Bellis, 18, falls to Wozniacki in French Open

Caroline Wozniacki, playing at Indian Wells
in March, defeated CiCi Bellis 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
today in the third round of the French Open.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 11 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated 18-year-old CiCi Bellis, who grew up in Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 today in the completion of a suspended match in the third round of the French Open.
   Bellis was about to serve for the second set at 5-2 on Friday night when rain and darkness halted play. After holding her serve for the set today, she broke for 2-1 in the third set.
   "That's when Wozniacki really started to settle down and be a little more consistent," commentator Lindsay Davenport said on Tennis Channel. "Also, she started to attack the forehand side of the Bellis court more."
   Wozniacki, who climbed to No. 1 in the world in 2010, broke back and won the last three games of the match. She ended the match with a service winner and two aces.
   Bellis still took away many positives. She equaled her best Grand Slam result with her third-round showing and is projected to rise from No. 48 to No. 40. She is the youngest player in the top 50.
   "What a tournament for CiCi Bellis," Davenport crowed. "She showed a lot of people how good she is going to be, but Wozniacki used her experience well to finish this final set."
   Wozniacki, who will turn 27 on July 11, reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time since advancing to the quarterfinals in 2010 for her best result at Roland Garros.
   Wozniacki will face No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, on Sunday in their first meeting on clay. Wozniacki leads the head-to-head series 7-6.
   In the second round of men's doubles on Friday, No. 3 seeds and two-time French Open champions Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) lost to Sam Groth of Australia and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-3.
   The 39-year-old Bryan twins won the last of their record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the 2014 U.S. Open.
   Groth, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and 220 pounds (100.0 kilograms), holds the unofficial record for the world's fastest serve. He unleashed a 163.7-mph (263.4-kph) rocket in the 2012 Busan (South Korea) Challenger.
   Lindstedt, 40, played at Fresno State before transferring to Pepperdine and reaching the 1998 NCAA doubles final with Kelly Gullett. In that match, they lost to the Bryans 6-4 in the third set.