez also beat Wawrinka in the opening round of the 2014 French Open. Wawrinka was bidding for his second consecutive Grand Slam title after breaking through in the Australian Open.

   In all-Spanish battle, 21-year-old Jaume Munar outlasted 36-year-old David Ferrer, the 2013 runner-up to -- surprise! -- Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-5 in 4 hours, 15 minutes. 

   The top-seeded Nadal, seeking his 11th French Open crown, led lucky loser Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-4, 6-3, 0-3 when rain suspended play.

   No. 20 seed Novak Djokovic, the 2016 champion and a three-time runner-up at Roland Garros, dismissed 34-year-old Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Djokovic said he has been pain-free for the past two weeks after struggling with a right elbow injury for more than two years.

   On the women's side, No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, No. 13 Madison Keys and No. 15 CoCo Vandeweghe triumphed in straight sets.

   Keys defeated Vandeweghe to win the Bank of West Classic at Stanford last August. The tournament will be replaced by the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, July 30-Aug. 5 at San Jose State.

Federer ties record; Vesnina earns biggest title

Roger Federer matched Novak Djokovic with five Indian Wells titles.
Elena Vesnina, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles,
is making a name for herself in singles. Photos by Mal Taam

   Roger Federer tied Novak Djokovic's record of five Indian Wells titles, and Elena Vesnina earned the biggest singles crown of her career.
   Federer, seeded No. 9, improved to 20-3 (15-0 on hardcourts) against Swiss countryman Stan Warwinka, seeded No. 3, with a 6-4, 7-5 victory today in the BNP Paribas Open.
   Earlier, No. 14 Vesnina outlasted No. 8 and fellow Russian Kuznetsova 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 in 3 hours, 1 minute in 95-degree (35.0 Celsius) heat. It was the longest Indian Wells women's final in games (35).
   Federer continued his strong comeback after missing last year's BNP Paribas Open with a knee injury. He won the Australian Open, beating Wawrinka in five sets in the semifinals, in January for his ongoing-record 18th Grand Slam singles title.   
   “It’s been just a fairytale week once again,” said Federer, who did not lose a set in the tournament. “I’m still on the comeback. I hope my body is going to allow me to keep on playing. I was very sad when I couldn’t come here last year.
   "Just being here is a beautiful feeling. It’s one of my favorite tournaments. I came here for the first time 17 years ago. So to be here again as the champion is an amazing feeling.”
   At 35, Federer became the oldest champion in a Masters 1000 tournament, the highest level besides the Grand Slams. He surpassed Andre Agassi, who was 34 when he won Cincinnati in 2004.
   Federer, who will improve four spots to No. 6 in the world on Monday, and Vesnina each earned $1,175,505.
   Kuznetsova, 31, led 4-1 in second set and 4-2 in third. Although she won the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open, she has had issues with nerves.
   "She got tight, and I saw that," Vesnina, 30, admitted in an on-court interview after the first Indian Wells final between women in their 30s.
   In fact, all four singles finalists are at least 30. Wawrinka is 31.
   Vesnina, who lost in the first round of qualifying last year at Indian Wells, will rise two notches to a career-high No. 13.
   In women's doubles, Vesnina owns two Grand Slam titles (2013 French Open and 2014 U.S. Open with compatriot Ekaterina Makarova) and three Indian Wells crowns (2008, 2011 and 2013 with three different partners).

Federer, Wawrinka to meet in all-Swiss final

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka advanced to Sunday's final with
straight-set victories in the BNP Paribas Open. Photos by Mal Taam

   Switzerland was not going to be outdone by Russia.
   One day after Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Vesnina set up an all-Russia women's final in the BNP Paribas Open, Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka today advanced to the men's final at Indian Wells.
   No. 9 seed Federer defeated No. 17 Jack Sock of Kansas City, Kan., 6-1, 7-6 (4), and No. 3 Wawrinka outclassed No. 21 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3, 6-3.
   Both Federer, 35, and Wawrinka, 31, improved to 3-0 against their opponents. Federer has not lost a set in three matches against Sock, 24. Warwrinka has lost one (on clay) against Carreno Busta, 25.
   For good measure, No. 6 seeds Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan won the women's doubles title with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over unseeded Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova.
   All was not lost for the United States as No. 6 seeds Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., and Raven Klaasen of South Africa edged No. 8 Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-7 (1), 6-4 [10-8] for the men's doubles crown.
   Federer seeks a record-tying fifth Indian Wells title but first since 2012. Wawrinka will play in his first Indian Wells final.
   Federer is 19-3 against Wawrinka with a three-match winning streak. Federer holds a 14-0 advantage on hardcourts, including a five-set victory in the Australian Open semifinals in January en route to the title.
   Kuznetsova, 31, and Vesnina, 30, have split two career meetings. Kuznetsova triumphed on clay in the Estoril (Portugal) semifinals in 2014, and Vesnina won on hardcourt in the second round at Dubai in 2009.
   Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, seeks her first Indian Wells title in her third final. Vesnina advanced to the BNP final for the first time.
   ESPN will televise the women's final on Sunday at 11 a.m. and the following men's final.

Venus, Serena reach final; so does Federer

Venus Williams became the oldest Grand Slam singles
finalist since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994.
2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Venus Williams reached her first Grand Slam singles final in eight years today, beating fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 in the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   The 13th-seeded Williams, 36, became the oldest Grand Slam singles finalist since 37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994. The unseeded Vandeweghe, 25, was playing in her first major semifinal.
   Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, was diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, which saps energy and causes joint pain, in 2011. She will seek her first major singles title since Wimbledon in 2008 against second-seeded Serena Williams, who routed unseeded Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia 6-2, 6-1 in 50 minutes.
   Venus is 11-16 against Serena, including 2-6 in Grand Slam finals. Serena beat Venus 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 in the 2003 Australian Open final. Serena also won their last meeting in a major final, which came at Wimbledon in 2009.
   Russian hackers released confidential records last September showing that both Williams sisters received legal exemptions to use prohibited substances between 2010 and 2015. Serena was treated for a blood clot in her lung in 2010.

Serena Williams will try to break the Open Era record of
22 Grand Slam singles titles she shares with Steffi Graf
and regain the No. 1 rankings. 2016 photo by Paul Bauman

   Serena, 35, is trying to win a record seventh Australian Open singles title, break the Open Era record of 22 majors she shares with Steffi Graf and regain the No. 1 ranking. Margaret Court holds the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles crowns.
   Serena owns three singles titles in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford (2011, 2012 and 2014) and Venus two (2000 and 2002).
   No. 17 Roger Federer defeated No. 4 Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in an all-Swiss men's semifinal. The 35-year-old Federer, who missed the last six months of 2016 with a knee injury, improved to 19-3 against Wawrinka and became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall in the 1974 U.S. Open.
   No. 9 Rafael Nadal will face No. 15 Grigor Dimitrov on Friday at 12:30 a.m. Nadal is 7-1 against Dimitrov, who won the last meeting 6-2, 6-4 in the Beijing quarterfinals last October on an outdoor hardcourt.
   Third-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford 1997-98) advanced to the doubles final with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over unseeded Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. 

Roger Federer became the oldest man to reach a Grand
Slam singles final since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall in
the 1974 U.S. Open. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   The 38-year-old Bryan twins will meet fourth-seeded Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia. They beat Aussie wild cards Marc Polmans and Andrew Whittington 6-4, 6-4.
   Kontinen and Peers defeated the Bryans in straight sets en route to consecutive titles in Paris and the ATP World Tour Finals in London last November.
   The Bryans have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, including six in the Australian Open. But their last major crown came in the 2014 U.S. Open.
   The Bryans recently announced their retirement from Davis Cup competition after 14 years with the U.S. team. They hold the American record for doubles victories by a team, having gone 24-5. They clinched the last of the United States' record 32 Davis Cup titles in 2007 against Russia in Portland, Ore.
   Top-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Mike Bryan, who grew up in Camarillo in the Los Angeles region, withdrew from their mixed doubles quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Chris Guccione of Australia. It was the second consecutive walkover for Svitolina and Guccione. 

Wawrinka comes up big again, wins U.S. Open

Stan Wawrinka, shown at Indian Wells
in March, defeated Novak Djokovic
in four sets on Sunday to win his first
U.S. Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The bigger the occasion, the better Stan Wawrinka plays.

   Not a bad trait to have.

   Wawrinka improved to 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, all against the No. 1 player, with a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Novak Djokovic on Sunday for his first U.S. Open title.

   It was Wawrinka's 11th consecutive win in a tournament final. Still, Wawrinka was so nervous before Sunday's match in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., that he was shaking and even started to cry, The Associated Press reported.

   "I don't want to lose the final in a Grand Slam, that simple. That's the only reason," the third-seeded Wawrinka, 31, told reporters. "(It's) the feeling of: You don't want to lose. I don't want to come to the court and lose a final. So close, so far."

   Not to worry, as Wawrinka used his punishing groundstrokes -- including that sensational one-handed backhand -- to beat Djokovic for only the fifth time in 24 career matches and collect $3.5 million. 

   Wawrinka, who saved a match point in the third round against recent Aptos (Calif.) Challenger champion Daniel Evans of Great Britain, became the oldest U.S. Open men's champion since Ken Rosewall was 35 in 1970. 

   All of Wawrinka's Grand Slam titles have come since his 28th birthday and since he hired former world No. 2 Magnus Norman of Sweden as his coach in 2013. 

   Having also beaten Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open and Djokovic to capture the 2015 French Open, Wawrinka is three-fourths of the way to a career Grand Slam. He has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals twice, in 2014 and 2015.

   The 29-year-old Djokovic, who apparently hurt his left leg early in the fourth set Sunday, remained tied with Roy Emerson for fourth place with 12 career Grand Slam singles titles. Roger Federer holds the record with 17, and Nadal and Pete Sampras are tied for second with 14.     

   Since winning the French Open, completing a career Grand Slam, in June for his fifth title in the last six majors, Djokovic has gone 0 for 2. He lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Sam Querrey.

   Only a four-set loss to Wawrinka in last year's French Open final prevented Djokovic from becoming the first man to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

Djokovic beats Monfils in bizarre U.S. Open semifinal

Novak Djokovic, shown in 2015, improved to 13-0 against Gael Monfils.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Gael Monfils imitated Muhammad Ali.
   Novak Djokovic looked like "The Incredible Hulk."
   This, it's safe to say, was no ordinary Grand Slam semifinal.
   The result, though, was the same as always. Djokovic improved to 13-0 against Monfils with a wacky 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory on a steamy Friday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   In a desperate attempt to break through against Djokovic, the 10th-seeded Monfils said he employed Ali's "rope-a-dope" strategy by playing nonchalantly for the first two sets.
   ESPN commentator John McEnroe, however, blasted the 30-year-old Frenchman on the air for an apparent lack of effort.
   After dropping the second set, Monfils reverted to his usual flashy style of play. It worked, for a while.
   Djokovic, disgusted at missed break-point opportunities late in the third set, ripped his shirt and briefly played with his chest partially exposed.
   A trainer massaged Djokovic's left shoulder and then his right one during the match, but he said afterward that he wasn't concerned.
   Djokovic will seek his second straight U.S. Open title and third overall on Sunday (1 p.m. PDT on ESPN) against third-seeded Stan Wawrinka. The 31-year-old Swiss advanced to his first U.S. Open final by beating sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori, the 2014 runner-up to Marin Cilic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
   Djokovic, a 29-year-old Serb, also will try to earn his third Grand Slam title of the year and 13th overall to break a tie with Roy Emerson for sole possession of fourth place on the career list. Roger Federer holds with record with 17, and Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras are tied for second with 14.
   Djokovic is 19-4 against Wawrinka, whose last victory in the series came in the 2015 French Open final. Wawrinka also defeated Nadal for the 2014 Australian Open crown.
   This will be the third meeting between Djokovic and Wawrinka in the U.S. Open. Djokovic won 6-4, 6-1, 3-1, retired in the round of 16 in 2012 and 2-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals in 2013.
   In the Men's Collegiate Invitational, top-seeded Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, who has helped Virginia win the last two NCAA titles, demolished third-seeded Tom Fawcett of Stanford 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.
   Kwiatkowski will face fourth-seeded Austin Smith, who completed his eligibility at Georgia this year, for the title of the eight-man tournament.
   The invitational began in 2014 to bring attention to college tennis during the U.S. Open.

Aptos champ Evans almost pulls off major upset

Daniel Evans practices earlier this week.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Daniel Evans, who won the $100,000 Nordic Naturals Challenger in Aptos, Calif., three weeks ago, came within one point of a huge upset in the U.S. Open on Saturday.
   The 26-year-old Briton lost to No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (8), 6-2 in Louis Armstrong Stadium in the third round at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Evans, 5-foot-9 (1.75 meters), held a match point at 6-5 in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
   Wawrinka, who has won two Grand Slam singles titles, will play unseeded Illya Marchenko of Ukraine in the fourth round. Marchenko led No. 14 seed Nick Kyrgios of Australia 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 when Kyrgios retired with a hip injury.
   Meanwhile, former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs won tight matches in the second round of women's doubles and first round of mixed doubles.
   Gibbs, 23, and Nao Hibino, 21, of Japan edged Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Heather Watson of Great Britain 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Hibino won the singles title in the inaugural $50,000 Stockton Challenger last year.
   Gibbs and Dennis Novikov of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area beat Arantxa Parra Santonja and Marc Lopez of Spain 6-4, 3-6 [10-6]. In men's doubles, Lopez reached the final of the 2014 U.S. Open with Marcel Granollers and won his first Grand Slam title in this year's French Open with Feliciano Lopez (no relation). Granollers and Feliciano Lopez also are Spanish.
   Also in women's doubles, Modesto product Maria Sanchez and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia fell to fourth-seeded Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Hlavackova and Hradecka won the 2013 U.S. Open and 2011 French Open.
   In the second round of mixed doubles, Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and ex-Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky of Irvine in the Los Angeles area lost to Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan and 40-year-old Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-1, 6-2.

French Open Day 13 highlights: Murray ousts Wawrinka

No. 2 seed Andy Murray beat No. 3 Stan Wawrinka,
the defending champion, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 today to
reach his first French Open Final. 2015 photo by
Paul Bauman

   Five highlights from Day 13 of the French Open in Paris:
   1. No. 2 seed Andy Murray topped No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to reach his first French Open final.
   Murray became the first British man to advance to the final at Roland Garrros since Bunny Austin in 1937 and the 10th man in the Open era, which began in 1968, to gain the final at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
   Murray, a two-time Grand Slam champion, will face top-ranked Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final (6 a.m. PDT on NBC). Djokovic, seeking to become the eighth man to achieve a career Grand Slam in singles, dismissed No. 13 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
   Djokovic is 23-10 lifetime against Murray, who won the last meeting 6-3, 6-3 in the Italian Open final three weeks ago. But Djokovic was coming off tough matches against Kei Nishikori in the semifinals and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and playing with a bruised ankle.
   Murray is one week older than Djokovic; they turned 29 last month.
   Murray went undefeated in two appearances in the now-defunct SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., winning his first career ATP World Tour title there 10 years ago at 18 and repeating in 2007.
   2. No. 1 seed Serena Williams and No. 4 Garbine Muguruza will meet for the title on Saturday (6 a.m. on NBC) in a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final, which Williams won 6-4, 6-4.
   Williams, battling a thigh injury, downed unseeded Kiki Bertens, playing with an injured lower left leg, 7-6 (7), 6-4 to end the Dutchwoman's winning streak at 12 matches. Williams saved a set point in the first set.
   Muguruza beat No. 21 seed Samantha Storsur of Australia 6-2, 6-4.
   Williams will attempt to win her 22nd Grand Slam singles title, which would tie Steffi Graf for second all time behind Margaret Court with 24, and Muguruza her first.
   Williams, 34, is 3-1 against Muguruza, 22, but in their only meeting on clay, Muguruza romped 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the 2014 French Open.
   Muguruza could become the second Spanish woman to win the title at Roland Garros. International Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario triumphed in 1989, 1994 and 1998.
   Both Williams and Muguruza have won titles in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Williams prevailed in singles in 2011, 2012 and 2014, and Muguruza in women's doubles with countrywoman Carla Suarez Navarro in 2014.
   3. No. 5 seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, 38-year-old former Stanford stars, reached their second consecutive French Open men's doubles final with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 9 Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Alexander Peya of Austria.
   The Bryans will face No. 15 Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez (no relation) of Spain in Saturday's final. Feliciano Lopez, a 34-year-old left-hander, and Marc Lopez, 33, eliminated No. 3 seeds and defending champions Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Marcelo Melo of Brazil 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
   The Bryans have won a record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, including the French Open in 2003 and 2013, but none since the 2014 U.S. Open.
   Lopez and Lopez, who saved six match points in the quarterfinal win over 2014 champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, will try to become the first Spanish team to win the men's doubles title at Roland Garros since Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez in 1990.
   Neither Lopez has won a Grand Slam title, although Marc has been in two men's doubles finals with countryman Marcel Granollers, including the 2014 French Open.
   4. Fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic became the first French team to reach the women's doubles final at Roland Garros since Gail Chanfreau and Francoise Durr won their second straight title 45 years ago in 1971.
   Garcia and Mladenovic beat unseeded Margarita Gasparyan and Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. In the other semifinal, seventh seeds and 2013 champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia downed unseeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-4 6-2.
   Krejcikova and Siniakova, both 20, had ousted three seeded teams: No. 16 Chang Chia-Jung and Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan in the first round, No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India in the third round and No. 6 and 2011 champions Andrea Hlavakova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
   Hsieh won the 2014 title with Peng Shuai of China.    
   5. Unseeded Hingis and Leander Paes of India completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles with a 4-6, 6-4 [10-8] victory over second-seeded Mirza of India and Ivan Dodig of Croatia.
   Hingis, a 35-year-old Hall of Famer, has won 22 Grand Slam titles (five in singles, 12 in women's doubles and five in mixed doubles) despite retiring twice because of injuries and a two-year suspension for cocaine use. Her last three major women's doubles crowns have come with Mirza.
   Paes, a 42-year-old future Hall of Famer, has won 18 Grand Slam championships (eight in men's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles).
   Both Hingis and Paes are tied for 11th all time in total major titles. They also own career Grand Slams in men's and women's doubles, respectively.

On crummy motels, heat, Vika, etc. in Indian Wells

Eventual champion Victoria Azarenka begins
 a warmup session by tossing a football.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Random observations after spending three days in the middle of the second week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a suburb of Palm Springs:

   —The area features numerous swanky hotels. Then there was my motel in lovely Indio. I don't want to say it was cheap, but across the street was Silva's Radiator, and around the corner was the Riverside County Detention Center (they can't just call it a jail). Nothing says "resort area" like barbed wire.

   —I've attended the BNP Paribas Open annually since 2009, and I still can't get used to the "o" being silent in Coachella Valley, where the Palm Springs area is situated.

   —You don't have to be Dr. Oz or House to figure out why there's a pharmacy on seemingly every corner in the Ca-chell-a Valley. Because of the year-round warm weather, Palm Springs is, above all, a retirement community. 

   —Overheard as a female fan talked on her cellphone: "I want you to call your kidney guy for an appointment in two weeks." See what I mean?

   —Even in March, the temperature reaches the high 80s and low 90s in Indian Wells. Players have to be in phenomenal shape to battle for up to three hours; it's tough just to sit in the afternoon sun and watch the matches. Memo to self: Don't come here in July.

   —In fact, the players are unbelievably fit. Unlike their golf counterparts, pro tennis players can't afford to have an ounce of fat since their sport places a premium on movement and endurance.

   —When the sun goes down, though, the temperature is ideal.

   —It doesn't get any better than when you're sipping an ice-cold lemonade in a shaded seat, watching the best tennis players in the world in a beautiful setting and listening to The Beatles ("Drive My Car," "Good Day Sunshine," etc.) on the PA system during changeovers or between matches.

Stan Wawrinka's one-handed backhand
is the most beautiful shot in tennis.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Proud Mary") and Eric Clapton ("Layla") work, too. My wife hates CCR, but she teaches school and stayed home in Sacramento.

   —OK, so I'm old, too. But not retirement age yet.

   —The tournament volunteers are very helpful and friendly, contributing to the relaxed atmosphere.

   —Stan Wawrinka's one-handed backhand is the most beautiful shot in tennis. Richard Gasquet's, Dominic Thiem's and Philipp Kohlshreiber's are pretty sweet, too. 

   —It isn't just John Isner's 140-plus-mph (225-plus kph) first serve that's a weapon. In a 6-4, 7-6 (4) third-round victory over Adrian Mannarino, the 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Isner's second delivery consistently bounced over the head of the 5-foot-11 (1.81-meter) Frenchman, who grew increasingly frustrated.

   —In the next round, 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Kei Nishikori saved a match point in his 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over the ninth-seeded Isner. With his tremendous hand-eye coordination, the fifth-seeded Nishikori blocked back several of Isner's first-serve rockets to pull out the tiebreakers.

   —Two kids clamored for Nishikori to throw them a souvenir after he beat Isner. Nishikori tossed each of them a towel, and both kids ran off without saying thank you.

   —Eighteen-year-old Alexander Zverev, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German whom Rafael Nadal touted as a possible future No. 1, also is impressive in the interview room. Zverev displayed candor, maturity and impeccable English after losing to Nadal in the fourth round. When asked about blowing a putaway volley while holding match point, Zverev admitted, "I missed probably the easiest shot I had the whole match." Regarding the possibility of reaching No. 1, Zverev asserted, "This is painful right now, but it doesn't change anything about the process."
   —Memo to "journalists": Please ask a question. "Talk about ... " and "Your thoughts on ... " are not questions.

   —By the way, when did "journalists" become "media members"? Why use two words when one will do, except to sound like a pompous jerk?
   —It didn't take long for 13th-seeded Gael Monfils to exhibit his renowned athleticism in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Federico Delbonis in the fourth round. Monfils hit a seemingly impossible backhand with the ball behind him and won the point.

Alexander Zverev, 18, was impressive in the interview
room as well as on the court. Photo by Paul Bauman

   —Delbonis, who stunned second-seeded Andy Murray in the third round, has a bizarre hitch in his service motion. The 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) left-hander from Argentina starts to toss the ball, brings his arm back down, then goes through with an unusually high toss. Didn't bother Monfils, though.

   —Novak Djokovic stood up several hundred fans who packed Practice Court 2 for his scheduled session at noon on Wednesday, a day off for him. By 11:30 a.m., the stands were almost full, and by 12:30 p.m., most of the fans gave up and left. Hey, Djoker, if you're not going to practice, don't sign up for the court. If something comes up, have someone in your entourage call the staff so the fans can be notified. As one of them said at 1:15 p.m.: "(Tournament officials) say he's still going to show up but his coach doesn't know when. Very considerate. Without the fans, you're nothing. Remember that." 

   —Just then, Victoria Azarenka arrived to warm up for her match that evening. The 26-year-old Belarusian, who lived in the Phoenix area for many years, began by running pass patterns along a baseline, catching footballs tossed by a member of her entourage and throwing them back. The 49ers might want to take a flier on her in next month's draft.
   —Djokovic went on to win his third straight Indian Wells title and record fifth overall. Azarenka upset Serena Williams for her second BNP crown. That morning, tournament director and CEO Ray Moore opened his big mouth about the women's tour. 

   —Former Stanford star Nicole Gibbs, who reached the fourth round as a qualifier, has the greatest stare in tennis. When displeased, she lowers her head and shoots daggers from her eyes. 

   —Gibbs is feisty, too. Two years ago, in a loss to fellow American Louisa Chirico in the second round of the FSP Gold River Challenger in Sacramento, Gibbs stomped on her racket because she didn't like the string tension. 

   —Players engage in a lot of wishful thinking when they challenge line calls. They're wrong about 90 percent of the time. Often, it's not even close.

   —Players weren't the only celebrities in the BNP Paribas Open. After one match, a woman insisted on having her picture taken with charismatic chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
   —Fans could putt on a small green set up by the Indian Wells Golf Resort in the shopping area of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the site of the BNP Paribas Open. One guy was taking practice swings and intently studying his putt. Hey, Bubba, putt the ball already. This isn't the Masters. 

Defending champ Halep, Wawrinka fall in BNP

   INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champion Simona Halep and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka exited, and No. 4 Rafael Nadal and No. 5 Kei Nishikori barely survived on a day of high drama in the BNP Paribas Open.
   Halep, seeded fifth, fell to top seed and two-time champion Serena Williams 6-4, 6-3 in Wednesday night's featured  match in 16,100-seat Stadium 1. They were scheduled to meet in last year's semifinals, but Williams withdrew minutes beforehand with a knee injury.
   Williams' older sister Venus had done the same before they were to meet in the 2001 semifinals. Fans unleashed a torrent of boos, some allegedly made racial comments, and both players boycotted the tournament for the next 14 years.
   Just as Venus had in 2001, Serena won Miami two weeks after Indian Wells last year.
   Venus returned to the BNP Paribas Open this year as the 10th seed but lost to qualifier Kurumi Nara of Japan in the second round after receiving a bye.
   After last year's withdrawal, Serena said: "It feels really good to get that win (against Halep). She obviously has been in good form the past couple years."
   Still, Williams improved to 7-1 against Halep.
   "She played really well today," said Halep, who pronounced herself healthy after she had encountered a series of physical problems this year. "I have to get better to be closer to her."
   Wawrinka, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, lost to 15th-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5). Wawrinka nearly pulled off an amazing comeback after trailing 6-3, 4-0 and then 5-2 in the third set.
   Wawrinka led 4-2 in the tiebreaker, but Goffin won the next three points. At 5-5, Wawrinka sailed a putaway overhead at the net way long. On the next point, he netted a forehand off a running cross-court forehand by Goffin to end the match after 2 hours, 25 minutes in 90-degree heat.
   "Well, not too great a day, not too great a level," lamented Wawrinka, who applauded the crowd and signed a couple of autographs on his way out of 8,000-seat Stadium 2. "I didn't have the rhythm yet. Was a match without a brain, let's put it that way."  
   The fourth-ranked Wawrinka had not lost a set to the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter), 150-pound (68-kilogram) Goffin in their three previous matches, although they had played four tiebreakers (all won by Wawrinka).
   Goffin, who saved two match points in his second-round victory over 18-year-old wild card Frances Tiafoe of the United States, reached his second ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and first on hardcourts. He also advanced to the Rome quarters on clay last year.
   Goffin, ranked 18th, had been 1-25 against top-10 players with a 14-match losing streak against them. He beat then-No. 9 Milos Raonic in the Basel quarterfinals in 2014.
   Both Nadal and Nishikori saved match points in their victories.
   Nadal, who has won three singles and two doubles titles at Indian Wells, held off 18-year-old Alexander Zverev 6-7 (8), 6-0, 7-5 in 2 hours, 34 minutes in Stadium 1.
   Nadal trailed 5-2 in the third set against the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) German, whom the Spanish star has touted as a future No. 1. Zverev netted a putaway forehand volley while serving at 5-3, 40-30.
   "I missed probably the easiest shot I had the whole match," Zverev moaned.
   Showing his inexperience, Zverev fell apart after that, dropping 14 of the next 15 points for the match. Nadal, though, displayed his trademark tenacity.
   "Is a great victory," crowed Nadal, who has slumped since winning the 2014 French Open for his 14th Grand Slam singles title (tied for second all-time with Pete Sampras behind Roger Federer's 17). "I'm very happy about it. I am especially happy about the mentality on court, the spirit of fight during the whole match, believing that I can win a match during the whole time even in the tougher situations."
   Nishikori, 5-foot-10 (1.78-meters), withstood 23 aces by 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) John Isner to prevail 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Nishikori, who escaped a match point at 5-6 in the third set, reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals for the first time in eight appearances.
   Isner upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the 2012 final, in which he lost to Federer. The Swiss star missed this year's tournament while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
   Djokovic, who has won the last two Indian Wells titles and four overall, and Nadal are the only remaining past men's champions. Both are in the top half of the draw. The top-seeded Djokovic will meet No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Nadal will face Nishikori.
   The bottom half will produce a first-time Indian Wells finalist. No. 10 Marin Cilic will play Goffin, and No. 8 Gael Monfils will take on No. 12 Raonic.
   Serena Williams will play third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to Flavia Pennetta in 2014, in one semifinal. Radwanska will rise one notch to No. 2, tying her career high, after beating eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-2, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday.
   The other semifinal will be determined today. No. 13 seed Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 champion, will meet unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, and No. 18 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic will face unseeded 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina.
   In the men's doubles quarterfinals, No. 8 seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia edged No. 3 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 4-6, 6-1 [14-12]. The Bryans, who starred at Stanford in the late 1990s, won the Indian Wells title in 2013 and 2014.
   Roger-Vasselin is the baby of the group at 32. Zimonjic will turn 40 in June, and the Bryans will be 38 next month. 

Raonic upsets Wawrinka to reach quarterfinals

Milos Raonic, playing at Indian Wells last year,
defeated Stan Wawrinka today for the first time
in five career matches. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Milos Raonic took a big step today in the quest for his first Grand Slam title.
   Raonic, seeded No. 13, outlasted No. 4 seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 in Melbourne to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.
   Raonic, a 25-year-old Canadian, defeated Wawrinka for the first time in five career matches.
   Afterward, ESPN2 commentator Mary Joe Fernandez called Raonic, whose best Grand Slam result is the 2014 Wimbledon semifinals, "the ultimate professional. He does everything he can to be the best he can be."
   Both Raonic and Wawrinka were undefeated this year entering the match, which lasted 3 hours, 44 minutes. Raonic won the Brisbane title, defeating Roger Federer in the final, and Wawrinka took the Chennai (India) crown for the third consecutive year.
   Raonic will play No. 23 seed Gael Monfils, a 29-year-old Frenchman who beat unseeded Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time in his 11th attempt.
   Raonic never lost a set in 13 career matches in the SAP Open in San Jose, winning the last three titles. The tournament was discontinued in 2013 after 125 years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
   In the other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the Australian Open draw, No. 2 Andy Murray of Great Britain will meet No. 8 David Ferrer of Spain.
   Murray also went undefeated in San Jose, winning the first of his 35 tour-level titles (fourth among active players) there at 18 in 2006 and repeating in 2007 in his only two appearances.
   In the top half of the Australian Open draw, No. 1 Novak Djokovic will face No. 7 Kei Nishikori, and No. 3 Federer will take on No. 6 Tomas Berdych.
   On the women's side, unseeded Johanna Konta became the first British woman since Jo Durie 32 years ago to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Konta, a 24-year-old Sydney native, edged No. 21 Ekaterina Makarova, a semifinalist last year, 4-6, 6-4, 8-6.
   Konta will face Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai, who defeated No. 15 Madison Keys 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Keys, a semifinalist last year at 19, suffered a leg injury in the second set.
   Zhang was 0-14 in majors before stunning No. 2 Simona Halep in the first round.
   Halep revealed on Sunday that she has been struggling with nose, ear and stomach infections. She said she will have nose surgery and be out of action until March.    
   Also in the bottom half, No. 7 Angelique Kerber will meet No. 14 Victoria Azarenka, the Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka and Kerber won the singles title in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2010 and last year, respectively.
   In the top half in Melbourne, No. 1 Serena Williams will play No. 5 Maria Sharapova in a rematch of last year's final, and No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska will meet No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro.
   Williams defeated Sharapova for her sixth Australian Open title last year. Sharapova won her only Australian Open crown in 2008.
   Williams is 18-2 against Sharapova with a 17-match winning streak.
   Meanwhile, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan lost in the third round of men's doubles for the third straight year after winning their sixth Australian Open title in 2013. The No. 3 seeds and former Stanford stars fell to No. 13 Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
   Ram, 31, won the SAP Open doubles title in 2011 with Scott Lipsky, another ex-Stanford star.

Tursunov draws Wawrinka in Australian Open

Dmitry Tursunov, a Russian who trains in the Sacramento
suburb of Granite Bay, practices at Indian Wells in 2014.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Welcome back, Dmitry.

   In his first Grand Slam tournament since losing in the first round of the 2014 U.S. Open, Sacramento-area resident Dmitry Tursunov drew fourth seed and 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka on Thursday (PST) in the first round in Melbourne. 

   The Australian Open begins Sunday, although the Warwrinka-Tursunov match could be played on Monday. 

   Tursunov, who reached a career-high No. 20 in 2006, has dropped out of the singles rankings after his latest injury layoff. The 33-year-old Russian is using a protected ranking to play in Melbourne.

   Tursunov returned last October, winning the doubles title in his native Moscow with 18-year-old countryman Andrey Rublev, after missing more than one year with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and pain in his left ankle. Tursunov had surgery on the ankle twice in 2009, to remove bone spurs and then a chip. 

   Tursunov is 1-1 lifetime against Wawrinka, 30. Tursunov coasted 6-3, 6-3 in the first round at Sydney in 2008, and Wawrinka prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals indoors at Kuala Lumpur in 2013.

   Wawrinka owns two Grand Slam singles titles, having also won last year's French Open. Tursunov's best Grand Slam result is fourth-round appearances at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2006.  

   Sam Querrey, a 28-year-old San Francisco native, will face Dusan Lajovic, a 25-year-old Serbian, for the first time. Querrey is ranked 60th and Lajovic 79th.

   In a matchup of former Sacramento Challenger champions, Donald Young (2008 and 2013) of Atlanta will take on Santiago Giraldo (2009) of Colombia.
   On the women's side, 2015 Stockton Challenger champion Nao Hibino of Japan will meet fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova, the Australian Open champion in 2008 and runner-up in 2007, 2012 and 2015. Sharapova, 6-foot-2 (1.88 meters), withdrew from Brisbane last week with a forearm injury.
   Hibino, only 5-foot-4 (1.63 meters), won her first WTA title in Tashkent in October (although she faced no one in the top 100) and reached the quarterfinals in Auckland last week. Ranked 58th, she will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut at 21 years old.

Veni, vidi, Vinci: Serena's bid for Slam ends

Serena Williams, shown in March, lost to unseeded Roberta
Vinci of Italy today in one of the biggest upsets in sports his-
tory. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Pressure and a crafty opponent finally got to Serena Williams.
   Roberta Vinci pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history today, ending Williams' bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf's in 1988.
   The unseeded Vinci, playing in her first major semifinal at age 32, shocked the top-ranked Williams, who has won 21 Grand Slam singles titles, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Vinci had not won more than four games in a set in four matches against Williams. Afterward, in an on-court interview, ESPN's Tom Rinaldi told Vinci that she was a 300-1 long shot. In comparison, Buster Douglas was a 42-1 underdog when he knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo in 1990 in one of the biggest shockers ever.
   Rinaldi asked Vinci on the court what she thought made it possible when she woke up today to beat Williams.
   Replied the engaging Italian: "When I woke up today, I said, 'You're in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. Try to enjoy.' I don't think about (playing) Serena. But to win? No."
    Vinci apologized to Williams afterward. Why, asked Rinaldi?
   "For the American people, for Serena, the Grand Slam, everything," she said. "But today's my day. Sorry, guys."
   Williams, who will turn 34 on Sept. 26, was trying to tie Graf with 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second all-time behind Margaret Court's 24.
   Williams had won 11 three-set matches in majors this year, including two in the U.S. Open, and four consecutive Grand Slam titles.
   She led 2-0 in the third set against Vinci but double-faulted on break point in the next game. Williams double-faulted again when Vinci broke for 4-3.
   "I never felt that pressure to win here," insisted Williams, who earlier in the summer announced that she would no longer answer questions about her Grand Slam quest. "I said that from the beginning." 
   ESPN commentator and tennis legend Chris Evert saw it otherwise.
   "I saw a frozen, paralyzed Serena Williams," Evert said with her usual candor. "She succumbed to nerves. She's human."
   After Vinci broke serve for 4-3 in the third set, ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez noted: "She's playing such a clever match. She's taking advantage of (Williams') nerves. She's sliced, diced and drop-shotted. ... She's made Serena hit that extra shot."
   And, in an impressive display of composure, Vinci served out the match at love. A lesser player would have crumbled and let Williams back in the match.
   Although Vinci is ranked 43rd in the world in singles, she didn't exactly come out of nowhere.
   Vinci has been ranked as high as No. 11 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. She owns a career Grand Slam in women's doubles with five major titles overall.
   Vinci's victory overshadowed another shocker as No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta, another Italian, dispatched No. 2 Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-3 in 59 minutes. Pennetta, 33, also will play in her maiden Grand Slam final (Saturday at noon PDT, ESPN), and it will be the first all-Italian final in a major.
   Vinci and Pennetta grew up 38 miles (61.2 kilometers) apart in southern Italy and have known each other since they were children.  
   Pennetta leads Vinci 5-4 in the head-to-head series, but they are 1-1 on hardcourts. In their last meeting, Pennetta won 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Open.
   Pennetta also has a psychological advantage, as Vinci has only 24 hours to refocus after what she called "the best moment of my life."
   Oh, yeah. Then came the men's semifinals.
   No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Roger Federer set up a blockbuster final with easy victories.
   Djokovic trounced No. 9 Marin Cilic, the defending champion, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in the most lopsided semifinal in New York in the Open era, which began in 1968. Cilic was hampered by a twisted right ankle, which he suffered in the fourth round.
   Federer whipped his Swiss Davis Cup teammate, fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first U.S. Open final since 2009. Federer, 34, has not lost a set in the tournament.
   Djokovic and Federer will meet on Sunday (1 p.m. PDT, ESPN) for the 42nd time, tying Djokovic-Rafael Nadal for the most in the Open era. Federer leads the series 21-20 after winning their most recent encounter, 7-6 (1), 6-3 last month on a hardcourt in the Cincinnati final.
   Northern California connection -- Fourth-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Leander Paes of India edged unseeded Bethanie-Mattek Sands of Phoenix and Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native living in Las Vegas, 6-4, 3-6 [10-7] for the mixed doubles title.
   As Williams did, Hingis and the 42-year-old Paes won three of the four Slams this year. They took the Australian Open and Wimbledon mixed doubles crowns but lost in the second round of the French Open to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Horia Tecau of Romania. The winners of that tournament? Mattek-Sands and former Stanford star Mike Bryan.
   Querrey, who will turn 28 on Oct. 7, was playing in his first Grand Slam final. He reached the men's doubles semifinals in the U.S. Open with Southern California native Steve Johnson.
   In the American Collegiate Invitational, No. 2 seed Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area reached the men's final. McDonald, a junior at UCLA, routed No. 3 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, a junior at reigning NCAA champion Virginia, 6-2, 6-2.
   McDonald will face No. 4 Gonzales Austin, a recent Vanderbilt graduate who nipped No. 1 Ryan Shane, the NCAA singles champion from Virginia, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6). 

Wimbledon Day 9: Gasquet wins 'Battle of Backhands'

Richard Gasquet practices his outstanding one-handed backhand
during last year's BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Photo by
Paul Bauman

   Match and upset of the day -- In the "Battle of the Backhands," No. 21 seed Richard "Don't Blow A" Gasquet of France nipped No. 4 Stan "Ice Skating" Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 in 3 hours, 28 minutes to reach his third Grand Slam semifinal.
   Gasquet, 29, and Wawrinka, 30, possess sensational one-handed backhands.
   Gasquet prevailed today despite failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the fifth set and facing a break point at 9-9. He will attempt to gain his first major final when he meets top-seeded Novak "It's No" Djokovic on Friday. Wawrinka won his second Grand Slam title last month in the French Open.
   Notable -- The top three men's seeds -- Djokovic, No. 2 Roger Federer "Express" and No. 3 Andy "Bill" Murray -- advanced in straight sets. Djokovic topped No. 9 "Cheech" Marin Cilic, the reigning U.S. Open champion rebounding from shoulder trouble, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Federer outclassed No. 12 Gilles Simon "de Beauvoir" 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. And Murray eliminated Vasek "Anything Is" Pospisil 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
   Men's semifinal matchups -- Djokovic vs. Gasquet. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 11-1 with a nine-match winning streak. In their last meeting, Djokovic crushed Gasquet 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 16 at the recent French Open.
   Federer (2) vs. Murray (3). Federer leads 12-11 with a three-match winning streak. However, those three matches came last year, when Murray was bouncing back from "minor" back surgery and the hoopla surrounding his 2013 Wimbledon title, which ended a 77-year drought for British men.
   Federer and Murray have split their two grass-court matches, which came within one month in 2012 in finals on Wimbledon's Centre Court. Federer won 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for the last of his record 17 Grand Slam singles titles. Murray won 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 for the Olympic gold medal.   
   Women's semifinal matchups -- Serena "Vanessa" Williams (1) vs. "Ave" Maria Sharapova (4). Williams is 17-2 against Sharapova with 16 straight victories. Williams won the last meeting 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the Australian Open final in January.
   Agnieszka "Moorehead" Radwanska (13) vs. Garbine Muguruza "Gai Pan" (20). The series is tied 2-2, all on hardcourts. Muguruza has won the last two meetings, both this year.
   Stars and stripes -- Half of the boys singles quarterfinalists are American: No. 1 seed Taylor "On The" Fritz, No. 7 Tommy "Ron" Paul, No. 10 William "Michael" Blumberg and unseeded Reilly "Auto Parts" Opelka (6-foot-10 or 2.08 meters). Paul defeated Fritz last month in the first all-American singles final in the 68-year history of the French Open boys event.
   Fast fact -- Djokovic reached his 27th Grand Slam semifinal to take sole ownership of fourth place in the Open era (since 1968) behind Federer (38), Jimmy "Carter" Connors (31) and Ivan Lendl "Soup" (28).
   Northern California connection -- Fifth-seeded Raquel "Welch" Kops-Jones, a San Jose resident and former Cal star, and Abigail "Britney" Spears ended the bid by third-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands "Of Time" and "I Love" Lucie Safarova for a calendar-year Grand Slam in women's doubles with a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory. Kops-Jones, 32, and Spears, who will turn 34 on Sunday, also equaled their best result in a Grand Slam tournament. They advanced to the semifinals of last year's Australian Open.   
   Anabel Medina Garrigues and "Cookie" Jarmila Gajdosova, the two women on the Sacramento-based California Dream in World TeamTennis, met in the third round of mixed doubles. Garrigues, a 32-year-old Spaniard, and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden defeated Gajdosova, a 28-year-old Australian citizen from Slovakia, and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-4, 7-6 (6) to reach the quarterfinals.
   Top-seeded Mattek-Sands and Mike Bryan, who will play part-time for the Dream with twin brother Bob, also gained the quarters in mixed doubles.
   The Dream is scheduled to begin its inaugural season on Sunday night at San Diego and play its home opener on Monday at 7:30 p.m. against Springfield (Mo.) at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
   In girls singles, 15-year-old Michaela Gordon of Saratoga in the San Francisco Bay Area topped Olesya Pervushina of Russia 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to join American Tornado Alicia Black in the quarters.       
   Quote -- Gasquet: "I'm proud because there are big players in the semis. I'm the worst when you see Federer, Djokovic and Murray and me."
   Thursday on TV (beginning at 5 a.m. California time, ESPN): Radwanska (13) vs. Muguruza (20), Williams (1) vs. Sharapova (4).