Sacramento area loses TeamTennis franchise again

Anabel Medina Garrigues and the California Dream edged the Philadelphia Free-
doms last July in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights. Photo by Paul Bauman  

   The California Dream became the California Nightmare.
   For the second time in two years, the Sacramento area has lost its World TeamTennis franchise. This time, it could be for good.
   WTT spokeswoman Rosie Crews said Wednesday that the Dream's franchise was terminated after one year "due to noncompliance with their obligation to the league," The Sacramento Bee reported Thursday.
   Crews wouldn't elaborate, but she told The Bee in December that the Dream had until the end of the month to meet the financial commitments to return next season.

Left to right, Dream coach David MacPherson and players Jarmila
Gajdosova, Tennys Sandgren, Neal Skupski and Garrigues are into-
duced before the match against Philadelphia. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Dream majority owner Jeff Launius could not be reached for comment.
   Randy Peters Catering, the Dream's food concessionaire, sued the team a month ago for allegedly failing to pay a $19,000 bill.
   California averaged an announced 1,291 fans for seven home matches in its 2,400-seat temporary stadium in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights.

   Other than for the only home appearance by doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan, attendance was often sparse.

   California won six of its last seven regular-season matches to finish second in the Western Conference at 9-5, then lost to the host Austin Aces in the conference final.
   Launius and two partners moved the Texas Wild from the Dallas area to the Sacramento region last year.

Billie Jean King, right, and Philadelphia coach Josh Cohen
watch the match against the Dream. King founded World
TeamTennis with her husband at the time, Larry King, in
1975 and owns the Freedoms. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The Dream replaced the Sacramento Capitals, who announced in February 2014 that they were moving to Las Vegas after 28 years and a record six league titles because the team lacked a permanent tennis facility.
   Four weeks later, WTT disbanded the franchise when team owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was jailed on charges of defrauding investors in his medical supply business of $109 million. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
   Two previous Capitals owners also encountered legal or financial trouble.
   Lonnie Nielson pleaded guilty to grand theft related to his real estate business in 2010 and was released from prison in 2013.
   Nielson's co-owner, Sacramento real estate developer Bob Cook, declared bankruptcy after the 2011 season.
   One of the Dream's sponors believes enough is enough.
   "I don't think we'll ever have a team again," Glenn Sough, the owner of sporting goods store Tennis Town, lamented to The Bee.

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.

Gibbs gains final round of Australian Open qualifying

Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, follows through
on a serve during her victory over Lourdes Dominguez
Lino of Spain in the first round of the U.S. Open last
September. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs, who starred at Stanford, held off teenager Jana Fett of Croatia 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Thursday (PST) to reach the final round of qualifying for the Australian Open in Melbourne.  
   Maria Sanchez, a 26-year-old Modesto native, lost to Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 6-2, 6-3.
   On the men's side, Tennys Sandgren of Wesley Chapel, Fla., fell to 13th-seeded Tatsuma Ito of Japan 6-4, 6-2.
   Sandgren, a former University of Tennessee All-American, helped the Sacramento-based California Dream of World TeamTennis reach the Western Conference final last July.
   Fett, 19, was the girls runner-up to Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia in the 2014 Australian Open.
   Gibbs, a 22-year-old resident of Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, is scheduled to face Ivana Jorovic, 18, of Serbia for the first time today for a berth in the main draw.
   Jorovic, the No. 1 junior in the world in 2014 and French Open girls runner-up to Daria Kasatkina of Russia that year, beat 22nd-seeded Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2.
   Gibbs is ranked No. 105, and Jorovic is No. 187.
   Gibbs, the 2012 and 2013 NCAA singles champion, gained direct entry into last year's Australian Open and advanced to the second round in her main-draw debut in Melbourne.
   Larcher de Brito, who will turn 23 on Jan. 29, in playing in her first tournament since retiring in the second round of qualifying at Wimbledon in late June with a wrist injury. She underwent surgery in July.
   Larcher de Brito reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013 (beating Maria Sharapova) and 2014. She helped the Sacramento Capitals win the WTT title in 2007 at 14.
   Sanchez was seeking her first singles main-draw appearance in the Australian Open and second in a Grand Slam tournament. The USC graduate lost to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the first round of the 2013 U.S. Open as a wild card.

Djokovic, Serena receive top seeds in Australian Open

    Five-time champion Novak Djokovic and six-time winner Serena Williams top the Australian Open seedings announced Wednesday night (PST).
   The men's and women's draws will be streamed live on ausopen.com today at 3:30 p.m., and the year's first Grand Slam tournament is scheduled to begin Sunday.

Novak Djokovic
2015 photo by Paul Bauman

MEN

1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
2. Andy Murray, Great Britain
3. Roger Federer, Switzerland
4. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland
5. Rafael Nadal, Spain
6. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic
7. Kei Nishikori, Japan
8. David Ferrer, Spain
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
10. John Isner, United States
11. Kevin Anderson, South Africa
12. Marin Cilic, Croatia
13. Milos Raonic, Canada
14. Gilles Simon, France
15. David Goffin, Belgium
16. Bernard Tomic, Australia
17. Benoit Paire, France
18. Feliciano Lopez, Spain
19. Dominic Thiem, Austria
20. Fabio Fognini, Italy
21. Viktor Troicki, Serbia
22. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia
23. Gael Monfils, France
24. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain
25. Jack Sock, United States
26. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain
27. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria
28. Andreas Seppi, Italy
29. Nick Kyrgios, Australia
30. Jeremy Chardy, France
31. Steve Johnson, United States
32. Joao Sousa, Portugal

Serena Williams
2015 photo by Paul Bauman

WOMEN

1. Serena Williams, United States
2. Simona Halep, Romania
3. Garbine Muguruza, Spain
4. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland
5. Maria Sharapova, Russia
6. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
7. Angelique Kerber, Germany
8. Venus Williams, United States
9. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic
10. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain
11. Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland
12. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
13. Roberta Vinci, Italy
14. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus
15. Madison Keys, United States
16. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark
17. Sara Errani, Italy
18. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
19. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
20. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
21. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia
22. Andrea Petkovic, Germany
23. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia
24. Sloane Stephens, United States
25. Samantha Stosur, Australia
26. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia
27. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia
28. Kristina Mladenovic, France
29. Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania
30. Sabine Lisicki, Germany
31. Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine
32. Caroline Garcia, France

Novikov tops U.S. nemesis in Australian Open qualies

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

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

Gibbs coasts in Australian Open qualifying

Nicole Gibbs eyes a backhand in her
victory over Lourdes Dominguez
 Lino of Spain in the first round of
the U.S. Open last September.
 Photo by Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs routed wild card Olivia Tjandramulia of Australia 6-2, 6-2 today in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open in Melbourne.
   Gibbs, a 22-year-old former Stanford star living in Marina del Rey in the Los Angeles area, will face Jana Fett, 19, of Croatia for the first time in the second round.
   Fett, the girls runner-up in the 2014 Australian Open, defeated wild card Sara Tomic of Australia 6-3, 6-2.
   Gibbs is ranked No. 105 to Fett's No. 149.
   Gibbs, the 2012 and 2013 NCAA singles champion, gained direct entry into last year's Australian Open and advanced to the second round in her main-draw debut in Melbourne.
   Kristie Ahn, Gibbs' former Stanford teammate, lost to 32-year-old Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-3. Razzano stunned Serena Williams in the first round of the 2012 French Open.
   Maria Sanchez, a 26-year-old Modesto native, defeated Fangzhao Liu, 20, of China 6-4, 6-2 after the match was delayed by rain.
   Sanchez will play Portugal's Michelle Larcher de Brito, who ousted 24th-seeded Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 0-6, 6-4, 7-5.
   Larcher de Brito, who will turn 23 on Jan. 29, played her first match since retiring in the second round of qualifying at Wimbledon in late June with a wrist injury. She underwent surgery in July.
   Larcher de Brito reached the third round at Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2013 (beating Maria Sharapova) and 2014. She helped the Sacramento Capitals win the World TeamTennis title in 2007 at 14.
   Sanchez seeks her first singles main-draw appearance in the Australian Open and second in a Grand Slam tournament. The USC graduate lost to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the first round of the 2013 U.S. Open as a wild card.

Novikov advances in Australian Open qualifying

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

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