Bellis, 17, cracks top 100 with title; Ahn falls in final

Atherton's CiCi Bellis, shown in the U.S. Open in Sept-
ember, jumped 11 places to No. 90 in the world with
her second straight title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   CiCi Bellis, a 17-year-old San Francisco Bay Area product, on Sunday became by far the youngest player ranked among the top 100 women in the world.
   Bellis, who turned pro on Sept. 13 after reaching the third round of the U.S. Open as a qualifier, jumped 11 places to No. 90 with her second straight title in a $50,000 Canadian indoor hardcourt tournament.
   The top-seeded Bellis, from Atherton, beat fourth-seeded Jesika Maleckova, a 22-year-old Czech, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to win the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto.
   "It means everything to me," Bellis, who also won the Saguenay Challenger two weeks ago, told Tennis Canada. "This has been the best year of my life and the best couple tournaments of my life. I've never been happier."
   After defeating Usue Maitane Arconada, 18, of the United States 6-4, 6-2 in the first round, Bellis won her last four matches in three sets.
   Bellis is 15 months younger than the next youngest player in the top 100, No. 48 Ana Konjuh of Croatia. Konjuh, who reached the U.S. Open quarterfinalist in September, will turn 19 on Dec. 27.
   Bellis will gain direct entry into the Australian Open in January. It will be her first appearance in the tournament.
   Meanwhile, former Stanford star Kristie Ahn of Upper Saddle River, N.J., lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) in the final of the $50,000 Copperwynd Women's Pro Challenge in Scottsdale, Ariz. Both players were unseeded.
   The 5-foot-5 (1.66-meter) Ahn, 24, led by a break in both sets against the 20-year-old left-hander, who did not lose a set in the tournament.
   Haddad Maia ousted top-seeded Nicole Gibbs in the second round and U.S. phenom Kayla Day in the semifinals. Gibbs and Ahn led Stanford to the 2013 NCAA team title. Day, a 17-year-old left-hander, won the $50,000 Macon (Ga.) Challenger the week before Scottsdale.
   Ahn now must win this week's $50,000 Waco (Texas) Challenger to overtake Day in the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge.
   In Flushing, N.Y., No. 1 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo of Ohio State won the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships for the second straight year.
   Di Lorenzo, a sophomore, pounded fourth-seeded Hayley Carter of North Carolina 6-1, 6-1 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the U.S. Open.
   Seventh-seeded Michael Redlicki of Arkansas won the men's crown, surprising top-seeded Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State 6-4, 6-3.
   The doubles titles went to second-seeded Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest on the men's side and unseeded Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi of Kentucky on the women's side. Seraphim is 6-foot-10 (2.08 meters).