Bay Area players oust seeds in Nat'l 40 Hard Courts

   Fanny Gamble and Shibu Lal of the San Francisco Bay Area upset seeds today in the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.

   Gamble, from San Rafael, eliminated No. 4 Mercedes Michel of New York 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the women's quarterfinals. Lal ousted No. 5 Kerry Safdie of San Diego 4-6, 6-3, 5-5, retired to reach the men's quarters. 

   Also advancing in the men's draw were No. 3 Oren Motevassel of San Jose, No. 5 Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo and No. 9 David Smith of San Francisco. All won in straight sets.

   In Thursday's women's semifinals, No. 1 Amy Frazier of Rochester, Mich., will face No. 3 Jennifer Dawson of Carlsbad, and No. 2 Dina McBride of Stevenson Ranch will play Gamble.
   Frazier, who climbed to No. 13 in the world in 1995, is playing in her first tournament since retiring from the pro tour in 2006. McBride is the defending champion, and Dawson won the 2011 title.

   Greenwald, the 2009 champion, will have difficulty reaching the semifinals for the third straight year. He'll take on No. 1 seed and two-time defending champion Tony Bujan, a teaching pro from Tustin who earned All-America honors three times at TCU in the early 1990s.

USTA NATIONAL 40 HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS

In La Jolla, Calif.

(Northern California results only)

Men's singles 

Third round

   Jeff Greenwald (5), San Anselmo, def. Leon Bax (9), Mountain View, 6-2, 6-3.

   Oren Motevassel (3), San Jose, def. Leonardo Bravo (9), San Diego, 6-1, 6-3.

   Shibu Lal, Novato, def. Kerry Safdie (5), San Diego, 4-6, 6-3, 5-5, retired.

   David Smith (9), San Francisco, def. Lewis Miller, Denver, 6-4, 6-1.

Women's singles

Quarterfinals

   Fanny Gamble, San Rafael, def. Mercedes Michel (4), New York, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

   Jennifer Dawson (3), Carlsbad, def. Zeynep Aynaci, San Francisco, 6-1, 6-1.

Men's doubles

Quarterfinals

   Leon Bax, Mountain View, and Nicolas Chasseray (2), San Francisco, def. Marcio Carlsson and Igor Santana (5), Las Vegas, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.

Mixed doubles

Second round

   Christine Anzai, San Diego, and Manuel Ortiz, La Jolla, def. Fanny Gamble, San Rafael, and Kosei Ohno, Kirkland, Wash., 6-2, 6-3.

   Tracie Currie and William Quest (3), Ventura, def. Maria Nunez, San Diego, and Olivier Tonnerre, Mill Valley, 6-1, 6-1.