NorCal's Novikov falls in French Open qualifying

Dennis Novikov, awaiting serve in the U.S. Open last
September, lost to Marco Trungelliti of Argentina today
in the second round of French Open qualifying.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   For the second straight year, Dennis Novikov lost to an Argentine in French Open qualifying.
   Such is life on clay, but at least Novikov succumbed one round later this time.
   The 32nd-seeded Novikov, from Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area, lost to Marco Trungelliti 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 today in the second round at Roland Garros.
   Novikov is ranked No. 146, and Trungelliti is No. 167.
    "Tough loss today," tweeted Novikov, who fell to Facundo Arguello in three sets in the first round last year in the American's French Open debut. "Thought I played well just couldn't fully close in the end. Next week Vicenza."
   Novikov, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and 200 pounds (91 kilograms), had defeated the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter) Trungelliti 6-1 7-6 (7) in the second round of qualifying at Miami in March in their only other meeting. That, however, was on a hardcourt.
   Novikov, 22, was seeking his second berth in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam tournament. As a wild card in 2012, he stunned then-No. 86 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland in the first round of the U.S. Open before losing to Julien Benneteau of France. Janowicz, 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), reached the Wimbledon semifinals the following year.
   Former Stanford star Kristie Ahn, who made her French Open debut on Tuesday, is scheduled to play sixth-seeded Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic on Thursday in the second round of qualifying.