Top seed Brengle has favorable draw in $60K Berkeley

Madison Brengle poses with the trophy after winning the
$60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October. Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Top-seeded Madison Brengle on Monday received the best possible draw for someone adjusting from Wimbledon's grass to U.S. hard courts.

   Maybe.

   The 29-year-old American, ranked No. 83, will play a qualifier, whose identity will be determined today, on Wednesday in the first round of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Women's Challenge.

   The downside for Brengle is the qualifier will have played two matches in Berkeley, allowing her to adapt to the conditions, while Brengle plays only doubles today. The final round of qualifying begins at 10 a.m. today. 

   But assuming Brengle wins in the first round, she will play another qualifier on Thursday in the second round. 

   Brengle, who won the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October, stunned 16th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova in the first round at Wimbledon before falling to Karolina Muchova, who went on to reach the quarterfinals. Vondrousova advanced to the French Open final last month at age 19, losing to Ashleigh Barty.
   Here are the Berkeley qualifying draw, singles and doubles main draws, and today's schedule. Live streaming is available.

Klahn wins Winnetka title; Gibbs routed in Hawaii final

Bradley Klahn, a Stanford graduate, celebrates during the $150,000 Newport
Beach Challenger in January 2018. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   Top-seeded Bradley Klahn, a 28-year-old Stanford graduate, beat 12th-seeded Jason Kubler of Australia 6-2, 7-5 today to win the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Klahn, who's based in Los Angeles, did not lose a set in singles or doubles during the week. He received a first-round bye in singles and played only two doubles matches with countryman JC Aragone. They received walkovers in the first round and semifinals.
   Klahn improved three spots to No. 84 in the world with his eighth Challenger singles title. He earned $7,200 in singles and $1,550 in doubles.
   Gibbs routed – Fifth-seeded Usue (pronounced OO-sway) Arconada of Naples, Fla., clobbered Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13) 6-0, 6-2 in 70 minutes to win the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Arconada, a 20-year-old Buenos Aires native, won the first 11 games in the 85-degree heat (29.4 Celsius) and 55 percent humidity. She claimed her fourth and biggest title in a professional tournament; three have come this year.
   The 26-year-old Gibbs, playing in her first tournament since undergoing surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17, had needed 2 hours, 41 minutes on Saturday to overcome fellow American Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
   Berkeley Women's Challenge – Here are the qualifying draw and Monday's schedule for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Women's Challenge. The main draw starts Tuesday.

Djokovic tops Federer in epic Wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy and Serbian flag after winning
the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer made Wimbledon and Grand Slam history today in an epic final.
   In the end, Djokovic was too tough mentally.
   Saving two championship points and winning all three tiebreakers, Djokovic prevailed 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) in 4 hours, 57 minutes for his second consecutive Wimbledon crown.
   It was the longest Wimbledon final ever, breaking the mark of 4:48 in Rafael Nadal's 2008 triumph over Federer, and the first in tennis history with a fifth-set tiebreaker.
   Wimbledon instituted a tiebreaker at 12-12 in the fifth set in October to prevent marathons such as 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Kevin Anderson's 2018 semifinal victory over 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) John Isner – which lasted 6 hours, 36 minutes and went to 26-24 in the fifth – and Isner's 2010 second-round win over Nicolas Mahut – which spanned 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days and went to 70-68 in the fifth.
   The other Grand Slam tournaments have had various fifth-set tiebreakers for years but have never needed them in a men's final. The Davis Cup uses tiebreakers in every set except the fifth.
   "I'm just obviously thrilled and overjoyed with emotions to be sitting here in front of you as a winner," Djokovic, the first man since 1948 to save championship points and go on to win, told reporters. "It was one shot away from losing the match, as well. This match had everything. It could have gone easily his way. He was serving extremely well, I thought, the entire match."
   The fifth set lasted 1 hour, 22 minutes. The second-seeded Federer broke serve to lead 8-7 on a cross-court passing shot after the top-seeded Djokovic, who has perhaps the best return of serve in history, made a backhand stab return of a strong first serve.

Roger Federer, volleying in Indian Wells in 2017,
held two championship points today. Photo by
Mal Taam

   Federer earned two championships points serving at 40-15 in the next game, but Djokovic won the next four points to break serve for 8-8. On the first championship point, Djokovic hit a deep return of a second serve, and Federer sailed a forehand wide. On the second one, Djokovic returned a first serve and won the point with a forehand cross-court passing shot.
   Djokovic escaped two break points to hold serve for 12-11, and Federer held at love.
   Djokovic led 4-1 in the decisive tiebreaker, then both players held serve to give Djokovic his first championship point at 6-3. Federer uncharacteristically mis-hit a forehand, finally ending the dramatic match.
   The crowd strongly favored Federer.
   "I like to (transmute) it in a way," Djokovic said. "When the crowd is chanting 'Roger,' I hear 'Novak.' It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it's like that."
   This was the first five-set Wimbledon final since Djokovic beat Federer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 in 2014 in 3 hours, 56 minutes.
   After going eight tournaments without a Grand Slam singles title, the 32-year-old Djokovic has won four of the last five. He has 16 overall, four short of Federer's record and two shy of Nadal's total.
   Federer, who will turn 38 on Aug. 8, said he's not concerned about Nadal and Djokovic possibly passing him.
   "I take motivation from different places. Not so much from trying to stay ahead because I broke the record, and if somebody else does, well, that's great for them. You can't protect everything anyway," said Federer, who made his Northern California debut in a San Jose exhibition last year.
   "I didn't become a tennis player for that. It's about trying to win Wimbledon, trying to have good runs here, playing in front of such an amazing crowd in this Centre Court against players like Novak and so forth. That's what I play for."
   Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won the past 11 Grand Slam titles. The last player other than them to triumph was Federer's Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 U.S. Open.
   Djokovic improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 against Federer in Wimbledon finals. The loss came against Andy Murray in 2013, ending a 77-year drought by British men at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Federer has won a record eight Wimbledon crowns.
   Djokovic is now 26-22 against Federer with four consecutive victories and nine wins in their past 11 meetings.
   Federer was bidding to become the oldest Grand Slam men's champion in the Open era, which began in 1968. Ken Rosewall was 37 years, 2 months old when he won the 1972 Australian Open.
   This might have been Federer's last realistic chance to add to his Grand Slam total. He wilted in the extreme heat and humidity in the fourth round of last year's U.S. Open, the heat during the Australian Open can be brutal, his only French Open crown came 10 years ago, and he'll be almost 39 at Wimbledon next year.
   Djokovic, meanwhile, figures to win many more Slams.

Ex-Stanford stars Gibbs, Klahn advance to singles finals

Nicole Gibbs, playing in Berkeley last July, is
competing in her first tournament since having
cancer surgery in May. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Nicole Gibbs and Bradley Klahn have much in common.
   Both are from Southern California. Both won NCAA singles titles at Stanford. Both have had major surgeries. And both reached singles finals on the USTA Pro Circuit today.
   The second-seeded Gibbs, playing her first tournament since having surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth in May, outlasted unseeded American Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu. The match lasted 2 hours, 41 minutes in 86-degree (30 Celsius) heat and 56 percent humidity.
   In the January/February issue of Tennis Magazine, International Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin wrote of the 20-year-old Dolehide: "Her kick serve is already one of the best on tour. She's got so much power but also has all-court abilities, including net coverage. She's still maturing."
   The top-seeded Klahn, who underwent operations for a herniated disc in his back in 2011 and 2015, dispatched fourth-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-3 in the $54,160 Nielsen Pro Tennis Championship in Winnetka, Ill.
   Istomin reached the fourth round of the 2017 Australian Open, stunning six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. Istomin also reached the final of the 2012 SAP Open in San Jose, falling to Milos Raonic, and climbed to a career-high No. 33 later that year.

Bradley Klahn, playing in San Francisco early last year,
reached the singles final and won the doubles title in Win-
netka, Ill. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Klahn and JC Aragone won the Winnetka doubles crown, beating Christopher Eubanks and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 7-5, 6-4 in a matchup of unseeded American teams. Aragone and Kwiatkowski helped Virginia with three consecutive NCAA titles (2015-17).
   The 26-year-old Gibbs, ranked No. 129, is scheduled to play fifth-seeded Usue (pronounced OO-sway) Arconada, 20, of Naples, Fla., for the first time on Sunday.
   Arconada, ranked No. 214, beat unseeded Jamie Loeb, a 24-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York, 6-2, 6-4.
   Gibbs reached the final of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge last July, losing to Sofia Kenin. Arconada teamed with Kenin to win the doubles title in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger in 2017.
   Klahn, a 28-year-old left-hander ranked No. 87, is set to play 12th-seeded Jason Kubler of Australia on Sunday at noon (Tennis Channel). Kubler, ranked No. 188, beat 13th-seeded Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia by walkover.
   Klahn won his only previous match against Kubler 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals of the $75,000 Gatineau (Canada) Challenger last July en route to the title.
   Gibbs captured two NCAA titles in singles (2012 and 2013) and one in doubles (2012) before giving up her senior year and turning pro. Klahn won the 2010 NCAA singles crown as a sophomore and graduated in 2012.

Halep routs Serena for first Wimbledon crown

Simona Halep poses with the trophy in front of the
Romanian flag after winning the 2015 BNP Paribas
Open in Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   At one time, Simona Halep couldn't win a Grand Slam final, and Serena Williams couldn't lose one.
   Lately, the roles have been reversed.
   Playing the match of her life, Halep routed a nervous Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 56 minutes today for her second major singles title and first at Wimbledon.
   "It's something very special," Halep, a 27-year-old Romanian, told the BBC after her maiden Wimbledon final. "I will never forget this day because when I was about 10, my mom said if I want to do something in tennis, I have to play the final of Wimbledon. The day came, so thanks, Mom."
   Halep, playing great defense, committed only three unforced errors to Williams' 26 and won 83 percent of the points on her first serve (29 of 35) to Williams' 59 percent (19 of 32).
   Williams, perhaps trying to atone for her atrocious behavior in a loss to 20-year-old Naomi Osaka in the U.S. Open final last September, was calm during today's debacle and gracious afterward.
   "She (really) played out of her mind – congratulations, Simona," said Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion who had been 9-1 against Halep. "It was a little bit of deer in the headlights for me. Whenever a player plays that amazing, you have to take your hat off and give them a nod (of) the head, so congrats on all the hard work."
   Williams, a 37-year-old part-time Silicon Valley resident, was trying to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Williams, who won eight consecutive major finals in which she played from 2012 to 2015, is 0-3 in them since capturing the Australian Open in January 2017. She had her first child that September and suffered life-threatening complications. Since then, injuries have slowed Williams.
   "You can't deny the pressure she was under in this tournament," said ESPN commentator Chris Evert, who won Wimbledon in 1974, 1976 and 1981.
   Williams also was upset in straight sets by a defense-minded European in last year's Wimbledon final, falling 6-3, 6-3 to Angelique Kerber, a 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) left-hander.
   "I really think last year when Kerber beat Serena, it gave baseliners new hope," Evert said.
   Also, Tennis Channel commentator Lindsay Davenport, the 1999 Wimbledon champion, said Friday that the grass at Wimbledon was playing slower this year, helping the 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) Halep.
   Halep lost her first three Grand Slam finals before breaking through in last year's French Open. Her coach at the time, Darren Cahill, threatened to quit unless she improved her attitude.
   Today, Halep was focused and confident, showing no sign of nerves.
   "Well, I had nerves," she noted. "My stomach was not very well before the match, but I knew there is no time for emotions. I just came on court and gave my best."
   Halep, seeded seventh, raced to a 4-0 lead after 13 minutes and won 16 of the first 22 points. Williams, seeded 11th, then began to find her game, but Halep closed out the set.
   Halep broke for 3-2 in the second set on a Williams error and for 5-2 on a backhand passing shot down the line that a lethargic Williams didn't chase. On Halep's first match point, Williams fittingly drilled a forehand into the net.
   This was Halep's ninth appearance at Wimbledon. She reached the semifinals in 2014 and the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2017 and lost in the third round last year to crafty Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan.
   "(Halep) has played on grass enough to have instincts," Evert said. "The serve, the movement – everything clicked today."

Gibbs reaches Honolulu semis in cancer comeback

Nicole Gibbs, serving in the Berkeley Tennis Club
Challenge last July, routed Quinn Gleason today in
the Honolulu quarterfinals. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Nicole Gibbs (Stanford, 2011-13), playing in her first tournament since undergoing cancer surgery, routed unseeded fellow American Quinn Gleason 6-3, 6-1 in 75 minutes today in the quarterfinals of the $60,000 Tennis Championships of Honolulu.
   Gibbs, a 26-year-old Southern Californian, had surgery for a rare cancer in the roof of her mouth on May 17 in Los Angeles.
   Gleason, a former Notre Dame star from Mendon, N.Y., reached the doubles final in the $60,000 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger last October with Luisa Stefani of Brazil. They narrowly lost to Americans Hayley Carter and Ena Shibahara.
   Gibbs will meet unseeded Caroline Dolehide, a 20-year-old native of Hinsdale, Ill., for the first time on Saturday. Dolehide beat Kayla Day, a 19-year-old left-hander originally from Santa Barbara, Calif., 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.
   In the other semifinal, fifth-seeded Usue Arconada of Naples, Fla., will play unseeded Jamie Loeb, a 24-year-old product of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York.
   Loeb, who turned pro after winning the 2015 NCAA singles title as a North Carolina sophomore, eliminated top-seeded Whitney Osuigwe, a 17-year-old phenom from Bradenton, Fla., 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
   In a late doubles semifinal, Carter and Loeb edged third-seeded Gleason and former Cal standout Maegan Manasse 3-6, 6-1 [11-9].
   Carter and Loeb beat 16-year-old wild cards Allura Zamarripa and Maribella Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa area 6-1, 7-5 in the quarters.

Federer tops Nadal, will face Djokovic for crown

Roger Federer, practicing at Indian Wells in March, continued to defy the aging
process with his four-set victory over Rafael Nadal in today's Wimbledon semi-
finals. Photo by Harjanto Sumali 

   The first thing Roger Federer said after his victory today was "I'm exhausted."
   So maybe the guy is mortal after all.
   Continuing to defy the aging process, Federer subdued Rafael Nadal 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours, 2 minutes in the Wimbledon semifinals.
   Federer, who will turn 38 on Aug. 8, converted his fifth match point in his first meeting with Nadal on grass since the Spaniard's 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory in the 2008 Wimbledon final that some consider the greatest match ever.
   Inevitably, this one fell short of that standard, but it did feature some epic rallies, especially on two of the match points against Nadal, 33.
   "I'm exhausted," Federer, seeded second, told the BBC afterward. "It was tough at the end. Rafa played some unbelievable shots to stay in the match.
   "I thought the match was played at a very high level, and I enjoyed it. The crowd was amazing. The battles with Rafa are always very special, so it was nice."
   Nadal, who also won the 2010 Wimbledon title, has not reached the final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 2011.
  "I had my chances," Nadal, seeded third, told reporters. "He played little bit better than me, I think. Probably I didn't play as good as I did in the previous rounds, and he played well. So he deserve it. Congrats to him."
   Federer, who made his Northern California debut last year in a San Jose exhibition, improved to 16-24 against Nadal with six victories in their last seven matches.
   Federer, who has won a record eight Wimbledon singles titles, will face another archrival, top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic, in Sunday's final (6 a.m. PDT on ESPN). Djokovic, a four-time Wimbledon champ, beat 23rd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
   Federer has won a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles, and Djokovic, 32, ranks third with 15. After Sunday, the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic will have won the past 11 majors. The last player other than them to prevail was Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 U.S. Open.
   Djokovic is 25-22 against Federer with three consecutive victories and eight wins in their last 10 matches. This will be their third Wimbledon final. Djokovic won 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 in 3 hours, 56 minutes in 2014 and 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3 in 2 hours, 56 minutes in 2015.
   In today's women's doubles semifinals, third-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic beat top-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France 7-6 (5), 6-4.
   Hsieh and Strycova will play fourth-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Yifan Xu of China. Dabrowski and Xu topped second seeds and defending champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.