Klahn outlasts Evans in rematch of Aptos final

Bradley Klahn, a former Stanford star, beat Daniel Evans of
Great Britain in a tight match in Northern California for the
second month in a row. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   The match lived up to expectations.
   In a battle of 23-year-olds, fifth-seeded Bradley Klahn topped Daniel Evans 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 today in the first round of the inaugural Napa Valley Challenger at the Napa Valley Country Club.
   Klahn, a former Stanford star from Poway in the San Diego area, also outlasted Evans of Great Britain 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 last month in Aptos, Calif., for his first Challenger title. Evans lost after holding one or more championship points for the second straight week. He had one against Klahn and three the previous week against Vasek Pospisil of Canada in the Vancouver Challenger.
   Evans reached the third round of the recent U.S. Open as a qualifier, stunning 11th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan and 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic. Evans lost to 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo, who then eliminated five-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
   Klahn, a wild card at Flushing Meadows, advanced to the second round for the second consecutive year. He defeated 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Kenny De Schepper of France but lost to 23rd-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. All three players are left-handed.
   Klahn will meet Thanasi Kokkinakis, a 17-year-old qualifier from Australia, on Wednesday in the second round of the $50,000 Napa tournament. Kokkinakis, the U.S. Open and Australian boys runner-up and Wimblebon boys doubles champion this year, edged 30-year-old qualifier Jesse Witten of Naples, Fla., 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) in 2 hours, 42 minutes.
   Witten reached the third round of the 2009 U.S. Open as a qualifier before falling to Novak Djokovic.
   Robby Ginepri, the only active American man to have reached a Grand Slam singles semifinal, thrashed Nicolas Barrientos of Colombia 6-1, 6-1.
   Ginepri, who lost to Andre Agassi in five sets in the 2005 U.S. Open semis, will face Michael Venus of New Zealand of Thursday. Venus, a former LSU All-American, upset seventh-seeded Steve Johnson of Orange, Calif., in the opening round.
   Here are links to the singles and doubles draws and Wednesday's schedule:
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/singles_draw287.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/doubles_draw288.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/schedule288.PDF