Tiilikainen, Hansen top men's field in USTA 30 Indoors

Calle Hansen returns to the USTA National 30 Indoors
for the first time since winning his second straight title
in the tournament in 2013. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   Jan Tiilikainen is the men's top seed, the two-time defending champion and a six-time winner in the $2,000 USTA National Men's, Women's and Mixed 30 Indoor Championships.
   But the 44-year-old teaching pro from Reno is not the favorite in the tournament, which began Friday at the Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River.
   That distinction goes to second-seeded Calle Hansen, 36, of Newbury Park in the Los Angeles area. The former Pepperdine All-American returns to the 30 Indoors for the first time since winning his second straight title in the tournament in 2013.
   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Hansen, a Swedish native, defeated the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Tiilikainen, originally from Finland, in the 2012 semifinals and 2013 final.
   Both competitors are scheduled to play in today's quarterfinals after receiving first-round byes. Tiilikainen will face Michael Kwong of Woodland at 11 a.m., and Hansen will meet Jordan Boyls of Folsom at 1 p.m.
   Tyler Browne, a 30-year-old former Cal standout from Walnut Creek, is seeded third.
   Women's singles begins with today's quarterfinals. Top-seeded Evgenia Dockter of Atlanta drew a first-round bye, and second seed and defending champion Marisue Jacutin-Mariona of Los Altos is scheduled to play Rachel Janssen of Farmers Branch, Texas, at 11:30 a.m.
   Matt Seeberger, a doubles specialist from Redwood City ranked No. 178 in the world, is seeded second with Kwong. They are scheduled to play Derek Acker of South Wales, N.Y., and Hansen in the first round (quarterfinals) today at 4 p.m.