Modesto native advances in Wimbledon qualifying

   Modesto native Maria Sanchez, seeded 12th, defeated Ana Vrljic of Croatia 7-5, 6-1 today in the first round of Wimbledon singles qualifying in London.
   Sanchez, a 23-year-old former All-American at USC, made her Wimbledon qualifying debut after reaching the third round of the main draw in Birmingham, England, as a qualifier last week. Ranked No. 114 in the world, she needs two more victories to earn her first berth in the main draw at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
   Vrljic, 18, is ranked No. 192.
   Sanchez, who's mentored by International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert, is scheduled to face Shahar Peer of Israel on Wednesday in the second round. Peer, a two-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist and two-time doubles champion at Stanford, routed British wild card Melanie South 6-2, 6-0.
   Peer reached a career-high No. 11 in singles in 2011 but, plagued by injuries, has plummeted to No. 168. Her best singles result at Wimbledon is the fourth round of the main draw five years ago. Earlier that year, she advanced to the Australian Open women's doubles final with Victoria Azarenka.  
   Nicole Gibbs and Bradley Klahn, both of whom have won NCAA singles titles while at Stanford, lost in the first round of qualifying in contrasting fashion.
   Gibbs, who decided to forgo her senior year after winning the last two NCAA crowns, fell to seventh-seeded Yvonne Meusberger of Austria 6-3, 6-1. Klahn, the 2010 NCAA champion as a sophomore, came up just short against wild card Filip Peliwo of Canada 6-2, 1-6, 9-7.
   Peliwo, 19, became the first Canadian male and second Canadian ever to win a Grand Slam singles title when he took last year's Wimbledon boys crown. The previous day, countrywoman Eugenie Bouchard captured the girls title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
   Peliwo made it two Grand Slam boys singles titles in a row at the U.S. Open last year.  
   Israeli withdraws -- Israel's Julia Glushko withdrew from the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, July 1-6 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River.
   Glushko, 23, had been the top-ranked player on the acceptance list at No. 129.    
   The top three players on the entry list now are No. 131 Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal, No. 135 Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., and No. 145 Casey Dellacqua of Australia. Sanchez, who won last year's inaugural tournament, could receive a wild card.
   Pegula reached last year's final at 18. Her billionaire father, Terry, owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
   Larcher de Brito played one season for the Sacramento Capitals, helping them win the last of their record six World TeamTennis titles in 2007. At 14, she was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. Keys, who also lives in Boca Raton, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   Dellacqua, a 28-year-old left-hander, won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles title with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and reached this year's Australian Open doubles final with countrywoman Ashleigh Barty, then 16. It was the first time since 1977 that two Aussie women played in the Australian Open title match.

PRO 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 -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2012-13) -- No. 43 in singles (no change), No. 347 in doubles (-4).
   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 178 in singles (+2), No. 281 in doubles (-2).
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 21 in doubles (+1), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 19 in singles (no change), No. 95 in doubles (+6).
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 287 in singles (-18), No. 865 in doubles (no change).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident from Russia -- No. 65 in singles (-1), No. 142 in doubles (+1).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- Career-high No. 69 in singles (no change), No. 346 in doubles (+6). 
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- Career-high No. 12 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.

   Megan Moulton-Levy, Capitals (2013) -- Career-high No. 59 in doubles (+3), unranked in singles.

   Maria Sanchez, Modesto product -- No. 114 in singles (+2), No. 113 in doubles (+7).

   Taylor Townsend, Capitals (2013) -- Career-high No. 333 in singles (no change), No. 537 in doubles (-4).

TV SCHEDULE

(All times PDT)

Wednesday

   Eastbourne (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, noon-4 p.m. (delay), 4-8 p.m. (repeat).

Thursday

   Eastbourne (women), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 5-9 a.m. (live), 9-11 a.m. (repeat), 4-8 p.m. (repeat).
   Eastbourne (men), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, noon-4 p.m. (delay), 8 p.m.-midnight (repeat).

Friday

   Eastbourne (women), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 3-7 a.m. (live), 7-11 a.m. (repeat), 8 p.m.-midnight (repeat). 
   s'-Hertogenbosch (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, noon-4 p.m. (delay).
   Eastbourne (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 4-8 p.m. (delay).

Saturday

   Eastbourne (women), final, Tennis Channel, 5-7 a.m. (live), 6-8 p.m. (repeat).
   Eastbourne (men), final, Tennis Channel, 2-4 p.m. (delay), 8-10 p.m. (repeat).
   s'-Hertogenbosch (women), final, Tennis Channel, noon-2 p.m. (delay), . 
   s'-Hertogenbosch (men), final, Tennis Channel, 4-6 p.m. (delay).   

 CALENDAR

   Friday -- WIMBLEDON men's and women's singles draws announced.
   Monday-July 7 -- WIMBLEDON, www.wimbledon.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Jonathan Marray-Frederik Nielsen, Serena Williams-Venus Williams.
   June 29-July 6 -- $50,000 Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif. Saturday, June 29-Sunday, June 30, qualifying; Monday, July 1 (main draw), 10 a.m.; Tuesday, July 2-Thursday, July 4, noon and 6:30 p.m.; Friday, July 5 (semifinals), 4 p.m.; Saturday, July 6 (finals), 7 p.m. www.usta.com, www.sparetimeclubs.com. 2012 champions: Maria Sanchez, Asia Muhammad-Yasmin Schnack.
   July 6-8 -- West Coast Junior Championships, Rio del Oro Racquet Club, 119 Scripps Dr., Sacramento 95825, www.norcal.usta.com.
   July 7 -- Sacramento Capitals open season vs. Texas in World TeamTennis, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.   
   July 8 -- Capitals vs. Philadelphia, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 10 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Orange County, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 12 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Boston, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 13 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Washington, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.  
   July 17 -- Capitals vs. Texas (with Bob and Mike Bryan), Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   July 22 -- Capitals (with Sam Querrey) vs. Orange County, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.  
   July 22-28 -- Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, www.bankofthewestclassic.com. 2012 champions: Serena Williams, Marina Erakovic-Heather Watson. 
   July 25 -- World TeamTennis conference championships at highest seeds, www.wtt.com.

   July 28 -- World TeamTennis Finals at Eastern Conference champion, www.wtt.com.
   Aug. 5-11 -- $100,00 Comerica Bank Challenger, Seascape Sports Club, Aptos, Calif., www.seascapesportsclub.com/challenger. 2012 champions: Steve Johnson, Rik de Voest-John Peers.

Ex-Capital King withdraws from Gold River Challenger

   Well, that didn't take long.
   Two days after the initial acceptance list for the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger was released, Vania King withdrew Sunday.
   King had topped all players on the list with a world ranking of No. 117 before improving to No. 113 this week. The 24-year-old Long Beach product played all or part of the past three seasons for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis. But she will return to the Springfield Lasers this season after being named the 2009 WTT Female MVP as a member of the Missouri-based team. 
   The top three entries for the Gold River Challenger, July 1-6 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area, are now No. 129 Julia Glushko of Israel, No. 131 Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal and No. 135 Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla.
   Glushko, 23, won three qualifying matches to advance to the main draw of the recent French Open. She then lost to 71st-ranked Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain in the first round.
   Larcher de Brito played one season for the Capitals, helping them win the last of their record six WTT titles in 2007. At 14, she was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. Keys, who also lives in Boca Raton, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   Pegula, whose billionaire father owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, reached the final of last year's inaugural Gold River Challenger at age 18. She lost to Modesto native Maria Sanchez, who is not entered this year but could receive a wild card.

Bryans win eighth title of year; junior sectional finals

   At 35, Bob and Mike Bryan are having the best year of their careers.
   That's saying something for arguably the greatest men's doubles team in history.
   The top-ranked Bryans won their eighth title of the year and 90th overall today, nipping fourth-seeded Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares of Brazil 4-6, 7-5, 10-3 match tiebreaker in the Aegon Championships in London.
   The Bryans, former NCAA champions from Stanford, won their fifth title at The Queen's Club and improved to 4-0 against Peya and Soares this year.
   "Like they've been doing all year, Bruno and Alex played really solid tennis, and we had to hit some great shots at the end to get the win,” Bob Bryan said on atpworldtour.com. “It'll be nice to put the racquets down for a couple days and recharge the batteries for Wimbledon.
   “Special thanks to Chris Kermode and The Queen's Club for putting on another fantastic event. And happy Father's Day to our awesome dad back home in California. He is the reason we fell in love with this game so many years ago.”
   Wayne Bryan, 66, will begin his 12th season as the coach of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis on July 7. The three-time WTT Coach of the Year (2004-06) and author of the 2004 book "Raising Your Child to be a Champion in Athletics, Arts and Academics" is scheduled to face his sons when the Capitals host the Texas Wild on July 17 at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
   Bob and Mike Bryan, who grew up in Camarillo in the Los Angeles area, are threatening to shatter their career high of 11 titles in one year (2007 and 2010). They will take an 18-match winning streak to Wimbledon following titles in Madrid, Rome, the French Open and London. They are 44-6 overall this year.
   For the first time in their career, the Bryans are halfway to the Grand Slam. They have won a record 14 major titles in men's doubles, including two Wimbledon crowns (2006 and 2011). This year's tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis Club is scheduled for June 24 through July 7.

NORCAL 18s JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sacramento State

Finals

   Boys singles -- William Griffith (2), Fresno, def. Logan Staggs (1), Tracy, 7-5, 6-4.
   Girls singles -- Sarah Hu (1), Oakland, def. Emily Zheng (7), Fremont, 6-4, 6-4.
   Boys doubles -- David Ball, Palo Alto, and Logan Staggs (4), Tracy, def. Corey Spang, Redwood City, and Eric Spence, Los Gatos, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. 
   Girls doubles -- Isabella Heidenreich, Napa, and Sarah Hu (2), Oakland, def. Hadley Berg, Greenbrae, and Emma Critser (1), Mountain View, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).  

Ex-Capital King tops Gold River Challenger entries

Vania King, playing for the Sacramento Capitals last season,
heads the field for the FSP Gold River Women's Challenger
with a No. 117 world ranking. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Three familiar faces head the acceptance list for the second annual FSP Gold River Women's Challenger.
   Former Sacramento Capital Vania King is ranked No. 117 in the world, and Jessica Pegula, last year's runner-up at Gold River, is No. 123. Ex-Capital Michelle Larcher de Brito is No. 130.
   The entries for the $50,000 tournament, July 1-6 at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area, were released Friday. Absent from the list is 2012 champion Maria Sanchez, a Modesto native ranked No. 119. She could receive a wild card, though.
   King, a 24-year-old Long Beach product, played for the Capitals of World TeamTennis for all or part of the past three seasons. However, she will return to the Springfield Lasers this season after being named the 2009 WTT Female MVP as a member of the Missouri-based team.

At 18, Jessica Pegula reached the final
of the inaugural Gold River Women's
Challenger last year. 2012 photo
by Paul Bauman

   King won the 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open women's doubles titles with Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, but they have since split. King, who reached a career-high No. 3 in the world in women's doubles in 2011, has slumped to No. 47. Her career high in singles is No. 50 in 2006.
   The Gold River Women's Challenger will be held during the second week of Wimbledon, which could prevent King from returning to the Sacramento area.
   Pegula, 19, of Boca Raton, Fla., has more than halved her ranking from No. 294 entering last year's tournament. Her billionaire father, Terry, owns the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
   Larcher de Brito of Portugal played one season for the Capitals, helping them win the last of their record six WTT titles in 2007. At 14, she was the youngest player in league history until Madison Keys surpassed her by 19 days two years later as a 14-year-old with the Philadelphia Freedoms. Keys, who also lives in Boca Raton, is now ranked a career-high 53rd.
   Also entered in the Gold River Women's Challenger is No. 139 Casey Dellacqua of Australia. Dellacqua, a 28-year-old left-hander, won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles title with former Stanford All-American Scott Lipsky and reached this year's Australian Open doubles final with countrywoman Ashleigh Barty, then 16. It was the first time since 1977 that two Aussie women played in the Australian Open title match.   

GOLD RIVER WOMEN'S CHALLENGER

Acceptance list (subject to change)

Pos.  Player                                      Ranking

1	Vania KING (USA)	117
2	Jessica PEGULA (USA)	123
3	Michelle LARCHER DE BRITO (POR)	130
4	Julia GLUSHKO (ISR)	131
5	Casey DELLACQUA (AUS)	139
6	Olivia ROGOWSKA (AUS)	146
7	Chanel SIMMONDS (RSA)	166
8	Julie COIN (FRA)	176
9	Olga SAVCHUK (UKR)	178
10	Maria-Elena CAMERIN (ITA)	180
11	Sacha JONES (AUS)	187
12	Jovana JAKSIC (SRB)	190
13	Ana VRLJIC (CRO)	196
14	Ons JABEUR (TUN)	209
15	Irena PAVLOVIC (FRA)	218
16	Madison BRENGLE (USA)	219
17	Monique ADAMCZAK (AUS)	220
18	Petra RAMPRE (SLO)	225
19	Junri NAMIGATA (JPN)	227
20	Florencia MOLINERO (ARG)	230
21	Melanie KLAFFNER (AUT)	234
22	Ivana LISJAK (CRO)	236
23	Risa OZAKI (JPN)	279
24	Heidi EL TABAKH (CAN)	280

       

  

Ex-Stanford star Goldstein enters college Hall of Fame

   Stanford men's tennis has fallen on hard times, but its glorious past is being recognized this year with two Hall of Fame inductions.
   Paul Goldstein entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Men's Hall of Fame during last month's NCAA Tournament in Urbana, Ill., and Jared Palmer will join the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame on July 25 during the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   Goldstein, a high school and college classmate of Chelsea Clinton, became the first player in college tennis history to compete on four NCAA championship teams (1995-98). USC's Steve Johnson (2009-12) also accomplished the feat.
   Goldstein, a four-time All-American in singles and doubles, reached the NCAA singles final as a senior and lost to teammate Bob Bryan. The Washington, D.C., native was named All-Pacific-10 Conference three times and the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a senior.
   He also received the ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership in 1997 and 1998. Goldstein ranks fifth in school history with 84 career dual-match victories.
   Only 5-foot-10 (1.77 meters) and 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), Goldstein went on to an 11-year professional career. He reached the doubles semifinals at the 2005 U.S. Open with former Stanford teammate Jim Thomas, climbed to a career-high No. 58 in singles in 2006 and later that year won the singles title of the second Sacramento Challenger.
   Stanford has won 17 NCAA men's team titles but none since 2000. Last month, the Cardinal lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 35 appearances. 
   Also inducted in the ITA Men's Hall of Fame were just-retired Notre Dame men's coach Bobby Bayliss, former Kentucky coach Dennis Emery, two-time NCAA doubles champion and former doubles world No. 1 Kelly Jones, ex-Tyler (Texas) Junior College men's and women's coach John Peterson, former USTA chairman of the board and president Alan Schwartz, and 1976 French Open runner-up Harold Solomon from Rice.
    Palmer won the 1991 NCAA singles title as a sophomore and reached No. 1 in the world in doubles in 2000. He captured four Grand Slam doubles titles, two in men's doubles (the 1995 Australian Open with Richey Reneberg and Wimbledon in 2001 with Donald Johnson) and two in mixed doubles (the 2000 Australian Open with Rennae Stubbs and 2000 U.S. Open with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario).
   Joining Palmer in the Northern California Tennis Hall of Fame will be longtime coach and volunteer Phil Cello, women's pioneer Barbara Scofield Davidson and the late Mark Manning, a teaching pro, mentor and community activist.
   UC Davis fundraiser -- Ben Combs, a former co-owner of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis, collected slightly more than $4,000 for the UC Davis men's team at last month's fundraiser at his clay court in the Sacramento suburb of Orangevale.

PRO 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 -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2012-13) -- No. 43 in singles (-2), No. 343 in doubles (-7).
   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 180 in singles (+4), career-high No. 279 in doubles (+67).
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 22 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 19 in singles (+1), No. 101 in doubles (no change).
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 269 in singles (-2), No. 865 in doubles (-6).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident from Russia -- No. 64 in singles (-4), No. 143 in doubles (+6).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- Career-high No. 69 in singles (+11), No. 352 in doubles (no change). 
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 14 in doubles (no change), No. 1,135 in singles (no change).

   Megan Moulton-Levy, Capitals (2013) -- Career-high No. 62 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Maria Sanchez, Modesto product -- No. 116 in singles (no change), No. 120 in doubles (no change).

   Taylor Townsend, Capitals (2013) -- Career-high No. 333 in singles (no change), No. 533 in doubles (no change).

TV SCHEDULE

(All times PDT)

Thursday

   Halle (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (delay).

Friday

   Halle (men), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 3 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (live), 2-11:30 p.m. (repeat). 

Saturday

   Halle (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 4-9 a.m. (live), 1-11 p.m. (repeat).
   Birmingham, England (women), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay).

Sunday

   Halle (men), final, Tennis Channel, 5-8 a.m. (live), 8-11 a.m. (repeat), 1-4 p.m. (repeat), 6-9 p.m. (repeat).
   Birmingham, England (women), final, Tennis Channel, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay), 4-6 p.m. (repeat).

  CALENDAR

   June 24-July 7 -- WIMBLEDON, www.wimbledon.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Jonathan Marray-Frederik Nielsen, Serena Williams-Venus Williams.
   June 29-July 6 -- $50,000 Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif. Saturday, June 29-Sunday, June 30, qualifying; Monday, July 1 (main draw), 10 a.m.; Tuesday, July 2-Thursday, July 4, noon and 6:30 p.m.; Friday, July 5 (semifinals), 4 p.m.; Saturday, July 6 (finals), 7 p.m. www.usta.com, www.sparetimeclubs.com. 2012 champions: Maria Sanchez, Asia Muhammad-Yasmin Schnack.
   July 6-8 -- West Coast Junior Championships, Rio del Oro Racquet Club, 119 Scripps Dr., Sacramento 95825, www.norcal.usta.com.
   July 7 -- Sacramento Capitals open season vs. Texas in World TeamTennis, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.   
   July 8 -- Capitals vs. Philadelphia, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 10 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Orange County, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 12 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Boston, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com. 
   July 13 -- Capitals (with Mardy Fish) vs. Washington, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.  
   July 17 -- Capitals vs. Texas (with Bob and Mike Bryan), Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.
   July 22 -- Capitals (with Sam Querrey) vs. Orange County, Capitals Stadium at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, Calif., 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.  
   July 22-28 -- Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, www.bankofthewestclassic.com. 2012 champions: Serena Williams, Marina Erakovic-Heather Watson. 
   July 25 -- World TeamTennis conference championships at highest seeds, www.wtt.com.

   July 28 -- World TeamTennis Finals at Eastern Conference champion, www.wtt.com.
   Aug. 5-11 -- $100,00 Comerica Bank Challenger, Seascape Sports Club, Aptos, Calif., www.seascapesportsclub.com/challenger. 2012 champions: Steve Johnson, Rik de Voest-John Peers.

Sharapova, Radwanska head Stanford field

Maria Sharapova. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Two of the top four women in the world are scheduled to play in next month's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
   Unfortunately, one of them is not Serena Williams, who has won the last two titles.
   No. 3 Maria Sharapova of Russia and No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland head the field, announced today, for the July 22-28 tournament. Both players will make their fourth appearance at Stanford after competing from 2009 through 2011.
    For Williams, the Bank of the West is a sentimental tournament. After missing 11 months because of health problems, she won her first title at Stanford in 2011 in the third tournament of her comeback. During her layoff, Williams underwent two foot operations and suffered life-threatening blood clots in her lungs.
   Sharapova , who lost to Williams in the French Open final on Saturday, has won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments once. In the Bank of the West Classic, she fell to Venus Williams in the 2009 quarterfinals, Victoria Azarenka in the 2010 final and Serena Williams in the 2011 quarterfinals.

Agnieszka Radwanska. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Radwanska reached last year's Wimbledon final, losing to Serena Williams. In the Bank of the West, Radwanska fell to Daniela Hantuchova in the second round in 2009, Sharapova in the 2010 semifinals and Sabine Lisicki in the 2011 quarterfinals.
   This year's Bank of the West field also features Grand Slam singles champions Samantha Stosur of Australia and Francesca Schiavone of Italy and 2009 tournament champion Marion Bartoli of France.
   Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open titlist, will make her sixth appearance in the Bank of the West Classic. She reached the semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
   Schiavone, the 2010 French Open winner who will turn 33 on June 23, has fallen to 45th in the rankings. She advanced to the Bank of the West semifinals 10 years ago and last played in the tournament five years ago.

Marion Bartoli. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Bartoli, 28, will make her 11th consecutive appearance in the Bank of the West Classic. She has reached three finals, losing to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in 2008, beating Venus Williams in 2009 and falling to Serena Williams in 2011.
   Three Americans are entered this year. Varvara Lepchenko, a 27-year-old native of Uzbekistan, tops the list at No. 28 in the world. Jamie Hampton, 23, rose to a career-high No. 42 after reaching the fourth round of the recent French Open. Madison Keys, 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters), advanced to the third round of the Australian Open shortly before turning 18 on Feb. 17. She is ranked a career-high No. 53.
   American CoCo Vandeweghe, who reached the 2012 Bank of the West final as a qualifier, is not ranked high enough at No. 113 for direct entry this year but could receive a wild card.
   The Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles field. In its 43rd year, it is the longest-running women-only tournament in the world. In addition to Serena Williams, past champions include Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger,  Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
   For ticket information, go to www.bankofthewestclassic.com. See below for the full acceptance list.
   Querrey milestone -- Sixth-seeded Sam Querrey recorded the 200th match win of his career, edging Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 7-6 (11), 5-7, 7-6 (5) in the second round of the Aegon Championships in London. Bedene was playing only the second grass-court match of his career.
   Querrey, a 25-year-old native of San Francisco and part-time member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis, won the 2010 title in London. He'll face either 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria or unseeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the third round.
   Dimitrov, known as "Baby Fed" because his fluid strokes are similar to Roger Federer's, upset top-ranked Novak Djokovic on clay in the second round at Madrid last month. Dimitrov, 22, also is Sharapova's boyfriend. 
   Hewitt, 32, won the London title from 2000 through 2002 and in 2006.

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

Acceptance list

Name, Country, Rank
Sharapova, Maria, RUS, 3
Radwanska, Agnieszka, POL, 4
Stosur, Samantha, AUS, 14
Bartoli, Marion, FRA, 15
Cibulkova, Dominika, SVK, 18
Flipkens, Kristen, BEL, 20
Cirstea, Sorana, ROU, 24
Lisicki, Sabine, GER, 26
Lepchenko, Varvara, USA, 28
Paszek, Tamira, AUT, 29
Goerges, Julia, GER, 36
Radwanska, Urszaula, POL, 38
Hampton, Jamie, USA, 42
Wickmayer, Yanina, BEL, 43
Schiavone, Francesca, ITA, 45
Rybarikova, Magdalena, SVK, 47
Niculescu, Monica, ROU, 48
Morita, Ayumi, JAP, 49
Voegele, Stefani, SUI, 51
Madison, Keys, USA, 53

After 10 years, Bryans repeat in French Open

Bob, right, and Mike Bryan, playing in the SAP Open at San Jose
in February, edged France's Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut
for their second French Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Serena Williams wasn't the only one to end a French Open title drought today.
   Top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan edged unseeded Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4) for their second Roland Garros crown and first in 10 years.
   “It's great winning slams with your brother," Mike Bryan told reporters. "We really wanted to win another (Roland Garros). It's been ten years. This is the first one we won back in the day and kind of launched our career. This is the toughest Slam to win, I think. Clay is an equalizer and makes a lot of teams better.”
   Williams, who has won the last two Bank of the West Classic titles at Stanford, defeated Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 for her second French Open title and first in 11 years. Williams is not entered in this year's Bank of the West Classic, July 22-28, but Sharapova, the 2010 runner-up to Victoria Azarenka, is.
   The Bryan twins, 35-year-old former Stanford All-Americans originally from Camarillo in the Los Angeles area, became the first team to complete a career Grand Slam twice. They won the first of their record 14 Grand Slam men's doubles titles at the French Open.
   For the first time in their illustrious careers, the Bryans are halfway to the calendar-year Grand Slam in men's doubles. They won their sixth Australian Open title in January, breaking the record of 12 major men's doubles titles they had shared with Aussies John Newcombe and Tony Roche. The Bryans also have won two Wimbledons and four U.S. Opens.
   The Bryans ended the clay-court season with 14 consecutive victories for the titles in Madrid, Rome and Paris. They have won seven titles overall this year
   Llodra, 33, and Mahut, 31, were trying to become the first French team to win Roland Garros since Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah in 1984.
   “It's not finished until the end, and you have to fight until the last ball,” Llodra said. “Today we were close to losing the match two sets to love, and we fought until the end. We got chances, but not enough to [beat] the Bryans today.”
   Llodra and Mahut had upset fifth-seeded Max Mirnyi and Horia Tecau in the second round and second-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in the quarterfinals. Mirnyi has won four French Open men's doubles titles, in 2005 and 2006 with Jonas Bjorkman and in 2011 and 2012 with Daniel Nestor.
  Llodra was seeking his fourth Grand Slam men's doubles crown. He captured the Australian Open in 2003 and 2004 with countryman Fabrice Santoro and Wimbledon in 2007 with France's Arnaud Clement.
   Mahut was playing in his first Grand Slam final. He is best known for losing 70-68 in the fifth set to John Isner in the first round at Wimbledon in 2010.