Bellis, 15, breaks through with singles crown

CiCi Bellis displays her award for winning the USTA Girls 18
National Championships in San Diego in August.
Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   CiCi Bellis won her first ITF Pro Circuit singles title today.
   The 15-year-old resident of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area defeated Lauren Embree of Santa Monica in the Los Angeles region 6-4, 6-0 on a hardcourt in the final of the $25,000 Rock Hill (S.C.) Rocks Open.
   Bellis' only other ITF Pro Circuit title came in doubles in the $10,000 Orlando (Fla.) Women's Open in March with countrywoman Alexis Nelson.
   Bellis, the No. 1 junior in the world, will jump from No. 419 in the women's singles rankings to about No. 310.
   The 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter), 110-pound (50-kilogram) right-hander stunned 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the U.S. Open in August to become the youngest player to win a main-draw match at Flushing Meadows since Anna Kournikova, also 15, in 1996.
   Bellis also helped the United States win the Junior Fed Cup title two weeks ago in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
   Embree, 23, was the singles runner-up to Jennifer Brady in the $25,000 Redding Challenger last month and teamed with Brady for her second straight doubles crown in the Northern California city.
   Embree underwent surgery for torn cartilage in her right hip in January and returned to the circuit in late June. She helped the University of Florida win NCAA titles in 2011 and 2012.
   Bryans complete set -- Bob and Mike Bryan reached another milestone in their illustrious doubles career, completing the set of nine Masters 1000 titles on the ATP World Tour. No one had done that in singles or doubles.
   The former Stanford All-Americans beat reigning French Open champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-2, 7-6 (3) in Shanghai.
   The 36-year-old Bryans have won 31 titles in Masters events, the highest level besides the Grand Slams.