NorCal's Brooksby breezes into final of UTR $25K

Jenson Brooksby is scheduled to play Brandon Holt,
Tracy Austin's son, for the title in Newport Beach,
Calif. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman 

   Jenson Brooksby will play for the title in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   The 20-year-old resident of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area crushed Tristan Boyer, a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the Los Angeles region, 6-1, 6-1 today in the semifinals of the first-place playoff.

   Brooksby has won all 10 of his sets in the tournament, his first as a professional. He is scheduled to play Brandon Holt of Rolling Hills in the L.A. region on Sunday.

   Holt, the 22-year-old son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, defeated Govind Nanda, a UCLA junior from Redlands in Southern California, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

   Brooksby and Holt will meet for the second time. Holt prevailed 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals of a $25,000 tournament in Los Angeles last January.

   Meanwhile, Eric Hadigian of Sacramento is slated to play Joshua Ortlip of Irvine in the L.A. region in the final of the second-place playoff. Hadigian, a Gonzaga sophomore, beat Daniel De Jonge, a Pepperdine junior from the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-1. 

   In the final of the third-place playoff, Stanford senior Timothy Sah of San Diego is set to face Miles Jones of Marina Del Rey, an L.A. suburb. Sah defeated Robert Shelton, a Pepperdine sophomore from Lancaster, Pa., by walkover.  
   ATP Tour — Gianluca Mager of Italy eliminated sixth-seeded Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, 7-6 (8), 6-1 in the second round of the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open. Querrey, the 2016 champion, fell to 1-5 in singles since last January.

   In the first round of doubles, Austin Krajicek of Plano, Texas, and Querrey defeated wild cards Bjorn Fratangelo of Orlando, Fla., and Dennis Novikov of San Jose, Calif., 7-6 (4), 6-3. 

   Querrey is playing in his first tournament since the ATP handed him a suspended fine of $20,000 for breaching the COVID-19 protocol in Russia last October. 

   WTA Tour — Fifth-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan beat Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic by walkover to reach the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open in the United Arab Emirates.

   Aoyama and Shibahara, a 22-year-old native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area, are scheduled to face top-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on Monday.

   Hsieh, ranked No. 1 in women's doubles, and Krejcikova, ranked seventh, edged Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area, 6-2, 5-7 [12-10].

Hadigian wins all-Sacramento-area match in UTR $25K

   Eric Hadigian, a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., defeated Keenan Mayo, a Loyola Marymount junior from Roseville in the Sacramento area, 6-4, 6-2 today in the second-place playoff quarterfinals of the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Hadigian is set to meet Daniel De Jonge, a Pepperdine junior from the Netherlands, on Saturday. De Jonge eliminated Alafia Ayeni, a Cornell senior from San Diego, 6-1, 6-3.

   In Saturday's other second-place playoff semifinal, Mousheg Hovhannisyan of Los Angeles will play Joshua Ortlip of Irvine in the L.A. region. Hovhannisyan, 29, edged Aidan Mayo, Keenan's 17-year-old brother, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (6). 

   In a first-place playoff semifinal on Saturday, Jenson Brooksby, 20, of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento region is scheduled to play Stanford freshman Tristan Boyer of Altadena in the Los Angeles area. Brooksby defeated Boyer 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win the 2018 Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, Calif.

   Brooksby is playing in his first tournament as a professional. He won the 2018 USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., and reached the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open as a qualifier, shocking 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych. 

   Also Saturday, Stanford senior Timothy Sah of San Diego will play Pepperdine sophomore Robert Shelton of Lancaster, Pa., in a third-place playoff semifinal.

   ATP Tour —Mackenzie McDonald, a 25-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Tommy Paul, 23, of Delray Beach, Fla., topped Cristian Garin of Chile and Andre Goransson (University of California, Berkeley, 2014-17) of Sweden 6-4, 6-7 (4) [10-4] in the first round of the Delray Beach Open.

NorCal's Brooksby reaches semifinals in UTR $25K

Jenson Brooksby has won all eight of his sets in his first
tournament as a professional. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area outclassed Dusty Boyer of Ham Lake, Min., 6-2, 6-3 today in the first-place playoff quarterfinals of the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Brooksby, 20, has won all eight of his sets in his first tournament as a professional. He is scheduled to play Tristan Boyer, a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the Los Angeles region. Brooksby defeated Boyer 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win the 2018 Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, Calif.

   In the other semifinal, former USC star Brandon Holt will meet UCLA junior Govind Nanda in a matchup of L.A.-area products.

   Holt, the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, routed qualifier Karl Lee, a UCLA signee from Sacramento, 6-2, 6-0. Nanda eliminated Nicolas Barrientos, a 33-year-old Colombian, 6-2, 6-3.

   In the second-place playoff quarterfinals, Keenan Mayo is slated to play Eric Hadigian on Friday in a clash of Sacramento-area players. Aidan Mayo, Keenan's younger brother, will take on Mousheg Hovhannisyan of Los Angeles.

   Meanwhile, Stanford senior Timothy Sah of San Diego beat qualifier Luke Casper, a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., by walkover in a third-place playoff quarterfinal.

   ATP Tour — In a matchup of San Francisco Bay Area natives, sixth-seeded Sam Querrey beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open.

   It was Querrey's first match since the ATP handed him a suspended fine of $20,000 for breaching the COVID-19 protocol in Russia in October, the first victory in singles or doubles since last January and first match against McDonald.

   Both the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey and the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) McDonald have starred in Delray Beach. Querrey won the 2016 title and reached the 2008 semifinals. McDonald advanced to his first ATP semifinal in Delray Beach in 2019, stunning 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals for his only victory over a top-10 player.

   Querrey, ranked No. 56 after climbing to a career-high No. 11 in 2018, will meet Italy's Gianluca Mager, a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 winner over U.S. wild card Ryan Harrison.

   WTA Tour — Fifth-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan edged Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 4-6, 7-5 [12-10] in the first round of the $565,530 Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open. Shibahara, 22, was born in Mountain View in the Bay Area.

NorCal trio advance to first-place playoff in UTR $25K

Jenson Brooksby won all six of his sets in round-robin play
in Newport Beach, Calif., losing only 13 games. 2018 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Three Northern California players are among eight men to reach the first-place playoff in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Advancing with 3-0 records in round-robin play today were 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, Stanford freshman Tristan Boyer of Altadena in the Los Angeles region and qualifier Karl Lee, a UCLA signee from Sacramento.

   Brooksby, playing in his first tournament as a pro, defeated Alafia Ayeni, a Cornell senior from San Diego, 6-2, 7-5. Boyer routed Alec Adamson, a former UC Davis standout from Corona Del Mar near Newport Beach, 6-2, 6-1. Lee topped Mousheg Hovhannisyan, 29, of Los Angeles 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-3.

   Brooksby and Boyer won all six of their sets in round-robin play, losing only 13 and 15 games, respectively.

   Brothers Keenan Mayo, 20, and Aidan Mayo, 17, of Roseville in the Sacramento area advanced to the second-place playoff with 2-1 records, as did Eric Hadigian, a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento.

   Timothy Sah, a Stanford senior from San Diego, and qualifier Luke Casper, a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., reached the third-place playoff with 1-2 records.

   Adamson and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., were eliminated with 0-3 marks. He won the Orange Bowl 16-and-under doubles title last month.

   Each playoff consists of an eight-player draw and a single-elimination format. 

   WTA Tour — Carol Zhao (Stanford, 2014-16) of Canada and Ena Shibahara, a native of Mountain View, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area, lost in the second and final round of qualifying in the $565,530 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open.

   Lucie Hradecka, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles from the Czech Republic, beat Zhao, playing in her first tournament since September 2019, 7-6 (7), 6-1. No. 12 seed Anastasia Gasanova of Russia topped Shibahara 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

   In the first round of doubles, Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, beat Kaitlyn Christian, a native of Orange, Calif., and Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine 6-4, 7-6 (3). Olmos and Christian were USC teammates in 2013 and 2014. 

   Fichman and Olmos are scheduled to face top-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on Friday. Hsieh and Krejcikova, received a first-round bye, are ranked No. 1 and No. 7, respectively, in doubles.

Brooksby rolls to another win in $25K Newport Beach

Jenson Brooksby has lost only six games in two
matches in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in
Newport Beach, Calif. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby continued to dominate in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   In a matchup of 20-year-olds, Brooksby of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area routed qualifier Miles Jones of Marina Del Rey in the Los Angeles region 6-1, 6-2 today in round-robin play.

   Brooksby has lost only six games in two matches in his first tournament as a pro. He set up a showdown against Alafia Ayeni (2-0), a Cornell senior from San Diego, on Wednesday in a round-robin finale in Group A. Ayeni defeated 30-year-old Alex Sarkissian (0-2) of Glendale in the L.A. area 7-6 (4), 6-3.

   In other matches involving Northern California players:

   —Qualifier Karl Lee (2-0), a UCLA signee from Sacramento, topped former Bruins standout Gage Brymer (0-2) of Irvine, Calif., 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 in Group E.

   —Govind Nanda (3-0), a UCLA junior from Redlands in the L.A. region, beat Keenan Mayo (2-1), a Loyola Marymount junior from Roseville in the Sacramento area, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in Group D.

   —Timothy Sah (1-2), a Stanford senior from San Diego, outplayed Kris Van Wyk (0-3), a Weber State senior from South Africa, 6-4, 6-4 in Group B.

   —Aidan Mayo (1-1), a high school senior and Keenan's brother, defeated Ethan Quinn (0-2), a high school junior from Fresno, Calif., 7-6 (8), 6-3 in Group H. Quinn won the Orange Bowl 16-and-under doubles title last month.

   —Nicolas Barrientos (2-0), a 33-year-old Colombian, beat Luke Casper (1-1), a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., 3-0, retired.

   —Group F players had the day off. They include Tristan Boyer (2-0), a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the L.A. area; Eric Hadigian (1-1), a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento; and Alec Adamson (0-2), a former UC Davis star from Corona Del Mar near Newport Beach. 

   WTA Tour — Carol Zhao, a former Stanford star from Canada, and Ena Shibahara, a native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area who plays for Japan, won their first-round qualifying matches in the $565,530 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open.

   Zhao, playing her first match since September 2019, beat 16th-seeded Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden 6-0, 2-6, 6-2, and Shibahara defeated alternate Makoto Ninomiya of Japan 6-1, 6-4.

   Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, lost to 12th-seeded Anastasia Gasanova of Russia 7-5, 6-3.

   Players must win two qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.

NorCal's Brooksby ends long layoff, breezes in pro debut

Jenson Brooksby, 20, dominated in his first
match since November 2019. 2018 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby, making his professional debut, routed Alex Sarkissian 6-0, 6-3 today in the round-robin phase of the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Brooksby, a 20-year-old resident of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, and Sarkissian, 30, of Glendale in the Los Angeles region met for the first time.

   Because of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, it was Brooksby's first match since a three-set loss to Marcos Giron in the third round of the $162,480 Houston Challenger in November 2019.

   Brooksby won the 2018 USTA 18-and-under national championship in Kalamazoo, Mich., and reached the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open as a qualifier, shocking 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych.

   Sarkissian is ranked No. 432 after climbing to a career-high No. 157 in 2016. The former Pepperdine star advanced to the 2014 NCAA singles final, falling to UCLA's Giron.

   Brooksby is scheduled to play Miles Jones, a 20-year-old qualifier from Marina Del Rey in the L.A. area, on Tuesday in the second of three round-robin rounds.

   Jones lost to Alafia Ayeni, a Cornell senior from San Diego, 7-5, 6-1.

   Keenan Mayo, a Loyola Marymount junior from Roseville in the Sacramento area, and Tristan Boyer, a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the L.A. region, improved to 2-0 in round-robin play.

   Mayo outplayed Martin Redlicki, a former UCLA star who won NCAA doubles titles in 2016 and 2018, 6-3, 6-3. Boyer beat Spencer Johnson, a UCLA signee from Ladera in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-4, 6-2.

   Eric Hadigian, a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento, improved to 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alec Adamson, a former UC Davis standout from Corona Del Mar near Newport Beach. Adamson fell to 0-2.

   Qualifier Luke Casper, a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., opened with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif. Quinn won the Orange Bowl 16-and-under doubles title last month.

   In another opener, Nicolas Barrientos, a 33-year-old Colombian, topped Aidan Mayo, a high school senior and Keenan's brother, 6-2, 6-4.

   Timothy Sah, a Stanford senior from San Diego, lost to Daniel De Jonge, a Pepperdine junior from the Netherlands, 6-1, 7-6 (1) to fall to 0-2.

   Qualifier Karl Lee, a UCLA signee from Sacramento, was scheduled to play Humberto Lopez of Mexico in a late match. 

   ATP Tour — Bay Area natives Sam Querrey, 33, and Mackenzie McDonald, 25, are slated to open their 2021 seasons against each other in the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open this week. It will be their first career meeting.

   Both the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey and the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) McDonald have starred in Delray Beach. Querrey won the 2016 title and reached the 2008 semifinals. McDonald advanced to his first ATP semifinal in Delray Beach in 2019, stunning Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals for his only victory over a top-10 player.

    In an interview posted on si.com today, Querrey discussed why he, his wife and their 8-month-old son fled Russia in October after testing positive for COVID-19. Ten weeks later, the ATP handed Querrey a suspended fine of $20,000 for what it called "a serious breach of protocol."

NorCal's Brooksby to make pro debut in UTR $25K

Jenson Brooksby, 20, is scheduled to face fellow Califor-
nian Alex Sarkissian, 30, in Newport Beach, Calif. 2018
photo by Paul Bauman 

   Jenson Brooksby is scheduled to make his professional debut on Monday in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   The 20-year-old resident of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area is set to face Alex Sarkissian, 30, of Glendale in the Los Angeles region for the first time in a round-robin opener at 9 a.m. PST. 

   Brooksby won the 2018 USTA National Boys 18 title in Kalamazoo, Mich., and reached the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open as a qualifier, shocking 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych.

   Sarkissian is ranked No. 432 after climbing to a career-high No. 157 in 2016. The former Pepperdine star fell to Marcos Giron of UCLA in the 2014 NCAA singles final.

   In round-robin matches today:

   —Brandon Holt, the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin, defeated Timothy Sah, a Stanford senior from San Diego, 6-4, 6-1.

   —Keenan Mayo, a Loyola Marymount junior from Roseville in the Sacramento area, routed Sebastian Gorzny, a high school junior from the Los Angeles suburb of Fountain Valley, 6-1, 6-1.

   —Tristan Boyer, a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the L.A. region, outplayed Eric Hadigian, a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento, 6-2, 6-4.

   —Spencer Johnson, a UCLA signee from Ladera in the San Francisco Bay Area, beat Alec Adamson, a former UC Davis star from Corona Del Mar near Newport Beach, 6-3, 7-5.

   Karl Lee, a UCLA signee from Sacramento, and Luke Casper, a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., won in the lone round of qualifying. 

   Casper is scheduled to play Ethan Quinn, a high school junior from Fresno, Calif. Quinn won the Orange Bowl 16 doubles title with Nicholas Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, last month.

   Godsick's mother, ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez, reached the top five in singles and doubles, and his father, Tony Godsick, is Roger Federer's agent.

   Aidan Mayo, a high school senior and Keenan's brother, is set to face Nicolas Barrientos, a 33-year-old Colombian who reached a career-high No. 71 in 2014.