Rankings mover of the week: Dennis Novikov (up)

Dennis Novikov won singles titles in $15,000 Futures
tournaments in Merida, Mexico, last week and the
previous week. 2014 file photo by Paul Bauman 

   Dennis Novikov was born in Moscow and lives in San Jose. 

   But the 21-year-old American also feels at home in Mexico.

   Novikov ended his year -- finally -- with singles titles in $15,000 Futures tournaments in Merida last week and the previous week. He also reached the doubles final in the first tourney with former UCLA teammate Clay Thompson.

   Novikov, 6-foot-3 (1.90 meters) with a booming serve, jumped 38 spots to a career-high No. 331 in the world singles rankings with the first Merida crown. Ranked No. 636 at the beginning of the year, he will improve to about No. 292 on Monday with his latest title.

   Novikov won the singles and doubles titles in the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 2012 to earn wild cards for both main draws in the U.S. Open. 

   Amazingly, Novikov reached the second round in each event at Flushing Meadows. He shocked 86th-ranked Jerzy Janowicz, a 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Pole and Wimbledon semifinalist last year, in singles and teamed with Michael Redlicki to knock off U.S. veterans Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell in doubles.

   Novikov turned pro last year after leading UCLA to the NCAA final as a sophomore.

WORLD RANKINGS

   Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Collin Altamirano, 19-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 744 in singles (-5), No. 873 in doubles (-4).

   Bob Bryan, 36-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 36-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Bradley Klahn, 24-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 148 in singles (no change), No. 152 in doubles (no change).
   Scott Lipsky, 33-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 32 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mackenzie McDonald, 19-year-old Piedmont resident -- No. 637 in singles (-4), No. 588 in doubles (-1).

   Dennis Novikov, 21-year-old San Jose resident -- Career-high No. 331 in singles (+38), career-high No. 418 in doubles (+47).
   Sam Querrey, 27-year-old San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis (2012-13) -- No. 35 in singles (no change), No. 64 in doubles (no change).

   Matt Seeberger, 30-year-old Los Altos resident -- No. 459 in doubles (-1).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 32-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 110 in singles (no change), No. 178 in doubles (+1).

Women

   Kristie Ahn, 22-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 639 in singles (+6), No. 706 in doubles (no change).

   CiCi Bellis, 15-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 256 in singles (+3), career-high No. 822 in doubles (+3).

   Hadley Berg, 18-year-old resident of Greenbrae in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 945 in doubles (+2).

   Alexandra Facey, 21-year-old resident of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 735 in doubles (-1).

   Kat Facey, 21-year-old resident of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 735 in doubles (-1).
   Nicole Gibbs, 21-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 95 in singles (no change), No. 832 in doubles (+6). 

   Michaela Gordon, 15-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- Career-high No. 693 in singles (+6).

    Lejla Hodzic, 28-year-old former Stanford standout -- No. 741 in doubles (no change).

    Raquel Kops-Jones, 32-year-old San Jose resident and former Cal star -- No. 12 in doubles (no change), No. 798 in singles (+6).

   Maria Sanchez, 25-year-old Modesto product -- Career-high No. 79 in doubles (no change), No. 240 in singles (no change).

   Karina Vyrlan, 16-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 965 in singles (+3).

   Allie Will, 23-year-old native of San Mateo in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 159 in doubles (+1), No. 541 in singles (-1).
   Carol Zhao, 19-year-old Stanford sophomore -- No. 295 in singles (+3), No. 512 in doubles (+2).

TV SCHEDULE

   No tournaments scheduled. 

CALENDAR

   Through Tuesday -- Junior Orange Bowl, boys and girls 14 and 12 singles, Coral Gables, Fla. jrorangebowl.com

   Dec. 27-Jan. 2, 2015 -- USTA National Winter Championships, boys and girls 18 and 16 singles and doubles, Scottsdale, Ariz. phoenixtennis.com
   Dec. 27-Jan. 2, 2015 -- USTA National Winter Championships, boys and girls 14 and 12 singles and doubles, Tucson, Ariz. reffkintenniscenter.com
   Jan. 19-Feb. 1, 2015 (Jan. 18-31, 2015, in United States) -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN. 2014 champions: Stan Wawrinka, Li Na, Lukasz Kubot/Robert Lindstedt, Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, Kristina Mladenovic/Daniel Nestor. ausopen.com

   Feb. 7-8, 2015 -- Fed Cup first round, United States at Argentina. fedcup.com

   Feb. 13-16, 2015 -- Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships, Chicago. itatennis.com

   March 6-8, 2015 -- Davis Cup first round, United States at Great Britain. daviscup.com

   March 9-22, 2015 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif. 2014 champions: Novak Djokovic, Flavia Pennetta, Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai. bnpparibasopen.com