Miller beats top seed, reaches Junior Sectional final

   Fifth-seeded Alaina Miller of Saratoga outlasted top-seeded Rachel Chong of Danville 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday to reach the 18-and-under final in the NorCal Girls' 18 & 16 Junior Sectional Championships at the Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa in Sacramento.
   The 15-year-old Miller will meet second-seeded Vanessa Nommensen of San Jose today at 11 a.m. Nommensen, 16, routed fourth-seeded Sarah Hu of Oakland 6-1, 6-2.
   Miller overwhelmed Nommensen 6-1, 6-3 six weeks ago in the semifinals of the NorCal Junior Excellence tournament at the Rio del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento. Miller then edged Chong in the final, surviving a match point in a third-set tiebreaker.
   Miller is ranked first and Nommensen third in the 16s in Northern California. Nommensen recently signed a letter of intent to enroll at Tulane in New Orleans in the fall.  
   In the 16-and-under semifinals, ninth-seeded Jenna Friedel of Mill Valley knocked off top-seeded Rachel Eason of Union City 6-4, 6-3. Friedel will face second-seeded Carolyn Campana of Hillsborough for the title today at 11 a.m.

Nishimura tops Klinger for Junior Sectional crown

   Second-seeded JT Nishimura of San Jose defeated fourth-seeded Cameron Klinger of Elk Grove 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 on Sunday to win the 18s in the NorCal Boys' 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships at Sacramento State.
   Nishimura, who's headed for Cal in the fall, is ranked 32nd nationally. Klinger, 16, is ranked 37th.
   The girls 18 semifinals are scheduled for today at 1 p.m. at the Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa in Sacramento. Top-seeded Rachel Chong of Danville will meet No. 5 Alaina Miller, 15, of Saratoga, and No. 2 Vanessa Nommensen of San Jose will play No. 4 Sarah Hu of Oakland.

   NORCAL BOYS 18 AND 16 JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sacramento State

Finals

18 singles

   JT Nishimura (2), San Jose, def. Cameron Klinger (4), Elk Grove, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

18 doubles

   William Griffith, Fresno, and JT Nishimura (1), San Jose, def. David Ball, Palo Alto, and Logan Staggs (2), Tracy, 6-2, 6-3.

16 singles  

   Sam Riffice (1), Roseville, def. Alexandre Rotsaert (3), Fresno, 6-1, 6-1.

16 doubles

   Dominic Barretto and Paul Barretto (2), Tiburon, def. Jayson Fung, San Francisco, and Sam Riffice (1), Roseville, 6-4, 6-4.

  NORCAL 14 JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At University of the Pacific in Stockton

Boys finals

Singles

   Keenan Mayo (1), Roseville, def. Aditya Singh (2), Cupertino, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

   Ryan Ali, Mill Valley, and Stevie Gould (4), Corte Madera, def. Nicholas Khamphilath, San Jose, and Issa Yoshida (5), Campbell, 4-6, 6-3 [10-5].

Girls finals

Singles

   Niluka Madurawe (3), Sunnyvale, def. Katie Volynets (2), Walnut Creek, 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles

   Niluka Madurawe, Sunnyvale, and Jacquie Tan (1), Elk Grove, def. Jenna Schlatter, Saint Helena, and Jillian Taggart (2), Fair Oaks, walkover.

San Jose's Kops-Jones wins WTA doubles title

Raquel Kops-Jones, shown in 2012, and Abigail Spears
won a Wimbledon warmup tournament in Birmingham,
England. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Raquel Kops-Jones of San Jose and Abigail Spears of San Diego won their first title of the year, beating defending champions Ashley Barty and Casey Dellacqua of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-1 on Sunday in the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.
   Kops-Jones and Spears, the third seeds who had ousted No. 1 Cara Black and Sania Mirza in the semifinals, saved three set points while trailing 6-5 on Kops-Jones' serve in the Wimbledon warmup tournament.
   "We never give up," Spears said on wtatennis.com. "We have played together for a long time. We'll have some bad matches, maybe some bad days, but we're always wanting to get better.
   "Our friendship as well is a huge thing. We're pretty much best friends. I think that really helps us to be able to talk through things." 
   Spears, 32, won her 13th WTA doubles title and Kops-Jones, a 31-year-old former NCAA doubles champion from Cal, her 11th. They captured the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last July and reached the Australian Open semifinals in January for their best Grand Slam result.
   Barty and Dellacqua, seeded second in Birmingham, were 12-1 on grass entering the final. They had beaten Kops-Jones and Spears 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 16 at Wimbledon last year.
   Dellacqua, 29, has reached the women's doubles final in all four Grand Slam tournaments. She's still looking for her first major title in that event but won the 2011 French Open mixed doubles crown with former Stanford star Scott Lipsky.
   Barty, 18, has advanced to the women's doubles final in every Grand Slam tournament except the French Open. 

Sources: Goldstein likely to take over at Stanford

Stanford coach John Whitlinger, above with Maciek Romanowicz, left,
and Trey Strobel during a match in April and below, announced his
retirement at age 60 on May 29. Photos courtesy of Stanford University.

    Former Stanford star and professional player Paul Goldstein has emerged as the front-runner to succeed John Whitlinger as the Cardinal men's coach, sources indicated.
   "I think it's already decided," one source said, although there has been no official announcement. "I'd be shocked if they didn't name him."
   Stanford spokesman Kurt Svoboda declined to discuss the search, including the timetable for hiring a new coach.
   Whitlinger announced his retirement at age 60 on May 29 after Stanford's second consecutive first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament.

   The Cardinal won 17 NCAA team titles in 38 years under Whitlinger's predecessor, Dick Gould (776-148 overall, .840), but never advanced past the quarterfinals in 10 years under Whitlinger (160-85, .653).
   "Being able to coach at a place you've played is really a dream come true," Whitlinger, a native of Neenah, Wis., who was inducted in the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, said in a news release. "It's been a great ride, and I want to thank everyone that's been a part of it, especially the players and coaches I've worked with over the years.
   "It has been an honor to coach at such an outstanding university and athletic program, and while it is difficult to step away, I'm looking forward to new beginnings."
   Added Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir: "John has been an integral part of our tennis family for more than 40 years, and we have benefited from his accomplishments as an NCAA champion student-athlete and coach. We appreciate his service over these past 10 years as our head coach and wish him luck in this next chapter of his life."
   Goldstein, a 37-year-old native of Washington, D.C., has impeccable playing credentials but little or no coaching experience. He has worked as an account manager for a clean energy company in the San Francisco Bay Area since retiring from pro tennis in 2008. Efforts to reach Goldstein have been unsuccessful.
   Goldstein became the first player in college tennis history to compete on four NCAA championship teams (1995-98), a feat also accomplished by USC's Steve Johnson (2009-12).
   An All-American four times in doubles and once in singles, Goldstein reached the NCAA singles final as a senior before losing to teammate Bob Bryan.
   Goldstein 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 singles victories and was inducted in the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame last year. He attended high school and college with Chelsea Clinton, and graduated from Stanford in 1998 in human biology.
   Only 5-foot-10 (1.77 meters) and 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), Goldstein went on to an 11-year career as a pro player. He attained career highs of No. 58 in singles in 2006 and No. 40 in doubles in 2007.
   Goldstein never won an ATP singles or doubles title but captured a record 30 championships combined on the minor-league USTA Pro Circuit. In 2006, he earned the singles crown in the second Sacramento Challenger.
   At the top level of men's tennis, Goldstein owns singles victories over International Tennis Hall of Famer Patrick Rafter, future Hall of Famers Novak Djokovic (when Djokovic was 18) and Lleyton Hewitt, and former top-10 players Greg Rusedski and Alex Corretja.
   In doubles, Goldstein reached the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Open with former Stanford teammate Jim Thomas and was a two-time runner-up in San Jose (2003 with Robert Kendrick and 2006 with Thomas).
   Stanford went 14-6 (5-2 in the Pacific-12 Conference) this season but finished No. 32 in the national rankings. The Cardinal was 5-6 against ranked teams and 9-0 against others.
   Stanford won all four of its 4-3 decisions, prevailing at unranked UNLV, No. 52 Utah and unranked Arizona and at home against No. 43 Washington.  

    As a player, Whitlinger helped Stanford win its first two NCAA men's team titles (1973 and 1974). In 1974, he became only the fourth player in program history to capture the NCAA singles and doubles crowns in the same year.
   Under Gould, Stanford won four straight NCAA team titles (1995-98), five in six years (including 2000) and 10 in 15 years (1986-2000). The 2000 crown is the Cardinal's last.
   Making Stanford's decline all the more galling is that USC, known as the "University of Spoiled Children" on the Farm, has replaced the Cardinal as the top program in the nation. The Trojans have won five NCAA team championships in the last six years.
   The Stanford women, meanwhile, remain a national power under longtime coach Lele Forood. The Cardinal won its 17th NCAA team title last year and reached the semifinals this year.

French Open awards: Marathon, wacky celebration, etc.

   Reflections on an eventful French Open: 
   Best match -- Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis, making his Grand Slam debut, saved a match point and outlasted French veteran Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16 in the first round in four hours, 26 minutes.
   Benneteau soon turned despair into delerium, winning the men's doubles title with countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The 11th-seeded pair topped 12th-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (1) to become the first Frenchmen to claim the doubles crown since Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah 30 years ago.
   Biggest upset -- Serena Williams has laid an egg in both Grand Slam tournaments this year. After losing in the round of 16 to Ana Ivanovic in the Australian Open, Williams, the top seed and defending champion, fell to Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the second round at Roland Garros.
   Sure, Muguruza is a 20-year-old rising star. But 6-2, 6-2? What's up with that?

SIMONA HALEP
2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Breakout performers -- Fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania reached her first Grand Slam final, losing to seventh-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Halep, 22, had been as far as the quarterfinals of a major only once, at the Australian Open in January, and lost in the first round at Roland Garros last year.
   No. 18 seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal, knocking off No. 4 Roger Federer and No. 6 Tomas Berdych before falling to No. 2 Novak Djokovic.
   After reaching the French Open quarterfinals at 19 in 1988, Gulbis stopped working hard and went 23 straight Grand Slam tournaments without advancing past the third round. Feeling that time was running out to reach his potential, the 25-year-old Gulbis finally decided to get serious.     
   Biggest flops -- Reigning Australian Open champions Li Na, seeded second, and Stan Wawrinka, seeded third, lost in the first round. Neither upset, in truth, was all that surprising for several reasons.
   Players like Wawrinka often suffer a letdown after winning their first Grand Slam title. It takes time for the celebrations and distractions to die down and for players to regain their intensity.
   The issue is magnified for Li, who became the first player from China, with a population of 1.35 billion, to win a major in singles in the 2011 French Open. It took her almost three full years to win another at the Australian Open, Asia's Grand Slam tournament.
   Also, the Australian Open and French Open are played on different surfaces -- hardcourts and clay, respectively.
   Finally, Li and Wawrinka drew dangerous first-round opponents. Kristina Mladenovic, a two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, was playing in her home country. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain had won a clay-court tournament in Casablanca in April.
   Mentally toughest -- Sharapova, who's renowned for her determination, won three consecutive matches after losing the first set to reach the final. Then she topped Halep in three sets for her second singles title in the French Open and fifth in a Grand Slam.
   Best sandbagger -- After crushing Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in the third round, Rafael Nadal complained that his back was acting up again. Nadal proceeded to win the title for the fifth straight time and ninth overall.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Most poignant moment -- Djokovic, again denied a career Grand Slam, fought back tears during a prolonged ovation by the fans after losing to Nadal 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
   Most poignant quote -- Amid the focus on the superstars, it's easy to forget that just playing in a Grand Slam tournament is a tremendous accomplishment. Especially if you're from the Dominican Republic.
   Victor Estrella Burgos became the first Dominican in more than half a century to compete in a major, losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 to 22nd-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland. At 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), Janowicz is one foot (30.5 centimeters) taller than Estrella Burgos.
   "This day, I'll remember. I'm never going to forget," the 33-year-old Estrella Burgos, who saved a match point in the tiebreaker, told reporters. "When I get into the court, I almost want to cry for the first time. There are so many people from the Dominican who come to see me."
   Estrella Burgos won a $15,000 Futures tournament in the Sacramento suburb of Loomis in 2008, beating Ricardo Hocevar of Brazil 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (8) in a scintillating match. Hocevar escaped three match points and Estrella one in the tiebreaker.
   Best U.S. performance -- CiCi Bellis, 15, of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, became the only American finalist in the tournament.
   The seventh-seeded team of Bellis and Marketa Vondrousova, 14, of the Czech Republic fell to unseeded Ioana Ducu and Ioana Loredana Rosca of Romania 6-1, 5-7 [11-9] in junior girls doubles.
   Worst-dressed -- For some reason, Berdych felt compelled to wear a navy and white Hawaiian shirt. What, was he headed to a luau?
   This is the guy who wore a shirt with sky blue and white vertical stripes at the Australian Open in January. He looked as if he was moonlighting on the Argentine national soccer team or as a basketball referee.
   Who's Berdych's fashion consultant? Bud Collins? Craig Sager?
   Wackiest celebration -- Marinko Matosevic of Australia beat Dustin Brown of Germany in the opening round for his first Grand Slam victory after failing to qualify for nine majors and then going 0-12 in the main draw.
   Afterward, the free-spirited Matosevic rolled on the court from behind the baseline to the service line, got up caked with clay, screamed twice at the top of his lungs and finally raised his arms in triumph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeeeYzC_TYs.
   Best dance moves -- Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Laurent Lokoli staged a dance-off during a rain delay on Kids' Day. The battle has received more than 3.4 million hits on youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO3IQtW8Dlc.
   Amazingly, Monfils didn't hurt himself. 

TV schedule, calendar

TV SCHEDULE

(All times in California)

Thursday

   Queen's Club (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, 10 a.m.-noon (delay).
   Halle (men), early rounds, Tennis Channel, noon-4 p.m. (delay).

Friday

   Birmingham (women), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (delay).
   Halle (men), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 2-6 p.m. (delay).
   Queen's Club (men), quarterfinals, Tennis Channel, 6-10 p.m. (delay).

Saturday

   Birmingham/Halle/Queen's Club, semifinals, Tennis Channel, 4-9 a.m. (live).
   Birmingham (women), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay).
   Halle (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 1-5 p.m. (delay).
   Queen's Club (men), semifinals, Tennis Channel, 5-9 p.m. (delay). 

Sunday   

   Birmingham/Halle/Queen's Club, finals, Tennis Channel, 5-8 a.m. (live).
   Birmingham (women), finals, Tennis Channel, 9-11 a.m. (delay), 3-5 p.m. (repeat).
   Halle (men), finals, Tennis Channel, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay), 5-7 p.m. (repeat).
   Queen's Club (men), finals, Tennis Channel, 1-3 p.m. (delay), 7-9 p.m. (repeat).

CALENDAR

    Saturday-June 17 -- NorCal Boys 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, Sacramento State. 

    Saturday-June 17 -- NorCal Girls 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, Arden Hills Resort & Spa, Sacramento, Calif. 

    Saturday-June 17 -- NorCal 14s Junior Sectional Championships, University of the Pacific, Stockton, Calif. 

    Saturday-June 17 -- NorCal 12s Junior Sectional Championships, Sunnyvale Tennis Center, Sunnyvale, Calif.

   June 21 -- Generation Gap Invitational, Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

   JUNE 23-JULY 6 -- WIMBLEDON. 2013 champions: Andy Murray, Marion Bartoli, Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai, Daniel Nestor/Kristina Mladenovic. 

   July 7-12 -- $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif. 2013 champions: Mayo Hibi, Naomi Broady-Storm Sanders.
   July 13-19 -- USTA National Clay Court Championships (boys and girls), various sites.

   July 28-Aug. 3 -- Bank of the West Classic (women), Stanford. Entries include Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Ana Ivanovic, Samantha Stosur, Daniela Hantuchova and Garbine Muguruza. 2013 champions: Cibulkova, Raquel Kops-Jones-Abigail Spears.
   Aug. 2-10 -- USTA National Championships (boys and girls), various sites.

   Aug. 4-10 -- $100,000 Comerica Bank Challenger (men), Seascape Sports Club, Aptos, Calif. 2013 champions: Bradley Klahn, Jonathan Erlich-Andy Ram. 

   Aug. 5-10 -- $25,000 Heritage Bank of Commerce Tennis Championships (men and women), Moraga Country Club, Moraga, Calif.

   Aug. 25-Sept. 8 -- U.S. OPEN, Flushing Meadows, N.Y. 2013 champions: Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Leander Paes/Radek Stepanek, Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka, Andrea Hlavackova/Max Mirnyi.

   Sept. 8-14 -- $25,000 Redding Challenger (women), Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness, Redding, Calif. 2013 champions: Adriana Perez, Robin Anderson/Lauren Embree.

   Sept. 22-28 -- $50,000 Napa Valley Challenger (men), Napa Valley Country Club, Napa, Calif. 2013 champions: Donald Young, Bobby Reynolds/John-Patrick Smith.

   Sept. 29-Oct. 5 -- $100,000 Sacramento Pro Circuit Challenger (men), Natomas Racquet Club, Sacramento, Calif. 2013 champions: Donald Young, Matt Reid/John-Patrick Smith.

   Oct. 6-12 -- $100,000 Tiburon Challenger (men), Tiburon Peninsula Club, Tiburon, Calif. 2013 champions: Peter Polansky, Austin Krajicek/Rhyne Williams.

Rankings mover of the week (down): Mallory Burdette

Mallory Burdette serves during the 2013 BNP Pari-
bas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Former Stanford star Mallory Burdette, recovering from surgery on her right (playing) shoulder in November, tumbled 547 places to No. 905 in the world in this week's rankings.

   Burdette, 23, of Jackson, Ga., lost 100 ranking points after missing the French Open. She reached the second round there last year, falling to No. 4 seed and eventual quarterfinalist Agnieszka Radwanska.

   The 5-foot-10 (1.77-meter) Burdette hopes to return to the circuit late this year. 

   At Stanford, Burdette won NCAA doubles titles in 2011 and 2012 (with Hilary Barte and Nicole Gibbs, respectively) and advanced to the 2012 NCAA singles final, losing to Gibbs.
   Burdette turned pro after reaching the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open, forgoing her senior year, and shot up to a career-high No. 68 last June. 

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, 36 years old, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 36 years old, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Bradley Klahn, 23 years old, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 72 in singles (-1), No. 178 in doubles (-19).
   Scott Lipsky, 32 years old, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 39 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, 26 years old, San Francisco native, Sacramento Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 78 in singles (-11), No. 134 in doubles (-1).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 31 years old, trains at Gorin Tennis Academy in Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay -- No. 32 in singles (no change), No. 135 in doubles (no change).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, 23 years old, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- No. 905 in singles (-547), unranked in doubles.
   Nicole Gibbs, 21 years old, NCAA singles champion in 2012 and 2013 and NCAA doubles champion in 2012 from Stanford -- Career-high No. 159 in singles (+3), No. 542 in doubles (-6).

   Macall Harkins, 28 years old, Redding resident -- No. 354 in doubles (+15), No. 693 in singles (+9).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 31 years old, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 16 in doubles (no change), No. 1,072 in singles (+5).

   Maria Sanchez, 24 years old, born and raised in Modesto -- No. 106 in doubles (-7), No. 277 in singles (-25).

   Allie Will, 23 years old, born in San Mateo -- No. 126 in doubles (-8), No. 424 in singles (-3).