Apparently, playing in the recent $100,000 Sacramento Challenger helped James Blake.
After reaching the Sacramento final and taking last week off, Blake stunned second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday in the second round of the $825,000 Stockholm Open on the ATP World Tour.
"This is my best win in the last three years, I'd say," Blake asserted on the ATP's Web site. "I played some of my best tennis, and I'm really proud of it. He's going to be a great champion for many years, so I'll be proud of this one for a long time."
Blake, the runner-up to 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic in Sacramento, evened his career record against del Potro at 2-2. Del Potro had won the last two meetings, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in July in the second round at Los Angeles and 6-4, 6-7 (3), 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 in 4 hours, 17 minutes in the second round of the 2010 Australian Open.
"Juan Martin is an excellent player, and he made me work for everything," Blake said. "I felt coming into Stockholm, I had some confidence. The body feels good for a change. We had a tight match earlier in the summer. and the breaks just went my way today."
The 31-year-old Blake, who splits his time between his childhood home of Fairfield, Conn., and his training base of Tampa, Fla., is ranked 69th in the world after reaching a career high of No. 4 in 2006. He suffers from chronic tendinitis in his right knee.
The 6-5 del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, missed eight months last year because of a right (playing) wrist injury that required surgery. The 23-year-old Argentine, a semifinalist at San Jose in February, has rebounded to No. 15.
Blake could face another Argentine, David Nalbandian, in Friday's quarterfinals. Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up who underwent right hip surgery in 2009, is scheduled to play seventh-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia on Thursday in the second round.
Blake is 2-0 against Nalbandian, including a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the second round at Washington in August, and has never played Dodig.
Also reaching the Stockholm quarterfinals were fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and sixth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada. The 6-8 Anderson, ranked 31st, won the 2007 Sacramento Futures. The 6-5 Raonic, ranked 29th, won his first career ATP title in February at San Jose.
Ryan Sweeting, a 6-5 American who reached the semifinals of last week's $100,000 Tiburon Challenger, lost to Grigor Dimitrov, a 20-year-old Bulgarian, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.
In Tiburon, Sweeting complained of burnout following an outstanding first half of the year that propelled him to a career-high No. 64 last month. He's now No. 66.
Scott Lipsky, an ex-Stanford All-American, and Rajeev Ram, the Sacramento Challenger runner-up in singles (2006) and doubles (2008, with John Isner), lost in the first round of doubles to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and del Potro 4-6, 7-5, 10-6 tiebreak.
Tursunov playing in hometown --Eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, a Folsom resident playing in his hometown, is scheduled to meet Julien Benneteau of France on Thursday in the second round of the $725,000 Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
Tursunov, who beat Albert Ramos of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first round, is 0-1 lifetime against Benneteau after falling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round at Cincinnati four years ago.
Tursunov and countryman Igor Kunitsyn, the defending Moscow doubles champions, lost to Alex Bogomolov Jr., an American born in Moscow, and Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in the opening round 7-5, 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak. Tursunov also won the Moscow doubles title in 2007 with countryman Marat Safin, who retired at the end of 2009.
WTA tour in Moscow -- Second-seeded Vania King, a member of the Sacramento Capitals living in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Yaroslava Shvedova, a Moscow native who plays for Kazakhstan, defeated Maria Kondratieva of Russia and Petra Martic of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Kremin Cup.
Neither King nor Shvedova is playing singles in Moscow.
Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Bluesky @paulbauman.bsky.com.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
After struggling, ex-Capital Hendler on the rise
It was all going to be so easy.
Tammy Hendler was going to skyrocket to stardom. Maybe even go all the way to
No. 1.
After all, at age 15, hadn't she:
--Represented Belgium three times in the Fed Cup, the prestigious women's international team competition?
--Beaten three of the top 200 players in the world?
--Been ranked No. 5 in the world among girls 18 and under?
--Reached the girls singles semifinals at Wimbledon?
--Become the youngest active player in World TeamTennis as a member of the Sacramento Capitals in 2008?
And hadn't Belgium, about the size of Maryland, recently produced two No. 1 women in Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin?
Professional tennis, though, has been anything but easy for Hendler. She finished 2008 at No. 350 in the world, 2009 at No. 365 and last year at No. 367. At least she was consistent.
"My best results were at 13, 14, 15," Hendler, who's still a teenager after turning 19 in August, marveled during last month's Redding Challenger. "I was so tremendously young. I was out of the juniors at 15, which is crazy.
"If I could go back, I would definitely take more time to develop physically. Starting at 14, I played 20 weeks a year on the tour for five years, and it took a toll on me.
"I was (near) 260 (in the world) at 16. Until a couple of months ago, I would have died for that ranking. But I feel I'm twice the player now."
After cutting ties with the Belgian Tennis Federation and getting fitter, Tammy is enjoying a career renaissance.
In $50,000 tournaments, the 5-foot-9 Hendler won her first career doubles title in Lexington, Ky., with American Chi Chi Scholl in July and reached the singles quarterfinals as a qualifier in Bronx, N.Y., in August.
Competing in $25,000 events in Japan during the two weeks before Redding, Hendler advanced to the semifinals, then won her second career singles title. Seeded seventh in Redding, she succumbed to fatigue and cramps in a first-round loss to wild card Allie Will, the top player for reigning NCAA champion Florida.
Hendler arrived in Redding on Monday night of the tournament and won in the first round of doubles on Tuesday before facing Will on Wednesday.
"I was seeded here for the first time and pushed myself to come, but your body is the boss," lamented Hendler, who defaulted her next doubles match. "I guess I got punished for it."
After recovering at home in Bradenton Fla., for a week, Hendler played in two $25,000 tournaments in Indonesia. She won the singles title in Jakarta, beating No. 107 Iryna Bremond of France in the semifinals, and reached the singles quarterfinals and captured the doubles title in Palembang. Hendler is now ranked a career-high No. 232 in singles.
"A lot of people counted me out before Japan," the outspoken, gregarious Hendler admitted on the phone from Bradenton, where she trains at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, before leaving for Indonesia. "Nick (Bollettieri) has always been supportive. I told him yesterday, 'Thank you, Nick. You always believed in me.' He's had a big role in my tennis career."
Bollettieri did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Hendler was born in South Africa, like her father and coach, Mark. Her mother, Rachel, is a native of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The family has lived in Bradenton since Tammy was 9, except for the 1 1/2 years in 2008 and 2009 they spent in Belgium.
"I don't think Belgium was the right environment for me," Hendler said. "I have a good support team here at the IMG academy."
The low point for Hendler came at the end of her stay in Belgium.
"I told my dad I didn't want to play anymore," she said. "We came back here (to Bradenton), and within two weeks, I said, 'I want to get back on the court.' "
Hendler left the Belgian Tennis Federation, which had paid all her expenses, at the beginning of last year.
"They put totally unrealistic expectations on me," Hendler charged. "It was the biggest disaster of my life. A good part of my development was held back because of them. At 17, they wanted me to be top 100, which is totally insane unless you're 6-2. But it's over, it made me stronger, and I learned from it. I have no contact with them."
Perhaps Belgium was spoiled by the success of Clijsters and Henin. Yves Freson, the president of the Belgian Tennis Federation, did not reply to an e-mai seeking comment.
Hendler would consider playing for the United States.
"A lot can change if the (Belgian) federation comes around and supports me," she said. "But if America comes around before then, I'd take it in a minute."
When Mark Hendler was asked if he would do anything differently in retrospect, he replied without hesitation: "Not moved to Belgium. Tammy was 15, 16 (years old) and No. 5 in the world in the juniors. She started playing pro tournaments and doing well. But as she says, 'That was lucky; this is real.' "
After improving her mental state by leaving Belgium and the federation, Hendler addressed her physical condition. By doubling her off-court training to 10 hours a week this year and eating healthier, she lost 20 to 25 pounds from her Capitals days. She said she weighs 65 to 66 kilograms (143 to 145 pounds).
"Not many girls are as fit as I am now," Hendler said. "I can physically outfight them."
Hendler has fond memories of her stint with the Capitals, who went 8-6 in the 2008 regular season and lost in the semifinals of the WTT playoffs.
"It was a time I'll never forget," Hendler said. "I had so much fun. It was a great team. I would consider playing again. This year, I was too late. If I had the opportunity to play again, I definitely would."
After the Capitals drafted Hendler, The Sacramento Bee interviewed her on the telephone. Regarding tennis, she said: "I love it, love it, love it, and I'm sure I will until the day I die."
Does she still feel that way?
"I can honestly say I love it more now than on the phone," Hendler said. "Success makes you love it even more. I've developed as a person so much. My dad has been by my side the whole time. He has great discipline, I've grown up, and it has given me perspective. If you don't dedicate yourself to your business, you won't be as successful as you want, and this is my business.
"What's not to love about it? At 16, I just knew if I stayed up and watched movies, it would be too late and I'd have to work out the next morning. What 16-year-old wants to do that?"
Back then, Hendler didn't think about where she'd be ranked at 19.
"I just wanted to be No. 1," she said. "I still want to be No. 1. It's what I wake up thinking about and what I go to bed thinking about. But I'm keeping it realistic. I've learned my lesson, and my goal is the top 20. When you're there, a good Grand Slam result can put you in the top 10. If I get to the top 20, I'll be very happy."
Follow Tammy Hendler at www.twitter.com/tamhendler.
Tammy Hendler was going to skyrocket to stardom. Maybe even go all the way to
No. 1.
After all, at age 15, hadn't she:
--Represented Belgium three times in the Fed Cup, the prestigious women's international team competition?
--Beaten three of the top 200 players in the world?
--Been ranked No. 5 in the world among girls 18 and under?
--Reached the girls singles semifinals at Wimbledon?
--Become the youngest active player in World TeamTennis as a member of the Sacramento Capitals in 2008?
And hadn't Belgium, about the size of Maryland, recently produced two No. 1 women in Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin?
Professional tennis, though, has been anything but easy for Hendler. She finished 2008 at No. 350 in the world, 2009 at No. 365 and last year at No. 367. At least she was consistent.
"My best results were at 13, 14, 15," Hendler, who's still a teenager after turning 19 in August, marveled during last month's Redding Challenger. "I was so tremendously young. I was out of the juniors at 15, which is crazy.
"If I could go back, I would definitely take more time to develop physically. Starting at 14, I played 20 weeks a year on the tour for five years, and it took a toll on me.
"I was (near) 260 (in the world) at 16. Until a couple of months ago, I would have died for that ranking. But I feel I'm twice the player now."
After cutting ties with the Belgian Tennis Federation and getting fitter, Tammy is enjoying a career renaissance.
In $50,000 tournaments, the 5-foot-9 Hendler won her first career doubles title in Lexington, Ky., with American Chi Chi Scholl in July and reached the singles quarterfinals as a qualifier in Bronx, N.Y., in August.
Competing in $25,000 events in Japan during the two weeks before Redding, Hendler advanced to the semifinals, then won her second career singles title. Seeded seventh in Redding, she succumbed to fatigue and cramps in a first-round loss to wild card Allie Will, the top player for reigning NCAA champion Florida.
Hendler arrived in Redding on Monday night of the tournament and won in the first round of doubles on Tuesday before facing Will on Wednesday.
"I was seeded here for the first time and pushed myself to come, but your body is the boss," lamented Hendler, who defaulted her next doubles match. "I guess I got punished for it."
After recovering at home in Bradenton Fla., for a week, Hendler played in two $25,000 tournaments in Indonesia. She won the singles title in Jakarta, beating No. 107 Iryna Bremond of France in the semifinals, and reached the singles quarterfinals and captured the doubles title in Palembang. Hendler is now ranked a career-high No. 232 in singles.
"A lot of people counted me out before Japan," the outspoken, gregarious Hendler admitted on the phone from Bradenton, where she trains at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, before leaving for Indonesia. "Nick (Bollettieri) has always been supportive. I told him yesterday, 'Thank you, Nick. You always believed in me.' He's had a big role in my tennis career."
Bollettieri did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Hendler was born in South Africa, like her father and coach, Mark. Her mother, Rachel, is a native of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The family has lived in Bradenton since Tammy was 9, except for the 1 1/2 years in 2008 and 2009 they spent in Belgium.
"I don't think Belgium was the right environment for me," Hendler said. "I have a good support team here at the IMG academy."
The low point for Hendler came at the end of her stay in Belgium.
"I told my dad I didn't want to play anymore," she said. "We came back here (to Bradenton), and within two weeks, I said, 'I want to get back on the court.' "
Hendler left the Belgian Tennis Federation, which had paid all her expenses, at the beginning of last year.
"They put totally unrealistic expectations on me," Hendler charged. "It was the biggest disaster of my life. A good part of my development was held back because of them. At 17, they wanted me to be top 100, which is totally insane unless you're 6-2. But it's over, it made me stronger, and I learned from it. I have no contact with them."
Perhaps Belgium was spoiled by the success of Clijsters and Henin. Yves Freson, the president of the Belgian Tennis Federation, did not reply to an e-mai seeking comment.
Hendler would consider playing for the United States.
"A lot can change if the (Belgian) federation comes around and supports me," she said. "But if America comes around before then, I'd take it in a minute."
When Mark Hendler was asked if he would do anything differently in retrospect, he replied without hesitation: "Not moved to Belgium. Tammy was 15, 16 (years old) and No. 5 in the world in the juniors. She started playing pro tournaments and doing well. But as she says, 'That was lucky; this is real.' "
After improving her mental state by leaving Belgium and the federation, Hendler addressed her physical condition. By doubling her off-court training to 10 hours a week this year and eating healthier, she lost 20 to 25 pounds from her Capitals days. She said she weighs 65 to 66 kilograms (143 to 145 pounds).
"Not many girls are as fit as I am now," Hendler said. "I can physically outfight them."
Hendler has fond memories of her stint with the Capitals, who went 8-6 in the 2008 regular season and lost in the semifinals of the WTT playoffs.
"It was a time I'll never forget," Hendler said. "I had so much fun. It was a great team. I would consider playing again. This year, I was too late. If I had the opportunity to play again, I definitely would."
After the Capitals drafted Hendler, The Sacramento Bee interviewed her on the telephone. Regarding tennis, she said: "I love it, love it, love it, and I'm sure I will until the day I die."
Does she still feel that way?
"I can honestly say I love it more now than on the phone," Hendler said. "Success makes you love it even more. I've developed as a person so much. My dad has been by my side the whole time. He has great discipline, I've grown up, and it has given me perspective. If you don't dedicate yourself to your business, you won't be as successful as you want, and this is my business.
"What's not to love about it? At 16, I just knew if I stayed up and watched movies, it would be too late and I'd have to work out the next morning. What 16-year-old wants to do that?"
Back then, Hendler didn't think about where she'd be ranked at 19.
"I just wanted to be No. 1," she said. "I still want to be No. 1. It's what I wake up thinking about and what I go to bed thinking about. But I'm keeping it realistic. I've learned my lesson, and my goal is the top 20. When you're there, a good Grand Slam result can put you in the top 10. If I get to the top 20, I'll be very happy."
Follow Tammy Hendler at www.twitter.com/tamhendler.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Karlovic completes NorCal sweep; new rankings
There was no stopping Ivo Karlovic and his blistering serve in Northern California.
The 6-foot-10 Croat outlasted Sam Querrey, a 6-6 San Francisco native, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4 Sunday to win the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club. Karlovic also won the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger the previous week.
Both Karlovic, 32, and Querrey, 24, are former top-20 players coming back from injuries.
Karlovic, who reached a career-high No. 14 in 2008, missed the last half of 2010 after undergoing Achilles' tendon-related surgery. Querrey, who climbed to a career-high No. 17 in January, sat out for three months after having arthroscopic elbow surgery in June.
The difference in Sunday's final was that Karlovic, seeded second, saved all seven break points against him, whereas Querrey, seeded third, lost three of the six break points he faced.
The other statistics were essentially even between two of the most dominating servers in tennis.
Karlovic had 14 aces to Querrey's 12 and converted 70 percent of his first serves to his opponent's 64. Both players won 81 percent of the points on their first serves and committed three double faults. Karlovic won 97 total points and Querrey 93.
In the doubles final, Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione of Australia also completed a Northern California sweep with a 6-1, 5-7, 10-6 tiebreak victory over Steve Johnson of Orange and Querrey.
WTA tour -- Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan clinched the fourth and final spot in the doubles field of the WTA Championships, Oct. 25-30 in Istanbul, Turkey.
King and Shvedova, the U.S. Open runners-up, join Wimbledon champions Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, U.S. Open titlists Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond and Australian Open winners Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 26 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 44 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (+1), No. 151 in doubles (+17).
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 114 in singles (+6), No. 31 in doubles (+3).
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 108 in doubles (-14), No. 702 in singles (+5).
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 133 in doubles (no change), 1,246 in singles (-+3).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 203 in singles (-10), unranked in doubles.
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 380 in singles (+2), No. 553 in doubles (+115).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 501 in doubles (+2), No. 1,534 in singles (-3).
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 764 in singles (-33), No. 1,259 in doubles (-3).
Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (+5), unranked in singles.
Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2011) -- No. 212 in doubles (-2), No. 406 in singles (-20).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 378 in doubles (-2), No. 695 in singles (+2).
The 6-foot-10 Croat outlasted Sam Querrey, a 6-6 San Francisco native, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4 Sunday to win the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club. Karlovic also won the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger the previous week.
Both Karlovic, 32, and Querrey, 24, are former top-20 players coming back from injuries.
Karlovic, who reached a career-high No. 14 in 2008, missed the last half of 2010 after undergoing Achilles' tendon-related surgery. Querrey, who climbed to a career-high No. 17 in January, sat out for three months after having arthroscopic elbow surgery in June.
The difference in Sunday's final was that Karlovic, seeded second, saved all seven break points against him, whereas Querrey, seeded third, lost three of the six break points he faced.
The other statistics were essentially even between two of the most dominating servers in tennis.
Karlovic had 14 aces to Querrey's 12 and converted 70 percent of his first serves to his opponent's 64. Both players won 81 percent of the points on their first serves and committed three double faults. Karlovic won 97 total points and Querrey 93.
In the doubles final, Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione of Australia also completed a Northern California sweep with a 6-1, 5-7, 10-6 tiebreak victory over Steve Johnson of Orange and Querrey.
WTA tour -- Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan clinched the fourth and final spot in the doubles field of the WTA Championships, Oct. 25-30 in Istanbul, Turkey.
King and Shvedova, the U.S. Open runners-up, join Wimbledon champions Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, U.S. Open titlists Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond and Australian Open winners Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.
New rankings -- Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 26 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
Mark Knowles, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2001-07, 2009-11) -- No. 44 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 40 in singles (+1), No. 151 in doubles (+17).
Sam Querrey, San Francisco native -- No. 114 in singles (+6), No. 31 in doubles (+3).
David Martin, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 108 in doubles (-14), No. 702 in singles (+5).
John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- Career-high No. 133 in doubles (no change), 1,246 in singles (-+3).
Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 203 in singles (-10), unranked in doubles.
Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 380 in singles (+2), No. 553 in doubles (+115).
Dusan Vemic, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 501 in doubles (+2), No. 1,534 in singles (-3).
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, three-time Big Sky Conference MVP (2009-11) at Sacramento State -- No. 764 in singles (-33), No. 1,259 in doubles (-3).
Women
Vania King, Capitals (2010-11) -- No. 9 in doubles (no change), No. 79 in singles (+4).Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 37 in doubles (+5), unranked in singles.
Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2011) -- No. 212 in doubles (-2), No. 406 in singles (-20).
Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 378 in doubles (-2), No. 695 in singles (+2).
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Karlovic, Querrey to meet in Tiburon final
One week ago, Sam Querrey and Ivo Karlovic met in the semifinals of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger.
On Sunday, they'll play for the title in the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
The third-seeded Querrey, a 6-foot-6 native of nearby San Francisco, knocked out top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's first semifinal. The second-seeded Karlovic, a 6-10 Croat, downed eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau, 5-9 of Germany, 7-5, 7-5.
Karlovic outlasted Querrey 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4 in Sacramento in their first meeting in three years and went on to win the title. Querrey, though, leads the head-to-head series 3-2.
The 32-year-old Karlovic is the hardest server in tennis, and Querrey, 24, isn't far behind.
Karlovic pounded a 156-mph serve in March to break Andy Roddick's record of 155. Karlovic also set a Davis Cup record with 78 aces two years ago in a five-set loss to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic that lasted 5 hours, 59 minutes.
Querrey, meanwhile, fired 10 consecutive aces in a quarterfinal victory over James Blake in Indianapolis four years ago.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Top-seeded Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan lost to fourth-seeded Kimiko Date-Krumm, 41, and Zhang Shuai of China 7-5, 3-6, 11-9 tiebreak in the final of the $220,000 HP Japan Women's Open.
Earlier, King and Shvedova completed a rain-suspended 6-0, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal star from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego.
Even at 41, Date-Krumm isn't close to the record for oldest player to win a title on the WTA tour. Martina Navratilova was two months shy of her 50th birthday when she won in Montreal with Nadia Petrova in 2006.
On Sunday, they'll play for the title in the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
The third-seeded Querrey, a 6-foot-6 native of nearby San Francisco, knocked out top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's first semifinal. The second-seeded Karlovic, a 6-10 Croat, downed eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau, 5-9 of Germany, 7-5, 7-5.
Karlovic outlasted Querrey 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4 in Sacramento in their first meeting in three years and went on to win the title. Querrey, though, leads the head-to-head series 3-2.
The 32-year-old Karlovic is the hardest server in tennis, and Querrey, 24, isn't far behind.
Karlovic pounded a 156-mph serve in March to break Andy Roddick's record of 155. Karlovic also set a Davis Cup record with 78 aces two years ago in a five-set loss to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic that lasted 5 hours, 59 minutes.
Querrey, meanwhile, fired 10 consecutive aces in a quarterfinal victory over James Blake in Indianapolis four years ago.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Top-seeded Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan lost to fourth-seeded Kimiko Date-Krumm, 41, and Zhang Shuai of China 7-5, 3-6, 11-9 tiebreak in the final of the $220,000 HP Japan Women's Open.
Earlier, King and Shvedova completed a rain-suspended 6-0, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal star from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego.
Even at 41, Date-Krumm isn't close to the record for oldest player to win a title on the WTA tour. Martina Navratilova was two months shy of her 50th birthday when she won in Montreal with Nadia Petrova in 2006.
$100,000 FIRST REPUBLIC BANK TIBURON CHALLENGER
At Tiburon Peninsula Club
Singles semifinals
Sam Querrey (3), Las Vegas, def. Ryan Sweeting (1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6-4, 6-3. Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Bjorn Phau (8), Germany, 7-5, 7-5.Doubles semifinals
Steve Johnson, Orange, and Sam Querrey, Las Vegas, def. Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., and Ryan Sweeting, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6-3, 7-5.
Today's schedule
Stadium Court
(Beginning at noon)
Karlovic (2) vs. Querrey (3), Johnson and Querrey vs. Ball and Guccione not before 2 p.m.Friday, October 14, 2011
With less drama, Karlovic tops Fischer again
This time, Ivo Karlovic didn't have to save any match points.
Not that there wasn't some suspense.
The second-seeded Karlovic, a 6-foot-10 Croat, defeated unseeded Martin Fischer, a 5-11 Austrian, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Friday in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
The third set was closer than the score indicated. Serving at 5-3, Karlovic saved three break points before triumphing on his third match point.
Had Fischer converted one of the break points, he would have served to even the match at 5-5. Easier said than done against Karlovic, who unleashed a 156-mph serve in March to break Andy Roddick's record of 155.
Last week in Sacramento, Karlovic survived two match points against him in the first round against Fischer and proceeded to win the title.
Karlovic will play eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau, perhaps the fastest player in men's tennis, Saturday in a matchup of 32-year-olds in the Tiburon semifinals. Phau, a 5-9 German, eliminated unseeded Laurynas Grigelis, a 20-year-old Lithuanian, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Karlovic and Phau apparently play each other every five years. The head-to-head series is tied 1-1, with Phau winning 7-6 (5), 7-5 on a hardcourt in the Bronx, N.Y., in 2001 and Karlovic prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) on clay in Munich in 2006.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will face third-seeded Sam Querrey of Las Vegas in a matchup of 24-year-olds. Sweeting topped fifth-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, and Querrey dispatched unseeded Alex Kuznetsov of Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 6-4.
Sweeting, a 6-5 native of the Bahamas, is 2-1 lifetime against Querrey, a 6-6 native of San Francisco (across the bay from Tiburon). They have met twice this year, with Sweeting winning on a hardcourt in Delray Beach, Fla., in February and on clay in Houston in April. He went on to win the Houston crown for his only ATP World Tour title.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Top-seeded Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan led third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal star from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego 6-0, 2-1 when rain suspended play early Saturday morning PDT in the doubles semifinals at the HP Japan Women's Open. King and Shvedova won the first eight games.
Not that there wasn't some suspense.
The second-seeded Karlovic, a 6-foot-10 Croat, defeated unseeded Martin Fischer, a 5-11 Austrian, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 Friday in the quarterfinals of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
The third set was closer than the score indicated. Serving at 5-3, Karlovic saved three break points before triumphing on his third match point.
Had Fischer converted one of the break points, he would have served to even the match at 5-5. Easier said than done against Karlovic, who unleashed a 156-mph serve in March to break Andy Roddick's record of 155.
Last week in Sacramento, Karlovic survived two match points against him in the first round against Fischer and proceeded to win the title.
Karlovic will play eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau, perhaps the fastest player in men's tennis, Saturday in a matchup of 32-year-olds in the Tiburon semifinals. Phau, a 5-9 German, eliminated unseeded Laurynas Grigelis, a 20-year-old Lithuanian, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Karlovic and Phau apparently play each other every five years. The head-to-head series is tied 1-1, with Phau winning 7-6 (5), 7-5 on a hardcourt in the Bronx, N.Y., in 2001 and Karlovic prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) on clay in Munich in 2006.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will face third-seeded Sam Querrey of Las Vegas in a matchup of 24-year-olds. Sweeting topped fifth-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, and Querrey dispatched unseeded Alex Kuznetsov of Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 6-4.
Sweeting, a 6-5 native of the Bahamas, is 2-1 lifetime against Querrey, a 6-6 native of San Francisco (across the bay from Tiburon). They have met twice this year, with Sweeting winning on a hardcourt in Delray Beach, Fla., in February and on clay in Houston in April. He went on to win the Houston crown for his only ATP World Tour title.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Top-seeded Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan led third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal star from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego 6-0, 2-1 when rain suspended play early Saturday morning PDT in the doubles semifinals at the HP Japan Women's Open. King and Shvedova won the first eight games.
$100,000 FIRST REPUBLIC BANK TIBURON CHALLENGER
At Tiburon Peninsula Club
Singles quarterfinals
Ryan Sweeting (1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., def. Vasek Pospisil (5), Canada, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Martin Fischer, Austria, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Bjorn Phau (8), Germany, def. Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania, 6-3, 6-2. Sam Querrey (3), Las Vegas, def. Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., 6-1, 6-4.Doubles semifinals
Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione, Australia, def. Vasek Pospisil, Canada, and Bobby Reynolds, Acworth, Ga., 6-4, 6-3.Saturday's schedule
Stadium Court
(Beginning at 11 a.m.)
Sweeting (1) vs. Querrey (3), Phau (8) vs. Karlovic (2) not before 1 p.m., Kuznetsov and Sweeting vs. Johnson and Querrey.Prospects Pospisil, Grigelis reach Tiburon quarters
Remember the names: Vasek Pospisil and Laurynas Grigelis.
Two of the brightest prospects in men's professional tennis, they have skyrocketed about 200 places each in the world rankings this year. On Thursday, they reached the quarterfinals of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
Pospisil, a 21-year-old Canadian, routed Roman Borvanov of Moldova 6-3, 6-0. The 6-foot-4 Pospisil, who beat 22nd-ranked Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the first round at Montreal in August before losing to Roger Federer 7-5, 6-3, has soared from No. 339 at the beginning of the year to No. 135.
Grigelis, a 20-year-old Lithuanian, outlasted fourth-seeded Bobby Reynolds, a 29-year-old American who reached a career-high No. 63 two years ago, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. Grigelis lacks Pospisil's size but has a tremendous two-handed backhand. He won the Aptos Challenger at 19 in July and has jumped from No. 404 at the beginning of the year to No. 212.
In today's quarterfinals, Pospisil will meet top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Grigelis will face eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau of Germany, second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia will take on Martin Fischer of Austria, and third-seeded Sam Querrey will play fellow American Alex Kuznetsov.
Querrey, 6-6, was born across the bay in San Francisco and lived in Santa Rosa until moving to Las Vegas at 8 and Thousand Oaks at 11. Phau, 5-9, is one of the fastest players in tennis.
Karlovic, 6-10, saved two match points against Fischer in the first round of the Sacramento Challenger last week and went on to win the title.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals lost to second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the $220,000 HP Japan Women's Open Tennis. Bartoli avenged a loss to King three weeks ago in the second round at Seoul, South Korea. It was King's first singles victory over a top-10 player.
Top-seeded King and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan overwhelmed Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-1 to reach the doubles semifinals. King and Shvedova will face third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego.
ATP World Tour in Shanghai -- Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, former Stanford All-Americans, lost to sixth-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 tiebreak in the doubles quarterfinals of the $3.24 million Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Fystenberg and Matkowski, the U.S. Open runners-up last month, had dismissed Tommy Robredo of Spain and Dmitry Tursunov of Folsom 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.
Two of the brightest prospects in men's professional tennis, they have skyrocketed about 200 places each in the world rankings this year. On Thursday, they reached the quarterfinals of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
Pospisil, a 21-year-old Canadian, routed Roman Borvanov of Moldova 6-3, 6-0. The 6-foot-4 Pospisil, who beat 22nd-ranked Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the first round at Montreal in August before losing to Roger Federer 7-5, 6-3, has soared from No. 339 at the beginning of the year to No. 135.
Grigelis, a 20-year-old Lithuanian, outlasted fourth-seeded Bobby Reynolds, a 29-year-old American who reached a career-high No. 63 two years ago, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. Grigelis lacks Pospisil's size but has a tremendous two-handed backhand. He won the Aptos Challenger at 19 in July and has jumped from No. 404 at the beginning of the year to No. 212.
In today's quarterfinals, Pospisil will meet top-seeded Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Grigelis will face eighth-seeded Bjorn Phau of Germany, second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia will take on Martin Fischer of Austria, and third-seeded Sam Querrey will play fellow American Alex Kuznetsov.
Querrey, 6-6, was born across the bay in San Francisco and lived in Santa Rosa until moving to Las Vegas at 8 and Thousand Oaks at 11. Phau, 5-9, is one of the fastest players in tennis.
Karlovic, 6-10, saved two match points against Fischer in the first round of the Sacramento Challenger last week and went on to win the title.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan -- Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals lost to second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the $220,000 HP Japan Women's Open Tennis. Bartoli avenged a loss to King three weeks ago in the second round at Seoul, South Korea. It was King's first singles victory over a top-10 player.
Top-seeded King and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan overwhelmed Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-1 to reach the doubles semifinals. King and Shvedova will face third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears of San Diego.
ATP World Tour in Shanghai -- Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, former Stanford All-Americans, lost to sixth-seeded Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 tiebreak in the doubles quarterfinals of the $3.24 million Shanghai Rolex Masters.
Fystenberg and Matkowski, the U.S. Open runners-up last month, had dismissed Tommy Robredo of Spain and Dmitry Tursunov of Folsom 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.
$100,000 FIRST REPUBLIC BANK TIBURON CHALLENGER
At Tiburon Peninsula Club
Second-round singles
Ryan Sweeting (1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., def. Alex Bogdanovic, Great Britain, 6-2, 6-1. Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., def. Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, 7-6 (8), 7-5. Sam Querrey (3), Las Vegas, def. Amer Delic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6-4, 6-2. Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania, def. Bobby Reynolds (4), Acworth, Ga., 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. Vasek Pospisil (5), Canada, def. Roman Borvanov, Moldova, 6-3, 6-0. Bjorn Phau (8), Germany, def. Alejandro Gonzalez, Colombia, 6-2, 6-2.Doubles quarterfinals
Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., and Ryan Sweeting, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., def. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (1), Colombia, 4-6, 6-2, 11-9 tiebreak. Steve Johnson, Orange, and Sam Querrey, Las Vegas, def. Brian Battistone and Chris Wettengel, Las Vegas, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). Vasek Pospisil, Canada, and Bobby Reynolds, Acworth, Ga., def. Treat Conrad Huey, Philippines, and Izak Van der Merwe (2), South Africa, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 tiebreak. Carsten Ball and Chris Guccione, Australia, def. Laurynas Grigelis, Lithuania, and Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, 6-1, 6-2.Friday's schedule
Stadium Court
(Beginning at 11 a.m.)
Sweeting (1) vs. Pospisil (5), Fischer vs. Karlovic (2), Ball and Guccione vs. Pospisil and Reynolds, Querrey (3) vs. Kuznetsov.Court 1
(Beginning at noon)
Phau (8) vs. Grigelis.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Top seed Sweeting ends skid, advances in Tiburon
TIBURON -- The best year of Ryan Sweeting's career has taken a toll on him.
After losing three straight matches and five of six in tennis' major leagues, the top-seeded Sweeting defeated wild card and fellow American Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Wednesday in the first round of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
"I'm trying to find energy for the last run of the year," said Sweeting, the 2005 U.S. Open boys champion. "I'm trying to give it one last push. It's been a long year. I had good results early in the year, but the 10-month season is always tough for me. It's been a tough few months."
Sweeting, who combines power and quickness at 6-foot-5, steadily rose in the world rankings from No. 249 at the end of 2007 to a career-high No. 64 one month ago. He's now No. 70.
Sweeting achieved a significant result in each of the first four months of this year in tennis' big leagues. As a qualifier, he reached the second round of the Australian Open in January, the quarterfinals at Delray Beach (Fla.) in February and the third round at Indian Wells in March. Then Sweeting won his first career ATP World Tour title in April on clay in Houston.
"I got physically a lot fitter and stronger," explained Sweeting, a 24-year-old native of the Bahamas who moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla, at 12 and still lives there. "I really focused on that in the offseason. I had a lot of confidence after the Australian Open, which is the name of the game."
Rafael Nadal has been a nemesis, beating Sweeting in straight sets in the Australian Open and Indian Wells and in the first round of Wimbledon.
Tiburon is only Sweeting's second Challenger, equivalent to Triple-A baseball, since he reached the semifinals in Sarasota, Fla., in late April. He has not advanced past the second round since Sarasota.
But Sweeting wore down Johnson, the reigning NCAA singles champion from USC. Sweeting lost his serve twice late in the first set, double-faulting three times at 4-5, but recovered.
"I was up a break in the first set and playing well, but then my serve went away, and I threw in a few double faults," Sweeting said. "He served well in the first set, but then I think his legs went away. He started missing first serves, and I was more aggressive on his second serve. I tried to stay more aggressive in the last two sets."
Johnson, a senior, is taking this semester off to play professional tournaments as an amateur. He plans to return to USC in the spring in an attempt to join Stanford's Paul Goldstein (1995-98) as the only men to play on four national championship teams and earn All-America honors all four years.
Martin Fischer of Austria, meanwhile, defeated seventh-seeded Wayne Odesnik of Weston, Fla., 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 in the second round to earn another crack at Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.
Odesnik, the 2007 Sacramento Challenger champion who served a one-year suspension last year for bringing human growth hormone into Australia, was treated for a right thigh injury at 2-5 in the second set.
The second-seeded Karlovic, 6-10, advanced with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Robert Farah of Colombia. Farah, a former teammate of Johnson's at USC, hurt his back reaching for a two-handed backhand early in the tiebreaker and took a medical timeout between sets.
Karlovic saved two match points against Fischer in the first round of last week's Sacramento Challenger and went on to win the title.
Also Wednesday, sixth-seeded Izak Van der Merwe of South Africa fell to Alex Kuznetsov of Tampa, Fla., 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Kuznetsov reached the semifinals in Sacramento for the second time.
ATP World Tour in Shanghai -- Folsom resident Dmitry Tursunov defaulted his second-round singles match against second-seeded Andy Murray in the $3.24 million Shanghai Rolex Masters with a thigh injury.
Tursunov is scheduled to play in the second round of doubles with Tommy Robredo of Spain against sixth-seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Markowski, the runners-up in the U.S. Open last month.
Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan reached the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers of Spain and Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan --Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis defeated fellow American Jill Craybas 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the HP Japan Women's Open.
King is scheduled to meet second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France in the second round. King recorded her first victory over a top-10 player three weeks ago when she stunned Bartoli in the second round at Seoul, South Korea.
In doubles, top-seeded King and Yaroslava Shvedova beat Americans Lindsay Lee-Waters and Megan Moulton-Levy 7-5, 6-4 in the first round.
If King and Shvedova defeat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, they'll play third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears in the semifinals.
ITF Men's Circuit in Austin, Texas -- Granite Bay resident Artem Ilyushin, a senior at Mississippi State, and Daniel Chu of Canada lost to fourth-seeded Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., and Peter Polansky of Canada 6-7 (7), 6-2, 10-8 tiebreak in the first round of doubles at the $15,000 Austin Hill Country Classic.
After losing three straight matches and five of six in tennis' major leagues, the top-seeded Sweeting defeated wild card and fellow American Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 Wednesday in the first round of the $100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
"I'm trying to find energy for the last run of the year," said Sweeting, the 2005 U.S. Open boys champion. "I'm trying to give it one last push. It's been a long year. I had good results early in the year, but the 10-month season is always tough for me. It's been a tough few months."
Sweeting, who combines power and quickness at 6-foot-5, steadily rose in the world rankings from No. 249 at the end of 2007 to a career-high No. 64 one month ago. He's now No. 70.
Sweeting achieved a significant result in each of the first four months of this year in tennis' big leagues. As a qualifier, he reached the second round of the Australian Open in January, the quarterfinals at Delray Beach (Fla.) in February and the third round at Indian Wells in March. Then Sweeting won his first career ATP World Tour title in April on clay in Houston.
"I got physically a lot fitter and stronger," explained Sweeting, a 24-year-old native of the Bahamas who moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla, at 12 and still lives there. "I really focused on that in the offseason. I had a lot of confidence after the Australian Open, which is the name of the game."
Rafael Nadal has been a nemesis, beating Sweeting in straight sets in the Australian Open and Indian Wells and in the first round of Wimbledon.
Tiburon is only Sweeting's second Challenger, equivalent to Triple-A baseball, since he reached the semifinals in Sarasota, Fla., in late April. He has not advanced past the second round since Sarasota.
But Sweeting wore down Johnson, the reigning NCAA singles champion from USC. Sweeting lost his serve twice late in the first set, double-faulting three times at 4-5, but recovered.
"I was up a break in the first set and playing well, but then my serve went away, and I threw in a few double faults," Sweeting said. "He served well in the first set, but then I think his legs went away. He started missing first serves, and I was more aggressive on his second serve. I tried to stay more aggressive in the last two sets."
Johnson, a senior, is taking this semester off to play professional tournaments as an amateur. He plans to return to USC in the spring in an attempt to join Stanford's Paul Goldstein (1995-98) as the only men to play on four national championship teams and earn All-America honors all four years.
Martin Fischer of Austria, meanwhile, defeated seventh-seeded Wayne Odesnik of Weston, Fla., 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 in the second round to earn another crack at Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.
Odesnik, the 2007 Sacramento Challenger champion who served a one-year suspension last year for bringing human growth hormone into Australia, was treated for a right thigh injury at 2-5 in the second set.
The second-seeded Karlovic, 6-10, advanced with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Robert Farah of Colombia. Farah, a former teammate of Johnson's at USC, hurt his back reaching for a two-handed backhand early in the tiebreaker and took a medical timeout between sets.
Karlovic saved two match points against Fischer in the first round of last week's Sacramento Challenger and went on to win the title.
Also Wednesday, sixth-seeded Izak Van der Merwe of South Africa fell to Alex Kuznetsov of Tampa, Fla., 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Kuznetsov reached the semifinals in Sacramento for the second time.
ATP World Tour in Shanghai -- Folsom resident Dmitry Tursunov defaulted his second-round singles match against second-seeded Andy Murray in the $3.24 million Shanghai Rolex Masters with a thigh injury.
Tursunov is scheduled to play in the second round of doubles with Tommy Robredo of Spain against sixth-seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Markowski, the runners-up in the U.S. Open last month.
Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan reached the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers of Spain and Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
WTA tour in Osaka, Japan --Vania King of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis defeated fellow American Jill Craybas 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the HP Japan Women's Open.
King is scheduled to meet second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France in the second round. King recorded her first victory over a top-10 player three weeks ago when she stunned Bartoli in the second round at Seoul, South Korea.
In doubles, top-seeded King and Yaroslava Shvedova beat Americans Lindsay Lee-Waters and Megan Moulton-Levy 7-5, 6-4 in the first round.
If King and Shvedova defeat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, they'll play third-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a former Cal All-American from Fresno, and Abigail Spears in the semifinals.
ITF Men's Circuit in Austin, Texas -- Granite Bay resident Artem Ilyushin, a senior at Mississippi State, and Daniel Chu of Canada lost to fourth-seeded Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., and Peter Polansky of Canada 6-7 (7), 6-2, 10-8 tiebreak in the first round of doubles at the $15,000 Austin Hill Country Classic.
$100,000 FIRST REPUBLIC BANK TIBURON CHALLENGER
At Tiburon Peninsula Club
First-round singles
Alejandro Gonzalez, Colombia, def. Jack Sock, Overland Park, Kan., 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. Bjorn Phau (8), Germany, def. Greg Jones, Australia, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Alex Bogdanovic, Great Britain, def. Chris Guccione, Australia, 7-6 (1), 6-3. Alex Kuznetsov, Tampa, Fla., def. Izak Van der Merwe (6), South Africa, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Amer Delic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, def. Artem Sitak, New Zealand, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Uladzimir Ignatik, Belarus, def. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, Canada, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Ryan Sweeting (1), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., def. Steve Johnson, Orange, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Sam Querrey (3), Las Vegas, def. Fritz Wolmarans, South Africa, 6-4, 6-4. Second-round singles
Ivo Karlovic (2), Croatia, def. Robert Farah, Colombia, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Martin Fischer, Austria, def. Wayne Odesnik (7), Weston, Fla., 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1. Thursday's schedule
Stadium Court
(Beginning at 11 a.m.)
Sweeting (1) vs. Bogdanovic, Querrey (3) vs. Delic not before 1 p.m., Cabal and Farah (1) vs. Kuznetsov and Sweeting, Johnson and Querrey vs. Battistone and Wettengel not before 4:30 p.m.Court 1
(Beginning at 11 a.m.)
Ignatik vs. Kuznetsov, Grigelis vs. Reynolds (4), Pospisil and Reynolds vs. Huey and Van Der Merwe (2) not before 4 p.m.Court 4
(Beginning at noon)
Borvanov vs. Pospisil (5), Phau (8) vs. Gonzalez, Ball and Guccione vs. Grigelis and Ignatik not before 4 p.m.
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