Isner, Dolgopolov enter SAP Open in San Jose

John Isner will bring his booming serve to the
SAP Open in February. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Top-ranked American John Isner will return to the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif., after a four-year absence.
   Tournament officials announced the entries of Isner, ranked 14th, and No. 18 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine on Wednesday. The SAP Open, the second-oldest tournament in the United States, will be played for the 125th and last time Feb. 11-17 at HP Pavilion. Rio de Janeiro will replace San Jose on the calendar beginning in 2014.  
   Isner and Dolgopolov will join two-time defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada, former SAP Open champions Lleyton Hewitt (2002) of Australia and Fernando Verdasco (2010) of Spain, and reigning Olympic men's doubles gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan.
   As was the case this year, the tournament will have no top-10 singles players (unless one or more accepts a late wild card). It had one in 2011 (No. 9 Verdasco), one in 2010 (No. 7 Andy Roddick) and two in 2009 (No. 6 Roddick and No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro). The last top-five player to enter was No. 4 Roddick in 2007. Roddick, a three-time SAP Open champion (2004, 2005 and 2008), retired in September, one week after his 30th birthday.
   Europeans Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have never played in the SAP Open, which is played the same week as a much richer tournament in Rotterdam. Andy Murray, who won his first Grand Slam title in September at the U.S. Open, has not played in the SAP Open since winning the 2006 and 2007 titles at 18 and 19 years old. The inability to attact any of the Big Four and the lack of a American star amid Roddick's decline since 2008 are big reasons for the tournament's impending demise. 
   Isner, 6-foot-9, has played in the SAP Open twice. He fell to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6, (4), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (11) in the 2008 quarterfinals and to countryman Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in second round in 2009.
   A 27-year-old native of Greensboro, N.C., living in Tampa, Fla., Isner turned pro in 2007 after being named an All-American for all four years at the University of Georgia. He has won five career singles titles:   Winston-Salem, N.C., on hardcourt and Newport, R.I., on grass for the past two years each and Auckland on hardcourt in 2010. His reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 U.S. Open for his best Grand Slam result and climbed to a career-high No. 9 last April.   
  Dolgopolov, 24, will make his SAP Open debut. The 5-foot-11 veteran has won two career singles titles,  Umag on clay in 2011 and Washington on hardcourt this past summer, and he advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2011 Australian Open.
   Ticket packages and group tickets for the SAP Open are available by calling (408) ACE-2121. Individual session tickets will go on sale in January. For more information, visit www.sapopentennis.com.  

CALENDAR

   Jan. 14-27, 2013 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, www.australianopen.org. 2012 champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek, Svetlana Kuznetsova-Vera Zvonareva.
   Jan. 15 -- Sacramento State men at Stanford in spring season opener for both teams, 1:30 p.m, www.hornetsports.com, www.gostanford.com.
   Jan. 18 -- Stanford women open spring season at Freeman Invitational in Las Vegas and at NCTC Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., times TBA, www.gostanford.com. UC Davis women open spring season vs. Northern Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., 1 p.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com.
   Jan. 19 -- UC Davis men at Santa Clara in spring season opener for both teams, 10 a.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com, www.santaclarabroncos.com.
   Feb. 1 -- Sacramento State women open spring season at Arizona, 12:30 p.m., www.hornetsports.com.
   Feb. 1-3, 2013 -- Davis Cup, first round, Brazil at United States, www.daviscup.com.
   Feb. 9-10, 2013 -- Fed Cup, first round, United States at Italy, www.fedcup.com.
   Feb. 11-17, 2013 -- SAP Open, HP Pavilion in San Jose, www.sapopentennis.com. 2012 champions: Milos Raonic, Mark Knowles-Xavier Malisse.
   March 4-17, 2013 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Marc Lopez-Rafael Nadal, Liezel Huber-Lisa Raymond.
   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference men's and women's tournament, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.

How NorCal pros fared this year

   It was a balanced year for professional players with Northern California ties.
   Eight had a great year, eight a good year and eight a fair year. Nobody had a terrible 2012, even though some players' rankings plummeted because of limited activity. 
   Highlighting the year were Bob and Mike Bryan tying the record for most Grand Slam men's doubles titles and winning their first Olympic gold medal, and doubles specialist Mark Knowles retiring after an illustrious, 21-year career.
   Following are year-end world rankings (change from 2011 in parentheses), plus comments:

Great year

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 2 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles. Bob and twin Mike won U.S. Open for their 12th Grand Slam men's doubles title, tying all-time record of John Newcombe and Tony Roche, and earned their first Olympic gold medal in London. 

   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles. See above for comment.

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- No. 145 in singles (unranked in 2011), No. 432 in doubles (unranked in 2011). Turned pro in September, forgoing senior year at Stanford, after winning Vancouver Challenger and reaching third round of U.S. Open as wild card. Lost to third seed and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows.  

   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 250 in singles (+419), No. 565 in doubles (+3). Two months after turning pro, diminutive left-hander qualified for U.S. Open and beat former top-10 player Jurgen Melzer in first round before losing to 13th-seeded Richard Gasquet in second round. Reached quarterfinals of four Challengers.

   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal; San Jose resident -- Career-high No. 13 in doubles (+24), No. 1,120 in singles (-404). Doubles specialist won four WTA titles (Carlsbad, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka) and reached Wimbledon quarterfinals, all with Abigail Spears.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 22 in singles (+71), No. 45 in doubles (-7). Bounced back admirably from 2011 elbow surgery. Won singles title at Los Angeles, where he grew up, for third time. Unfortunately for him, tournament will move to Colombia beginning next year. Gained three ATP World Tour semifinals (Queen's, Washington and Winston-Salem) and the quarterfinals of Paris Masters (defeating Novak Djokovic). In doubles, won at Houston with James Blake and advanced to final at Indian Wells with John Isner and at Washington with Kevin Anderson. Finished second in men's singles playing part-time for WTT runner-up Capitals.

   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 115 in doubles (+153), career-high No. 127 in singles (+560). In first full year as a pro, won two Challengers in singles (Sacramento and Albuquerque) and three in doubles (Rancho Santa Fe, Surprise and Charlottesville). Reached four other Challenger finals, two in singles and two in doubles. Made Grand Slam main-draw debut, reaching second round of U.S. Open doubles with Irina Falconi.

   Pedro Zerbini, All-Pacific-10 Conference first team at Cal (2009-11) -- Career-high No. 522 in singles (unranked in 2011), No. 647 in doubles (unranked in 2011). Brazilian reached three singles and two doubles finals on Futures circuit, winning one each, after graduating from University of California at Berkeley last December in economic development and launching pro career in March.

Good year

   Kevin Anderson, Capitals (2012) -- No. 37 in singles (-5), No. 91 in doubles (+19). Won Delray Beach for second career ATP singles title and reached five other quarterfinals. Doubles runner-up at San Jose (with Frank Moser) and Washington (with Querrey). Won both of his sets, men's singles and men's doubles, in Capitals' 20-19 loss to Washington in WTT Finals. 

   Nick Andrews, Cal All-American in 2012, resident of Folsom in the Sacramento area -- No. 1,065 in doubles (unranked in 2011), No. 1,500 in singles (unranked in 2011). Reached four doubles semifinals on Futures circuit after completing eligibility at Cal in May.
   Vania King, Capitals (2010-12) -- No. 22 in doubles (-16), No. 70 in singles (+6). In doubles, reached quarterfinals at Australian Open and French Open with Yaroslava Shvedova and three WTA finals (Stanford with Jarmila Gajdosova, Carlsbad with Nadia Petrova and Seoul with Akgul Amanmuradova). Singles semifinalist at Washington. Won 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open women's doubles crowns with Shvedova.

   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 25 in doubles (+4), unranked in singles. Doubles specialist reached quarterfinals of Australian Open and Wimbledon with Rajeev Ram and won Newport and Winston-Salem with Santiago Gonzalez.
   Yasmin Schnack, resident of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area, Capitals (2011-12) -- No. 170 in doubles (+11), No. 552 in singles (-152). Struggled in singles but collected five Challenger doubles titles (Rancho Santa Fe, Surprise and Charlottesville with Sanchez, and Sacramento and Albuquerque with Capitals teammate Asia Muhammad). Made Grand Slam main-draw debut, losing in first round of Wimbledon doubles with close friend King.

   Romana Tedjakusuma, Tracy resident -- No. 465 in singles (+188), No. 1,116 in doubles (not available).  Five-foot-two veteran reached quarterfinals of Sacramento Challenger at 35 years old.

    Ryan Thacher, 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 669 in doubles (+81), Career-high 1,051 in singles (unranked in 2011). Won three doubles titles, including two straight this month, on Futures circuit after completing eligibility at Stanford in June. Three-time Pacific-12 Conference All-Academic first-team selection  plans to become a surgeon after tennis career.

   CoCo Vandeweghe, Capitals (2009, 2012) -- No. 98 in singles (+29), No. 501 in doubles (not available). Became first lucky loser to reach a WTA final in seven years, falling to Serena Williams at Stanford. Also advanced to final of Nottingham Challenger as qualifier and quarterfinals at Washington, D.C.

Fair year

   Mardy Fish, Capitals (2012) -- No. 27 in singles (-19), No. 725 in doubles (-605). Missed 2 1/2 months early in year because of heart palpitations but recovered to reach round of 16 at Wimbledon and U.S. Open. Hasn't played since Flushing Meadows. Will turn 31 on Dec. 9.
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- No. 130 in doubles (-13), unranked in singles.  Doubles specialist won two Challengers in Asia and advanced to a Challenger final in Australia early in year, all with Raven Klaasen, but hasn't played since early August.
   Artem Ilyushin, resident of Granite Bay in the Sacramento area -- No. 1,098 in singles (-390), No. 1,500 in doubles (-477). Gained two singles quarterfinals and one doubles semifinal on Futures circuit in limited action after completing eligibility at Mississippi State in May.
   Mark Knowles, Capitals (2001-07, 2009-12), three-time World TeamTennis Male MVP (2001, 2005 and 2007)  -- Retired just before 41st birthday (Sept. 4) with 55 men's doubles titles, fourth among active players and tied for 15th in Open Era. Won three Grand Slam crowns in men's doubles (2002 Australian Open, 2004 U.S. Open and 2007 French Open, all with Daniel Nestor) and one in mixed doubles (2009 Wimbledon with Anna-Lena Groenefeld). Climbed to No. 1 in world in men's doubles in 2002 and 2004.  Won San Jose doubles trophy in February with Xavier Malisse, becoming first player 40 years or older to capture ATP title since John McEnroe took San Jose doubles crown in 2006 with Jonas Bjorkman.
   Alex Kuznetsov, Capitals (2012) -- No. 222 in singles (-53), No. 222 in doubles (+151). Qualified for Australian Open before losing to Rafael Nadal in first round. In November Challengers, reached singles final at Charlottesville and won doubles title at Knoxville with Mischa Zverev. 
   Asia Muhammad, Capitals (2012) -- No. 162 in doubles (not available), No. 469 in singles (-84). Struggled in singles but won Sacramento and Albuquerque Challengers doubles titles with Schnack.
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012) -- No. 142 in singles (-70), No. 1,090 in doubles (-243). Advanced to second round of Wimbledon and Queen's as qualifier and to Houston quarterfinals as defending champion. 

   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 125 in singles (-85), No. 208 in doubles (+29). Right-hander with two-handed backhand struggled for most of year with lingering left wrist injury and motivation following death of father, Dmitry's first coach, in July 2011. Won back-to-back Challengers in Turkey in September and gained final of Nottingham Challenger. Doubles runner-up at s-Hertogenbosch on ATP World Tour with Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia.

CALENDAR

   Jan. 14-27, 2013 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, www.australianopen.org. 2012 champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek, Svetlana Kuznetsova-Vera Zvonareva.
   Jan. 15 -- Sacramento State men at Stanford in spring season opener for both teams, 1:30 p.m, www.hornetsports.com, www.gostanford.com.
   Jan. 18 -- Stanford women open spring season at Freeman Invitational in Las Vegas and at NCTC Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., times TBA, www.gostanford.com. UC Davis women open spring season vs. Northern Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., 1 p.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com.
   Jan. 19 -- UC Davis men at Santa Clara in spring season opener for both teams, 10 a.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com, www.santaclarabroncos.com.
   Feb. 1 -- Sacramento State women open spring season at Arizona, 12:30 p.m., www.hornetsports.com.
   Feb. 1-3, 2013 -- Davis Cup, first round, Brazil at United States, www.daviscup.com.
   Feb. 9-10, 2013 -- Fed Cup, first round, United States at Italy, www.fedcup.com.
   Feb. 11-17, 2013 -- SAP Open, HP Pavilion in San Jose, www.sapopentennis.com. 2012 champions: Milos Raonic, Mark Knowles-Xavier Malisse.
   March 4-17, 2013 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Marc Lopez-Rafael Nadal, Liezel Huber-Lisa Raymond.
   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference men's and women's tournament, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.

Agassi wins seniors title in San Jose

   Andre Agassi defeated John McEnroe 8-3 to win the Champions Showdown on Friday night at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
   Agassi, 42, moved from eighth to fifth in the PowerShares Series standings with three events remaining.
   In the semifinals of the one-night, four-player event, Agassi topped Jim Courier 6-3, and McEnroe downed Todd Martin 6-3.
   Standings: 1. Courier, 1,400 points; 2. McEnroe, 1,200; 3. Pete Sampras, 1,100; 4. Patrick Rafter, 800; 5. Agassi, 500; 6. Michael Chang and Ivan Lendl, 200; 8. Martin and Mats Wilander, 200.       
 

Changes planned for Gold River Women's Challenger

Maria Sanchez of Modesto, Calif., won the
inaugural FSP Gold River Women's Challenger
last June. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Several changes are planned for the second annual FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, tournament director Michael Burchett said recently.
   In an effort to draw a better field, the $50,000 tournament at the Gold River River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area will be held four weeks later. The Challenger is scheduled for June 22 to June 29 or 30.
   The top seed this year was Russia's Elena Bovina, then ranked No. 243 in the world. The last direct acceptance, 17-year-old Samantha Crawford of Tamarac, Fla., was No. 877.
   The Challenger in El Paso, Texas, the following week attracted a better field despite offering half the prize money. Bovina again was seeded first, but American Whitney Jones was the last direct acceptance at No. 653.
   The problem for the Gold River Challenger was that it was held during the first week of the French Open. Most players who lost in French Open qualifying then traveled to England to play on grass and prepare for Wimbledon  a few weeks later.
   Next year's Gold River tournament is set for the first week of Wimbledon, but players who lose in qualifying there will head to the United States for the summer hardcourt circuit. Some of them figure to play at Gold River.
   Also, in an attempt to draw more fans, night matches will be played for the first time. Last year's tournament was sparsely attended as temperatures reached the high 90s and most working people were unable to attend. Organizers are even "shooting for a Saturday night final," Burchett said.
   In addition, Burchett plans to increase publicity, which was minimal for the inaugural tournament.
   Fourth-seeded Maria Sanchez of Modesto, 87 miles (140 kilometers) south of Gold River, won the singles title, and second-seeded Asia Muhammad of Henderson, Nev., and Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area took the doubles crown.
   It was the first professional singles title for the 5-foot-10 Sanchez, who commuted from home throughout the week. In her first full year as a pro, the former USC All-American has soared from No. 687 to No. 127 in the world in singles and from No. 268 to No. 115 in doubles. She will turn 23 on Nov. 26.
   Muhammad and Schnack played doubles together for the Sacramento Capitals in the World TeamTennis regular season in July and during the league playoffs in September. The Washington Kastles edged Sacramento 20-19 for their second consecutive WTT crown. 
   Mary Laver dies -- Mary Laver, the wife of legend Rod Laver, died Monday at their home in the San Diego suburb of Carlsbad after a long illness, the Associated Press reported. She was 84.
   Rod, 74, is Australian, and Mary was born in DeKalb, Ill. They were married in San Rafael, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, in 1966 and had one child, a son named Rick. Mary had three children from a previous marriage.
   Rod is the only player, male or female, to win the Grand Slam twice. He accomplished the feat as an amateur in 1962 and as a professional in 1969.

New TV schedule, calendar, rankings of NorCal players

TV SCHEDULE

(All times PST)

   Friday -- Davis Cup final, Spain at Czech Republic, singles, Tennis Channel, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. (live), 1-4 p.m. (repeat), 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday (repeat).
   Saturday -- Davis Cup final, Spain at Czech Republic, doubles, Tennis Channel, 5-8 a.m. (live), 8-11 a.m. (repeat), 5-8 p.m. (repeat).
   Sunday -- Davis Cup final, Spain at Czech Republic, reverse singles, Tennis Channel, 4-10 a.m. (live), 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (repeat), 5-8 p.m. (repeat). 

CALENDAR

   Friday -- BILT Champions Showdown (Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Todd Martin), 7:30 p.m., HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif., www.PowerSharesSeries.com.
   Friday-Sunday -- Davis Cup Final, Spain at Czech Republic, www.daviscup.com. 2011 champion: Spain.
   Jan. 14-27, 2013 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, www.australianopen.org. 2012 champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek, Svetlana Kuznetsova-Vera Zvonareva.
   Jan. 15 -- Sacramento State men at Stanford in spring season opener for both teams, 1:30 p.m, www.hornetsports.com, www.gostanford.com.
   Jan. 18 -- Stanford women open spring season at Freeman Invitational in Las Vegas and at NCTC Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., times TBA, www.gostanford.com. UC Davis women open spring season vs. Northern Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., 1 p.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com.
   Jan. 19 -- UC Davis men at Santa Clara in spring season opener for both teams, 10 a.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com, www.santaclarabroncos.com.
   Feb. 1 -- Sacramento State women open spring season at Arizona, 12:30 p.m., www.hornetsports.com.
   Feb. 1-3, 2013 -- Davis Cup, first round, Brazil at United States, www.daviscup.com.
   Feb. 9-10, 2013 -- Fed Cup, first round, United States at Italy, www.fedcup.com.
   Feb. 11-17, 2013 -- SAP Open, HP Pavilion in San Jose, www.sapopentennis.com. 2012 champions: Milos Raonic, Mark Knowles-Xavier Malisse.
   March 4-17, 2013 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Marc Lopez-Rafael Nadal, Liezel Huber-Lisa Raymond.
   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference men's and women's tournament, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.

PRO RANKINGS

   Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Kevin Anderson, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 36 in singles (no change), No. 89 in doubles (no change).
   Nick Andrews, Cal All-American in 2012, resident of Folsom in the Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 1,062 in doubles (+2), No. 1,485 in singles (-36).  
   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 2 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, Capitals (2012) -- No. 27 in singles (no change), No. 721 in doubles (-4).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- No. 120 in doubles (-5), unranked in singles.
   Artem Ilyushin, resident of Granite Bay in the Sacramento area -- No. 1,153 in singles (-184), No. 1,481 in doubles (-273).
   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 260 in singles (+9), No. 678 in doubles (+96).
   Alex Kuznetsov, Capitals (2012) -- No. 178 in singles (+2), No. 225 in doubles (+71).
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 25 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012) -- No. 22 in singles (no change), No. 45 in doubles (no change).
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012) -- No. 147 in singles (+4), unranked in doubles.
   Ryan Thacher, 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 783 in doubles (no change), 1,165 in singles (-9).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 127 in singles (no change), No. 209 in doubles (-1).
   Pedro Zerbini, All-Pacific-10 Conference first team at Cal (2009-11) -- Career-high No. 528 in singles (+75), No. 645 in doubles (no change).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- No. 145 in singles (-3), No. 432 in doubles (+80). 
   Vania King, Capitals (2010-12) -- No. 22 in doubles (no change), No. 70 in singles (no change).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- Career-high No. 13 in doubles (no change), No. 1,120 in singles (-4).
   Asia Muhammad, Capitals (2012) -- No. 162 in doubles (+7), No. 469 in singles (+2).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- No. 115 in doubles (+1), career-high No. 127 in singles (+12).

   Yasmin Schnack, resident of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area, Capitals (2011-12) -- No. 170 in doubles (-21), No. 552 in singles (-30).

   Romana Tedjakusuma, Tracy resident -- No. 465 in singles (-1), No. 1,116 in doubles (+1).
   CoCo Vandeweghe, Capitals (2009, 2012) -- No. 98 in singles (-3), No. 501 in doubles (-8).

Raonic, Hewitt, Verdasco enter SAP Open

Milos Raonic, serving in this year's SAP Open final in San Jose, will try
to win his third consecutive title in the tournament in February.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Andy Roddick didn't do it. Nor did Andy Murray, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi or John McEnroe.
   Milos Raonic will try to become the first player since Tony Trabert (1953-55) to win the San Francisco Bay Area stop on the men's tour for three years in a row.
   Organizers recently announced that Raonic, former champions Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Fernando Verdasco of Spain and the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan have entered the 2013 SAP Open, Feb. 11-17 at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
   It will be the 125th and last SAP Open, the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States. Rio de Janeiro, the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics and a co-host of the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament, will replace San Jose on the ATP World Tour beginning in 2014.
   Raonic (pronounced Rau-nitch), a 21-year-old Canadian, defeated Verdasco in the 2011 final for his first ATP World Tour title and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in last year's championship match.
  Roddick (2004-05), Murray (2006-07), Sampras (1996-97) and McEnroe (1978-79) each won the Bay Area tournament twice in a row. McEnroe triumphed five times overall, Roddick three and Murray and Sampras twice each. Agassi prevailed five times but never consecutively.
   Raonic, 6-foot-5 (196 centimeters), is ranked a career-high 13th in the world with three career singles titles. He is 9-0 in singles in San Jose.
   Hewitt, the 2002 SAP Open champion, plans to return for the sixth time. A likely International Tennis Hall of Famer, the 31-year-old veteran ranks fourth among active players with 28 singles titles. He trails Roger Federer (76), Rafael Nadal (50) and Novak Djokovic (33).
   Hewitt has won two Grand Slam singles crowns, the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002. Ranked No. 1 in 2001, he has plummeted to No. 80.
   Verdasco, a 28-year-old left-hander, has played in the SAP Open twice. He won it in 2010, becoming the first Spaniard to do so since Manuel Santana in 1964, and fell to Raonic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in the 2011 final.
   The loss to Raonic was marred by controversy. With Raonic serving on match point, a spectator yelled, and a distracted Verdasco netted the return.
   Verdasco is ranked 24th after reaching a career-high No. 7 in 2009.
   The 34-year-old Bryan twins have won 82 career doubles titles, an Open Era record. Twelve have come in Grand Slam tournaments, tying the all-time mark of Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche from 1965 to 1976.
   The Bryans also won the Olympic gold medal in men's doubles this summer in London. But they have never won the SAP Open in nine attempts, even though they attended college a few miles up the road at Stanford. They have reached the final only once, losing to former Stanford stars Scott Lipsky and David Martin in 2008.
   The SAP Open has struggled to attract top players and big crowds in recent years. Roddick's career steadily declined after he won his last SAP title in 2008, and he retired in September, one week after his 30th birthday. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Roddick captured the 2003 U.S. Open for his only major crown.
   France's Gael Monfils, then ranked 13th in the world, was seeded first in last year's tournament but withdrew with a knee injury. Roddick was second and Raonic third. The final drew an announced crowd of 5,682.
   The tournament has been held at HP Pavilion, the home of the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks, since it opened in 1994. That has forced the Sharks to take an extended road trip each February.
   The event began in Monterey in 1889 and also has been held under various names in Berkeley, San Francisco, Alamo and Daly City. Other past champions include legends Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors.
   Ticket packages and group tickets are available by calling (408) ACE-2121. Individual session tickets will go on sale in January. For more information, visit www.sapopentennis.com.

New TV schedule, calendar, pro rankings

TV SCHEDULE
(All times PST)

   Wednesday -- ATP World Tour Finals, round-robin singles, Tennis Channel, 2-10 p.m. (repeat).
   Thursday -- ATP World Tour Finals, round-robin doubles, Tennis Channel, 4-5:30 a.m. and 10-11:30 a.m. (live), 8-9:30 a.m. (repeat); round-robin singles, ESPN2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay), Tennis Channel, 2-10 p.m. (repeat). 
   Friday -- ATP World Tour Finals, round-robin doubles, Tennis Channel, 4-5:30 a.m. and 10-11:30 a.m. (live), 8-9:30 a.m. and 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday (repeat); round-robin singles, ESPN2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (delay), Tennis Channel, 2-10 p.m. (repeat). 
   Saturday -- ATP World Tour Finals, round-robin doubles, Tennis Channel, 4-5:30 a.m. and 9:30-11:30 a.m. (live), 8-9:30 a.m., 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday (repeat); round-robin singles, Tennis Channel, 5:30-8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (live), 1:30-9:30 p.m. (repeat). 
   Sunday -- ATP World Tour Finals, doubles semifinals, Tennis Channel, 4-5:30 a.m. and 10-11:30 a.m. (live); singles semifinals, ESPN2, 6-8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (live).
   Monday -- ATP World Tour Finals, doubles final, Tennis Channel, 10-11:30 a.m. (live); singles final, ESPN2, noon-2 p.m. (live).

CALENDAR

   Through Monday -- ATP World Tour Finals (top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams of 2012), London, www.atpworldtour.com/Finals/2012.aspx. 2011 champions: Roger Federer, Max Mirnyi-Daniel Nestor.
   Saturday -- Sacramento Clay Court League semifinals,  10 a.m., 8725 Hammersmith Lane, Fair Oaks, Calif., 95628, www.sacramentoclaycourtleague.com.
   Sunday -- Sacramento Clay Court League final,  noon, 8582 Westin Lane, Orangevale, Calif., 95662, www.sacramentoclaycourtleague.com.
   Nov. 16 -- BILT Champions Showdown (Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe), 7:30 p.m., HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif., www.PowerSharesSeries.com.
   Nov. 16-18 -- Davis Cup Final, Spain at Czech Republic, www.daviscup.com. 2011 champion: Spain.
   Jan. 14-27, 2013 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, www.australianopen.org. 2012 champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek, Svetlana Kuznetsova-Vera Zvonareva.
   Jan. 15 -- Sacramento State men at Stanford in spring season opener for both teams, 1:30 p.m, www.hornetsports.com, www.gostanford.com.
   Jan. 18 -- Stanford women open spring season at Freeman Invitational in Las Vegas and at NCTC Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., times TBA, www.gostanford.com. UC Davis women open spring season vs. Northern Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., 1 p.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com.
   Jan. 19 -- UC Davis men at Santa Clara in spring season opener for both teams, 10 a.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com, www.santaclarabroncos.com.
   Feb. 1 -- Sacramento State women open spring season at Arizona, 12:30 p.m., www.hornetsports.com.
   Feb. 1-3, 2013 -- Davis Cup, first round, Brazil at United States, www.daviscup.com.
   Feb. 9-10, 2013 -- Fed Cup, first round, United States at Italy, www.fedcup.com.
   Feb. 11-17, 2013 -- SAP Open, HP Pavilion in San Jose, www.sapopentennis.com. 2012 champions: Milos Raonic, Mark Knowles-Xavier Malisse.
   March 4-17, 2013 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Marc Lopez-Rafael Nadal, Liezel Huber-Lisa Raymond.
   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference men's and women's tournament, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.

PRO RANKINGS

   Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Kevin Anderson, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 36 in singles (+3), No. 89 in doubles (-14).
   Nick Andrews, Cal All-American in 2012, resident of Folsom in the Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 1,064 in doubles (+3), No. 1,449 in singles (-4).  
   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 2 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Capitals (2012) -- No. 27 in singles (-1), No. 717 in doubles (+6).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- No. 115 in doubles (-7), unranked in singles.
   Artem Ilyushin, resident of Granite Bay in the Sacramento area -- No. 969 in singles (-59), No. 1,208 in doubles (+1).
   Bradley Klahn, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- Career-high No. 269 in singles (+22), No. 774 in doubles (-1). 
   Mark Knowles, Capitals (2001-07, 2009-12), three-time World TeamTennis Male MVP (2001, 2005 and 2007) -- No. 127 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.
   Alex Kuznetsov, Capitals (2012) -- No. 180 in singles (+37), No. 296 in doubles (+46).
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 25 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012) -- No. 22 in singles (+1), No. 45 in doubles (+2).
   Ryan Sweeting, Capitals (2012) -- No. 151 in singles (-3), unranked in doubles.
   Ryan Thacher, 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 783 in doubles (-2), career-high 1,156 in singles (+55).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 127 in singles (-3), No. 208 in doubles (+23).
   Pedro Zerbini, All-Pacific-10 Conference first team at Cal (2009-11) -- Career-high No. 603 in singles (+6), No. 645 in doubles (+5).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- No. 142 in singles (-3), No. 512 in doubles (-3). 
   Vania King, Capitals (2010-12) -- No. 22 in doubles (no change), No. 70 in singles (no change).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- Career-high No. 13 in doubles (no change), No. 1,116 in singles (-2).
   Asia Muhammad, Capitals (2012) -- No. 169 in doubles (-2), No. 471 in singles (-1).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- Career-high No. 108 in doubles (+1), career-high No. 139 in singles (+10).

   Yasmin Schnack, resident of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area, Capitals (2011-12) -- No. 149 in doubles (no change), No. 522 in singles (-4).

   Romana Tedjakusuma, Tracy resident -- No. 464 in singles (+61), No. 1,117 in doubles (+2).
   CoCo Vandeweghe, Capitals (2009, 2012) -- No. 95 in singles (-2), No. 493 in doubles (-5).

Querrey falls to Frenchman in Paris quarterfinals

   Unseeded Sam Querrey could not sustain his momentum in the BNP Paribas Masters.
   Querrey, a 25-year-old San Francisco native and part-time member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis this year, lost to 32-year-old French wild card Michael Llodra 7-6 (4), 6-3 Friday in the quarterfinals in Paris, Llodra's hometown.
   Querrey, who fell to 0-2 lifetime against Llodra, had knocked off second-seeded Novak Djokovic in the second round and 14th-seeded Milos Raonic in the third round.
   There could be an all-French final for the first time since the tournament began in 1968, although the odds are against it. 
   Unseeded Gilles Simon of France will face qualifier Jerzy Janowicz of Poland in the first semifinal today at 2:30 p.m. Paris time (6:30 a.m. in California), followed by Llodra, a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion, against fourth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain not before 5 p.m. (9 a.m. in California). Tennis Channel will televise both matches live and repeat them from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. PDT.
   The 6-foot-8 (203-centimeter) Janowicz, 21, has ousted four consecutive top-20 players: No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, No. 15 Marin Cilic of Croatia, No. 3 Andy Murray of Great Britain and No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
   The BNP Paribas Masters final has featured at least one French player for the past four years. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the last one to win it, in 2008. Gael Monfils was the runner-up the following two years, and Tsonga lost to Roger Federer in last year's final.
   Federer withdrew from this year's tournament to rest nagging injuries before next week's ATP World Tour Finals in London. The field consists of the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams of the year.

Polish qualifier shocks Murray in Paris

   Jerzy Janowicz fell to the court, held his head in his hands and wept as if he had just won Wimbledon.
   The 21-year-old Polish qualifier actually had saved a match point and shocked third-ranked Andy Murray, this year's U.S. Open and Olympic champion, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2 Thursday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
   "This was the most unbelievable day in my life," the 6-foot-8 Janowicz told reporters. "I beat Olympic champion, U.S. Open champion. Unbelievable feeling for me. Still, I have feeling like in few minutes I'm going to wake up and it's going to be everything gone.
   "I don't know actually what I supposed to say because it's really hard to describe this feeling. It's not easy for me to talk about this week, because I had really tough moments in my life. This is like a movie for me."
   Janowicz's parents, former professional volleyball players, sold shops and apartments they owned to help his career.
   "I'm from Poland, and I know it's not easy to become professional tennis player," he said. "Actually, I have problem with sponsors. I was fighting my whole life with money, so this week is really important for me to get some sponsors, to get some help."
   Janowicz is ranked 69th after beginning the year at No. 221. He has beaten three top-20 players in the BNP Paribas Masters -- No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 15 Marin Cilic and No. 3 Murray -- and will meet No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in today's quarterfinals. The match will begin at about 4 p.m. Paris time (8 a.m. California time, Tennis Channel).
   Murray, 25, won the first two of his 24 career singles titles at the 2006 and 2007 SAP Open in San Jose. His loss in Paris leaves the tournament with none of the Big Four.
   No. 1 Roger Federer withdrew to rest for next week's ATP World Tour Finals in London. No. 2 Novak Djokovic fell to Sam Querrey on Wednesday, and No. 4 Rafael Nadal has been out with knee tendinitis since losing in the second round of Wimbledon to Lukas Rosol.
   Querrey, a 25-year-old San Francisco native and part-time member of the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis this year, beat 14th-seeded Milos Raonic 6-3, 7-6 (1). Raonic, 21, will seek his third straight SAP Open singles crown in February, when the tournament will be held for the 125th and last time before moving to Rio de Janeiro.
   Querrey will face Michael Llodra, a 32-year-old French wild card, today at about 9:30 p.m. Paris time (1:30 p.m. California time). Lodra upset seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion coming off titles in Vienna and Basel in the previous two weeks, 6-4, 6-3.
   Del Potro toppled Federer, the hometown favorite, in the Basel final to snap a seven-match losing streak to the Swiss star. Del Potro also victimized Federer for his only Grand Slam title.
   In doubles, Paul Hanley and Wimbledon champion Jonathan Marray surprised top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan, former NCAA champions from Stanford, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-5 tiebreak to reach the quarterfinals. The 34-year-old Bryan twins won the Paris title in 2005 and 2007.
   Capitals -- Kolleen McNamee has been named the general manager of the Capitals, the team announced.
   McNamee, formerly the athletic director at St. Francis High School in Sacramento, has been involved in sports as a player, coach or adminstrator for 35 years. She played soccer at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and was inducted in the school's Hall of Fame in 2004.
   McNamee replaces Jayna Osborne, the wife of 74-year-old Capitals co-owner Ramey Osborne. Jayna took over in June after 28-year-old Matt McEvoy left to run the Frys.com Open, a PGA Tour event in the Silicon Valley.
   The Capitals have won a record six WTT titles, most recently in 2007. They lost to the Washington Kastles in this year's WTT Finals, 20-19.