A. Zamarripa, Quan stay hot in Winter Nationals

   Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa area and Rudy Quan of Roseville in the Sacramento region continued their remarkable runs in the USTA National Winter Championships today.
   Zamarripa upset a seed for the fourth time to reach the girls 16 semifinals in Orlando, Fla. Quan, seeded seventh in the boys 12s, throttled top-seeded Nicholas Mangiapane of Davidson, N.C., 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals in Tucson, Ariz. Quan has lost only seven games in his five matches.
   Zamarripa ousted No. 11 Carmen Corley of Albuquerque, N.M., 6-4, 6-2 in the hard-court tournament. Zamarripa also knocked off No. 4 Anessa Lee of San Marino in the Los Angeles region in the first round, No. 17 Allison Zipoli of Winnetka, Ill., in the third round and No. 13 Katja Wiersholm of Kirkland, Wash., in the fourth round.
   Zamarripa will take on No. 1 Gianna Pielet of El Paso, Texas. Pielet held off No. 10 Rosie Garcia Gross of New York 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after edging Leyden Games of Newport Beach 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the fourth round.
   Fourth-seeded Allura and Maribella Zamarripa lost to top-seeded Corley and Pielet 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles semis.
   Meanwhile, No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento and No. 10 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto advanced to the girls 14 semis in Tucson, but No. 14 Tomi Main of Seaside in the Monterey area lost.
   Nelson beat No. 17 Nevena Carton of Middletown, N.J., 7-5, 6-2, and Khune outclassed Emma Baker of Chicago 6-2, 6-3. Khune has not lost a set in her five matches.
   Midori Castillo, from the San Diego suburb of Bonita, dominated Main 6-1, 6-3 to prevent an all-Northern California matchup against Khune.
   In the boys 14 quarterfinals in Tucson, No. 3 Samir Banerjee of Basking Ridge, N.J., downed No. 14 Brian Chong of Cupertino (near San Jose) 6-3, 7-5.

A. Zamarripa reaches quarters in Winter Nationals

   Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa area upset No. 13 seed Katja Wiersholm of Kirkland, Wash., 7-5, 6-2 today to reach the girls 16 quarterfinals in the USTA National Winter Championships in Orlando, Fla.
   Wiersholm is the third seed Zamarripa has beaten in the hard-court tournament. She also ousted No. 4 Anessa Lee of San Marino in the Los Angeles region in the first round and No. 17 Allison Zipoli of Winnetka, Ill., in the third round.
   Zamarripa will meet No. 11 Carmen Corley of Albuquerque, N.M. Corley topped Bridget Stammel of Dallas 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2.
   No. 17 seed India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay Area lost to Justine Dondonay of Alhambra in the Los Angeles region 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).
   Zamarripa also advanced to the doubles semifinals with her sister Maribella. Seeded fourth, they will face top-seeded Corley and Gianna Pielet of El Paso, Texas.
   Three NorCal girls advanced to the singles quarters in the Winter National 14s in Tucson, Ariz. No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento and No. 14 Tomi Main of Seaside in the Monterey area prevailed in three sets, and No. 10 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto won in straight sets.
   Unseeded Gavathri Krishnan and Emily Novikov, both from the San Jose area, lost in the girls 12s in Tucson.
    In the boys 18s in Orlando, No. 3 Kevin Zhu of Pearland, Texas, beat Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville (near Sacramento) 6-2, 6-4.
   Two NorCal boys stayed alive in Tucson. No. 14 Brian Chong of Cupertino (near San Jose) survived against No. 8 Louis Cloud of San Antonio 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the 14s. No. 7 Rudy Quan, from the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, routed No. 11 Meethre Bardot of Frisco, Texas, 6-0, 6-2 in the 12s.
   Quan will take on No. 1 Nicholas Mangiapane of Davidson, N.C.

McDaniel gains last 16 of Winter National boys 18s

   Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville surprised No. 17 seed Robert Baylon of Buena Park in the Los Angeles area 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 today to reach the boys 18 round of 16 in the USTA National Winter Championships on hard courts in Orlando, Fla.
   McDaniel, the only remaining Northern Californian in the age group, will face No. 3 seed Kevin Zhu of Pearland, Texas. Zhu defeated Andre Ilagan of Honolulu 6-3, 6-4. McDaniel reached the semifinals of the 16s last year in Scottsdale, Ariz.
   The three remaining NorCal girls in the 18s lost. Falling to high seeds were No. 17 seeds Jessi Muljat of Sacramento and Connie Ma of Dublin and unseeded Emily Zhou of Palo Alto.
   Only two NorCal boys are left in other age groups: No. 14 Brian Chong of Cupertino in the 14s and No. 7 Rudy Quan of Roseville in the 12s. They are playing on hard courts in Tucson, Ariz.
   Other NorCal girls advancing were:
   --No. 17 seed India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon and unseeded Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the 16s in Orlando.
   --No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento, No. 10 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto and No. 14 Tomi Main of Seaside in the 14s in Tucson. Nelson won the Easter Bowl 12s at Indian Wells, Calif., in March and turned 12 in June.
   --Unseeded players Emily Novikov of Campbell and Gavathri Krishnan of Cupertino in the 12s in Tucson.

Novikov upsets No. 2 seed in Winter National 12s

   Emily Novikov of Campbell in the San Francisco Bay Area ousted No. 2 seed Madeleine Jessup of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles region 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 today in the second round of the girls 12s  at the USTA National Winter Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
   Novikov will play unseeded Ellie Gyuro of Bountiful, Utah. Gyuro beat No. 17 seed Mariana Shulman of Newton, Mass., 3-4, retired (illness).
   Advancing in the girls 14s were No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento and No. 10 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto.
   In the second round of the boys 14s, Will Mayew of Chapel Hill, N.C., knocked off No. 2 Max Fardanesh of Albany in the Bay Area 7-6 (3), 6-2.
   Three boys and three girls from Northern California advanced in the Winter National 18s in Orlando, Fla. Winning in the boys draw were Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville, Eric Hadigian of Sacramento and John Carroll of Greenbrae. Triumphing in the girls bracket were No. 17 seeds Jessi Muljat of Sacramento and Connie Ma of Dublin and unseeded Emily Zhou of Palo Alto.
   Winners in the 16s in Orlando included No. 17 seeds Karl Lee of Sacramento and Zachery Lim of Fairfield among boys and No. 17 India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon and Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena among girls.

Stephens' U.S. Open title heads top stories of 2017

Sloane Stephens, playing at Indian Wells last year, won the U.S. Open less
than two months after returning from foot surgery. Photo by Mal Taam

   Everyone who predicted that Jelena Ostapenko and Sloane Stephens would win Grand Slam singles titles this year, please raise your hand.
   Serena Williams' absence for the last three majors while expecting and delivering her first child didn't hurt. That opened the way for Ostapenko, a 20-year-old Latvian, and Stephens, a 24-year-old Fresno product, to break through.
   Here are the top 10 stories of the year, plus 10 honorable mentions:
   1. Stephens wins U.S. Open -- Only two months after returning from foot surgery, Stephens routed her close friend Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in 61 minutes to win the U.S. Open.
   It was the first Grand Slam final for both players, the first all-American women's final in the U.S. Open since Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams in 2002 and the most lopsided women's final at Flushing Meadows since Kim Clijsters trounced Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in 2010.
   Stephens became only the second unseeded woman to win the U.S. championships in the Open Era (since 1968) and the first American woman not named Williams to capture the title since Lindsay Davenport in 1968.
   2. Bellis named WTA Newcomer of the Year -- CiCi Bellis, an 18-year-old product of Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, jumped from No. 90 at the beginning of the year to a career-high No. 35  in August.
   Bellis defeated four top-20 players during the season: No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska in Dubai, No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova in Toronto, No. 14 Petra Kvitova at Stanford and No. 18 Kiki Bertens in the French Open.
   Bellis ended the year at No. 60 after withdrawing from the Hawaii Open, for an undisclosed reason, in November as the defending champion.
   3. Querrey upsets Nadal for title -- San Francisco native Sam Querrey completed a dream week with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Rafael Nadal for the Mexican Open title in Acapulco in March. Querrey, unseeded at No. 40 in the world at the time, beat a top-20 player for the fourth time in four days. Two of them, Nadal and defending champion Dominic Thiem, were ranked in the top 10.
   Querrey, who turned 30 in October, ended the year with a career-high ranking of No. 13.
   4. Querrey reaches Wimbledon semifinals -- Coming off three consecutive five-set victories, Querrey lost to 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in a semifinal matchup of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) players at Wimbledon.
   Querrey, the first player to win three straight five-set matches at Wimbledon since Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 10 years ago, became the only active U.S. man to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal.
   5. Stanford's Geller tops world junior rankings -- Stanford freshman Axel Geller of Argentina rose to No. 1 in the ITF world junior boys rankings in November. It's uncertain if another college player has achieved that distinction.
   Geller reached the Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior finals this year, losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain and Wu Yibing of China, respectively. Geller won the Wimbledon doubles title with Hsu Yu Hsiou of Taiwan.
   6. Altamirano helps Virginia win third straight NCAA title -- Collin Altamirano, a junior from Sacramento, helped the Virginia men win their third consecutive NCAA title, and fourth in five years, with a 4-2 victory over Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina in Athens, Ga.
   Virginia became the first team from outside the Pacific-12 Conference to win three straight NCAA titles or more. Altamirano turned pro after the departure of longtime coach Brian Boland, forgoing a chance to join Stanford's Paul Goldstein (1995-98) and USC's Steve Johnson (2009-12) as the only men to win four NCAA team titles. Virginia senior Henrik Wiersholm also could add his name to the list.

Australian qualifier Chris O'Connell and his coach, David Moore, headed
straight into a wildfire near Sonoma before quickly turning around.
Photo courtesy of Chris O'Connell

   7. Aussie reaches semis after harrowing evacuation -- Chris O'Connell called it the "scariest moment of my life."
   The 23-year-old Australian, who was trying to qualify for the $100,000 Fairfield Challenger, had been evacuated with his coach and their host family as wildfires raged in nearby Napa. But as O'Connell and coach David Moore of Australia headed to Greenbrae in the San Francisco Bay Area, they encountered a wall of flames 200 yards ahead. O'Connell and Moore quickly turned around and took another route to safety.
   O'Connell not only qualified but reached the semifinals, losing to Bay Area native and eventual champion Mackenzie McDonald.
   8. Norrie wins back-to-back Challengers -- Eighth-seeded Cameron Norrie, a 22-year-old left-hander from Great Britain, routed sixth-seeded Darian King of Barbados 6-1, 6-3 in 68 minutes in the wind in Stockton for his second consecutive NorCal Challenger title.
   The previous week, Norrie rolled to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Tennys Sandgren of Gallatin, Tenn., for the Tiburon crown.
   9. Phenom Anisimova wins first pro title -- Fifteen-year-old Amanda Anisimova, a potential superstar from Aventura, Fla., won her first professional title when Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic (pronounced Eye-la Tom-lee-on-o-vich) withdrew from the final of the $60,000 Sacramento Challenger with a right shoulder injury.
   Missy Malool said the walkover is only the second she has experienced in a final in her 21 years as a USTA on-site supervisor. Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia pulled out against former Stanford star Laura Granville in a $50,000 clay-court tournament in Charlottesville, Va., in 2006 with a leg injury.
   10. Ovrootsky, Keenan Mayo win Eddie Herr titles -- Second-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky, from San Jose, beat fourth-seeded Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-4 for the girls 14 title in the prestigious Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla., in November.
   Unseeded Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria and Keenan Mayo, from the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, topped eighth-seeded Alan Fernando Rubio Fierros of Mexico and Dostanbek Tashbulatov of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-4 [10-4] for the boys 18 doubles crown.

Madison Keys sits on CoCo Vandeweghe's
lap after beating her close friend for the title
in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Photo by Mal Taam 

   Honorable mention -- The Bank of the West Classic, a WTA tournament held at Stanford since 1997, will move to an undisclosed site in or out of the Bay Area.
   --Bellis earned her first victory over a top-10 player, ousting No. 6 Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February.
   --Bellis crushed Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, 6-2, 6-0 in 62 minutes in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
   --Maria Sharapova defeated Jennifer Brady 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic in the former world No. 1's first tournament match in North America in more than two years. Sharapova, 30, returned from a 15-month doping suspension in April.
   --After beating fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 7-6 (4), 6-4 for the title in the Bank of the West Classic, Madison Keys walked to Vandeweghe's chair, hopped on her close friend's lap and hugged her.
   --McDonald, a 22-year-old Piedmont product, defeated former Stanford star Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-2 in Fairfield for his first Challenger singles title after going 0-7 in semifinals at that level.
   --Qualifier Zhang Ze subdued seventh-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in San Francisco to become the second Chinese man to win a Challenger singles title. Wu Di took the Maui crown in January 2016.
   --San Francisco Bay Area residents Katie Volynets and Ryder Jackson won titles in the USTA Junior Clay Court Championships. Volynets triumphed in girls 18 singles in Memphis, Tenn., and Jackson prevailed with Robert Cash of New Albany, Ohio, in boys 16 doubles in Delray Beach, Fla.
   --Ovrootsky swept the girls 12 singles and doubles crowns in the USTA National Winter Championships in January in Tucson, Ariz.
   --Priya Nelson of Sacramento dominated Eleana Yu of Mason, Ohio, 6-1, 6-3 in a matchup of unseeded players in the Easter Bowl girls 12s final at Indian Wells, Calif.

Nelson falls in Junior Orange Bowl quarters

   No. 2 seed Sofia Costoulas of Belgium routed No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento 6-2, 6-0 today in the girls 12 quarterfinals at the Junior Orange Bowl on clay in Coral Gables, Fla.
   Nelson won the Easter Bowl 12s in March in Indian Wells.
   Costoulas will play No. 3 No. 3 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the singles-only tournament. Eala beat No. 9 Kayla Cross of Canada 7-6 (5), 6-1.
   In the other semifinal, No. 1 Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic will meet No. 8 Clervie Ngounoue of Washington, D.C
    Fruhvirtova lost to Vivan Ovrootsky of San Jose in the final of the Eddie Herr 14s two weeks ago on a hard court in Bradenton, Fla.

Nelson advances to Junior Orange Bowl quarters

   Seventh-seeded Priya Nelson of Sacramento topped Mao Mushika of Japan 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 today to reach the girls 12 quarterfinals in the Junior Orange Bowl on clay in Coral Gables, Fla.
   Nelson is scheduled to face second-seeded Sofia Costoulas of Belgium on Sunday at 8 a.m. PST. Costoulas beat Savaka Ishii of Japan 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1.
   Nelson won the Easter Bowl 12s title in March in Indian Wells.

You cannot be serious: McEnroe analyzed in book

   John McEnroe grew up in New York, still lives there and has a second home in fashionable Malibu, a Los Angeles-area enclave overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
   But McEnroe also is a Northern California legend. He won the 1978 NCAA singles title in his only year at Stanford and captured five singles and nine doubles title in the San Francisco Bay Area stop on the pro tour before the tournament moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2014. The singles total ties Andre Agassi for the most in the Open Era (since 1968), and the doubles amount is unsurpassed in that period.
   The first seven of McEnroe's doubles titles in the Bay Area came with New Jersey native Peter Fleming. The last two were with Mark Woodforde of Australia and, at the preposterous age of 47 in 2006, Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.
   Scoop Malinowski's recent book, "Facing McEnroe," consists of quotes about the 58-year-old International Tennis Hall of Famer and renowned tennis commentator. Malinowski also has written "Facing Federer," "Facing Nadal," "Facing Hewitt" and "Facing Sampras."
   McEnroe's second book, "But Seriously," came out in June.
   Here are some sample quotes from "Facing McEnroe":
   --Former world No. 3 Brian Gottfried: "We obviously go back a long ways. He was a guy that had more talent in two fingers than most of us had in two arms. There weren't many guys that you'd go to watch. You'd play your match and leave and prepare for your next match. He was a guy I used to go watch. Because, like I said, his talent level was beyond what the rest of us could do. ... I think he could have been the greatest of all time if he had the work ethic at a young age that he has now. ... "
   --Paul Goldstein, Stanford men's tennis coach and former pro who lost with ex-Cardinal teammate Jim Thomas to McEnroe and Bjorkman in the 2006 SAP Open doubles final in San Jose, 7-6 (2), 4-6 [10-7]. " ... (McEnroe) was the best player on the court for the majority of that match. He was playing with Jonas Bjorkman, who was number one in the world in doubles at the time. All due respect to Jonas, who was phenomenal, but there were times when John was by far the best player on the court. Hit the spots on his serve so well. He doesn't move around the court as well as he used to, but, man, if he was there, he just still has every shot. It was fun. ... "
   --Goldstein, on hitting with McEnroe at Stanford about five years ago: " ... No one was watching, (but) he brought the same level of competitiveness to that one single practice set that he would in a match. He didn't want to lose that practice set, the same way he might not want to lose the French Open final. He just brings out that level of competitiveness, I think, to everything he does."
   --Former world No. 7 and Stanford star Tim Mayotte, on whether McEnroe intentionally erupted to distract opponents: " ... To me, to call it intentional is not accurate. I think it was instinctive. And he was clearly out of control many times. To the point of it being -- I'm not sure that the right word is -- vicious. That's the way he lived. .... "
   --McEnroe, on the qualities he admires most in people: "It's not easy to go out there and give 100 percent. And run the risk of losing. I respect that the most in athletes. The guys that go out there and play hard. They don't give up on it. You can't be a loser if you go out there and give it your best. You're a winner if you go out and do that. Most people can't do that, shockingly enough. They find ways to quit. To me, that's the biggest quality. And the other one would be honesty."

Nelson reaches last 16 in Junior Orange Bowl 12s

   Northern California's hopes in the Junior Orange Bowl now rest with Priya Nelson.
   The seventh-seeded Nelson, from Sacramento, topped Marylove Edwards of Nigeria 7-6 (2), 6-2 today to reach the round of 16 in the girls 12s at the Junior Orange Bowl on clay in Coral Gables, Fla.
   Nelson, who won the Easter Bowl 12s in March, will face unseeded Mao Mushika of Japan in the singles-only tournament. Mushika routed Ada Jane De Alcantara of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-1, 6-1. Nelson could face second-seeded Sofia Costoulas of Belgium in the quarterfinals.
   Fourth-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose and unseeded Hina Inoue of Los Gatos lost in the girls 14s. No. 17 seed Klara Milicevic of Sweden outlasted Ovrootsky, who won the Eddie Herr 14s two weeks ago on hard courts in Bradenton, Fla., 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. China's Li Zongyu, also seeded 17th, beat Inoue 6-4, 6-4.

Bay Area's Inoue upsets seed in Junior Orange Bowl

   Hina Inoue of Saratoga in the San Francisco Bay Area ousted ninth-seeded Elaine Chervinsky of Boca Raton, Fla., 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 today in the second round of the girls 14s in the Junior Orange Bowl at Coral Gables, Fla.
   Inoue and Vivan Ovrootsky of San Jose reached the doubles semifinals of the 14s in the Eddie Herr International Championships two weeks ago in Bradenton, Fla.
   Ovrootsky won the Eddie Herr 14s in singles. Seeded fourth in that age group in the Junior Orange Bowl, Ovrootsky dispatched Danielle Tuhten of Canada 6-2, 6-3.
   Seventh-seeded Priya Nelson of Sacramento advanced in the girls 12s, beating Meera Jesudason of Berwyn, Pa., 6-4, 6-1.
   Max Fardanesh of Albany and ninth-seeded Ria Bhakta of Los Gatos lost by retirement in the boys 14s and girls 12s, respectively. Fardanesh withdrew from his match against Pedro Boscardin Dias of Brazial, and Sayaka Ishi of Japan defeated Bhakta 6-4, 2-0, retired.

NorCal seeds coast in Junior Orange Bowl openers

   All three Northern California seeds breezed to first-round victories today in the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
   In the girls 14s, No. 4 Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose overwhelmed Lakshanya Vishwanath of India 6-1, 6-0. Ovrootsky won the Eddie Herr 14s two weeks ago in Bradenton, Fla.
   In the girls 12s, No. 7 Priya Nelson of Sacramento crushed Ella James of Canada 6-0, 6-0, and No. 9 Ria Bhakta of Saratoga dominated Miezi Gutzeit of Germany 6-3, 6-1.
   Two unseeded Northern Californians also advanced, and one lost.
   In the girls 14s, Hina Inoue of Los Gatos blitzed Valentina Silva of Brazil 6-0, 6-0, but Yuu Ishikawa of Los Altos fell to No. 9 Mara Guth of Germany 6-0, 6-2. In the boys 14s, Max Fardanesh of Albany defeated Milo Gazivoda of Montenegro 6-1, 7-5.

Three NorCal girls seeded in Junior Orange Bowl

   Three Northern California girls are seeded in the Junior Orange Bowl, Wednesday through Dec. 19 at four sites in the Miami area.
   Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose is No. 4 in the 14s. Priya Nelson of Sacramento and Ria Bhakta of Saratoga are No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, in the 12s.
   Ovrootsky, who won the Eddie Herr 14s two weeks ago in Bradenton, Fla., will open against Lakshanya Vishwanath of India. Nelson will play Ella James of Canada, and Bhakta will take on Miezi Gutzeit of Germany.
   Three other Northern Californians are unseeded: Hina Inoue of Los Gatos and Yuu Ishikawa of Los Altos in the girls 14s and Max Fardanesh of Albany in the boys 14s.

Bank of the West Classic to leave Stanford

As it turned out, the Bank of the West Classic ended a 21-year run at Stanford
with an indelible image as Madison Keys sat on CoCo Vandeweghe's lap after
beating her close friend for the title in August. Photo by Mal Taam 

   The San Francisco Bay Area stop on the WTA tour has no site and no sponsor.

   Other than that, the tournament is in great shape.
   All that's known at this point is that Stanford University no longer will host a WTA tournament.
   IMG, which runs the event, tweeted Friday: "After 21 years of partnering with Stanford University, IMG has been notified by the University that its policy of hosting corporate sponsored events on campus has changed and Stanford no longer will be able to host a WTA event at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium. IMG's highest priority is to keep the event in the Bay Area and we are working on a plan to do so."
   Stanford's decision is odd for several reasons:
   --No commercialism is very admirable, but what's that swoosh on the uniforms of Stanford athletes, including tennis players? Will the athletic department terminate its lucrative endorsement deal with Nike, too? Stop laughing hysterically.
   --The campus is very quiet during the summer tournament. What, the junior lacrosse camp backs up traffic to Millbrae?
   --Not that Stanford, which is wealthier than Bahrain, needs the money, but it received rent for hosting the tournament.
   --Nor, apparently, is the university interested in free national television exposure. Who knows, even Heisman Trophy voters in the East might notice eventually.
   --With Venus and Serena Williams approaching retirement, Stanford is throwing away a heaven-sent gate attraction for the next 15 years. Eighteen-year-old phenom CiCi Bellis grew up five minutes from Stanford in affluent Atherton, and her parents still have a house there. Of course, Bellis would have to win a Grand Slam singles title or three to draw casual fans.
   So what now? Playing the tournament indoors in its slot during the outdoor hard-court season leading up to the U.S. Open reportedly is not an option. That rules out San Jose's SAP Arena, the site of the now-defunct SAP Open on the men's tour, and Oakland's Oracle Arena, the home of the Golden State Warriors and site of the WTA tournament from 1979 through 1996.
   Inside Tennis reported that IMG has had talks with San Jose State and Silicon Valley and East Bay clubs as well as sites in the eastern United States, including North Carolina.
   Maybe Larry Ellison, the multi-billionaire who lives near Stanford in Woodside and owns the wildly popular BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, will save the WTA tournament.
   Tradition, though, doesn't seem to count for much these days. Founded in 1971, the WTA tournament in the Bay Area is the oldest women's tennis event in the world. It was sponsored by Bank of the West from 1992 through this year and held at Stanford since 1997. Past champions include Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Margaret Smith Court, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.
   The SAP Open moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2014 after 125 years in Northern California. After 28 seasons in Sacramento, the Capitals of World TeamTennis announced in early 2014 that they were moving to Las Vegas. The franchise folded one month later when owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was charged with orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme involving his medical supply business. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
   As Inside Tennis reported, only eight years ago, California had six ATP and WTA tournaments: Indian Wells, Los Angeles, San Jose, Stanford, Carlsbad and Carson. Now the state that has produced Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez, Pete Sampras, King, Davenport, Helen Wills Moody, Tracy Austin and many other legends might be down to one.
   You don't have to be Nick Bolliettieri to figure out what's going on here. The United States hasn't had a men's Grand Slam singles champion since Andy Roddick in 2003. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka never played in the SAP Open. Andy Murray never returned to San Jose after winning his second straight title there at age 19. Venus Williams won the last of her seven major singles crowns in 2008, announcing in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with a debilitating autoimmune disease. Serena Williams played in the Bank of the West once since 2012, and that was three years ago. Maria Sharapova returned to the tournament this year for the first time since 2011.
   Barring injury, Bellis would have played every year. Guaranteed.   

Keenan Mayo's doubles winning streak snapped

   Keenan Mayo's doubles winning streak ended today at seven matches. 
   Barely.
   The 17-year-old product of Roseville in the Sacramento area and Tomas Kopczynski of Delray Beach, Fla., lost to Daniil Glinka of Estonia and Sumit Sarkar of New York 6-1, 1-6 [10-8] today in a battle of unseeded teams in the boys 18 quarterfinals at the Orange Bowl on clay in Plantation, Fla.
   Mayo won last week's Eddie Herr title in Bradenton, Fla., with Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria. Mayo's brother, Aidan, reached the singles semifinals in the Eddie Herr 14s.
   Keenan Mayo has signed a letter of intent to play at Illinois next fall.
   The Orange Bowl was founded by Eddie Herr in 1947. It was played on clay until 1998, then on hardcourts until 2011. It has been contested on clay again since then.
   Past singles winners of the Orange Bowl 18s include Chris Evert (1969-70), Bjorn Borg (1972), John McEnroe (1976), Ivan Lendl (1977), Gabriela Sabatini (1984), Mary Joe Fernandez (1985), Jim Courier (1987) and Anna Kournikova (1995).
   Singles winners of the tournament on hardcourts include Roger Federer (1998), Elena Dementieva (1998), Andy Roddick (1999), Vera Zvonareva (2000 and 2001), Marcos Baghdatis (2003) and Caroline Wozniacki (2005).   

Keenan Mayo reaches Orange Bowl doubles quarters

   Keenan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area extended his doubles winning streak to seven matches today. 
   Tomas Kopczynski of Delray Beach, Fla., and Mayo topped Allan Deschamps and Hugo Gaston of France 2-6, 7-6 (7) [10-6] in a matchup of unseeded teams to reach the boys 18 quarterfinals in the Orange Bowl on clay in Plantation, Fla.
   Mayo won last week's Eddie Herr title in Bradenton, Fla., with Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria. Mayo's brother, Aidan, reached the singles semifinals in the Eddie Herr 14s.
   Kopczynski and Mayo, who will enroll at the University of Illinois next fall, will play unseeded Daniil Glinka of Estonia and Sumit Sarkar of New York. Glinka and Sarkar beat unseeded Justin Schlageter and Leopold Zima of Germany 1-6, 7-6 (3) [10-8].
   In the second round of girls 18 doubles, top-seeded Caty McNally of Cincinnati and Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton dominated unseeded Niluka Madurawe of Sunnyvale in the San Francisco Bay Area and Luba Vasilyuk of Frisco, Texas, 6-3, 6-1. Madurawe has verbally committed to Stanford.
   Osuigwe turned 15 in April and two months later became the first American to win the French Open girls singles title since Jennifer Capriati in 1989.

Future Stanford players retire in Orange Bowl

   Both Alexandre Rotsaert and Niluka Madurawe are headed to Stanford next fall.
   And both retired from their second-round matches today in the Orange Bowl on clay in Plantation, Fla. In fact, all singles players with Northern California ties have been eliminated from the prestigious tournament.
  Daniel Michalski of Poland ousted the seventh-seeded Rotsaert, from Boca Raton, Fla., 7-5, 0-0, retired in the boys 18s. Rotsaert reached the quarterfinals of last week's Eddie Herr International Championships on clay in Bradenton, Fla.
   Sixth-seeded Nika Radisic of Slovenia downed Madurawe -- from Sunnyvale, 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) southeast of Stanford in the San Francisco Bay Area -- 6-4, 1-0, retired in the girls 18s.
   Meanwhile, Northern Californians Aidan Mayo and Marcus McDaniel lost to higher seeds in the third round of the boys 16s.
   No. 7 seed Roi Ginat of Israel defeated No. 9 Mayo, from Roseville, 6-3, 6-4. No. 1 Nini Gabriel Dica of Romania beat No. 13 McDaniel, from Vacaville, 7-5, 6-0. Mayo advanced to the semifinals in the Eddie Herr 14s last week. Dica and Ginat will meet in the quarterfinals.
   Keenan Mayo, Aidan's older brother, and Madurawe remain alive in doubles.
   Tomas Kopczynski of Delray Beach, Fla., and Mayo ousted sixth-seeded Thomas Bosancic of Austria and Sangeet Sridhar of Glendale, Ariz., 7-6 (3), 7-5 in the first round. Mayo and Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria won the Eddie Herr 18s.
   Madurawe and Luba Vasilyuk of Frisco, Texas, beat Tanisha Kashyap of India and Alexandra Vagramov of Canada 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round. Madurawe and Vasilyuk will face top-seeded Caty McNally of Cincinnati and Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton.
   In the boys 16 doubles quarterfinals, top-seeded Cezar Cretu of Romania and Dica edged fifth-seeded Alexander Lee of Oak Brook, Ill., and McDaniel 6-2, 6-7 (4) [10-7].

Aidan Mayo, McDaniel gain 3rd round of Orange Bowl

   Northern Californians Aidan Mayo and Marcus McDaniel won their second-round matches today in the boys 16s at the rain-delayed Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship on clay in Plantation, Fla.
   The ninth-seeded Mayo, from Roseville, beat Harrison Gold of Aventura, Fla., 6-2, 7-6 (3). The 13th-seeded McDaniel, from Vacaville, eliminated James Tracy of Hilton Head Island, S.C., 6-4, 6-3.
   Mayo, a semifinalist in the Eddie Herr 14s last week, will face seventh-seeded Roi Ginat of Israel. Ginat defeated Ryder Jackson of Nicasio 7-5, 7-5.
   McDaniel will take on top-seeded Nini Gabriel Dica of Romania. Dica dispatched Martin Maldonado of Ecuador 6-2, 6-0. Dica has lost only three games in two matches.
   Fifth-seeded Alexander Lee of Oak Brook, Ill., and McDaniel reached the doubles quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Juan Bianchi of Ocoee, Fla., and Angel Guerrero Melgar of Spain. Keshav Chopra of Marietta, Ga., and Brandon McKinney of Marietta, Ga., defeated Zachery Lim of Fairfield and Russell Berdusco of Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 6-4.
   In the first round of the girls 18s, Niluka Madurawe of Sunnyvale routed qualifier Chen Yao of China 6-1, 6-2. Madurawe will play sixth-seeded Nika Radisic of Slovenia.

Stanford commit Rotsaert advances in Orange Bowl

   Stanford-bound Alexandre Rotsaert, seeded seventh from Boca Raton, Fla., beat Tomas Descarrega of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (4) today in the first round of the Orange Bowl boys 18s on clay in Plantation, Fla.
   Rotsaert, a quarterfinalist in last week's Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla., will play Daniel Michalski of Poland. Michalski held off Philip Henning of South Africa 6-2, 0-6, 7-5.
   No. 14 seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain defeated Keenan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area 6-4, 7-6 (2). Mayo, who will enroll at the University of Illinois next year, won the Eddie Herr doubles title with Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria.
   Mayo's younger brother, Aidan, and Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville won in the first round of the boys 16s. Ninth-seeded Aidan Mayo, a semifinalist in the Eddie Herr 14s, routed Daniel Milavsky of Needham, Mass., 6-2, 6-1. McDaniel downed Yuan Zihao of China 6-2, 6-1. Daiki Yoshimura of Japan beat Zachery Lim of Fairfield 6-4, 6-3.
   In the girls 18s, Clara Tauson of Denmark routed Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek 6-1, 6-0. Tauson will turn 15 on Dec. 21 and Volynets 16 on Dec. 31. Niluka Madurawe of Sunnyvale will meet qualifier Chen Yao of China.
   San Jose's Vivian Ovrootsky, who won the Eddie Herr girls 14s, lost to Ziva Falkner of Slovenia 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the 16s.
   The Orange Bowl was founded by Eddie Herr in 1947. It was played on clay until 1998, then on hardcourts until 2011. It has been contested on clay again since then.
   Past winners of the Orange Bowl 18s include Chris Evert (1969-70), Bjorn Borg (1972), John McEnroe (1976), Ivan Lendl (1977), Gabriela Sabatini (1984), Mary Joe Fernandez (1985), Jim Courier (1987) and Anna Kournikova (1995).
   Winners of the tournament on hardcourts include Roger Federer (1998), Elena Dementieva (1998), Andy Roddick (1999), Vera Zvonareva (2000 and 2001), Marcos Baghdatis (2003) and Caroline Wozniacki (2005).   

ORANGE BOWL

In Plantation, Fla.

Doubles

First round

Boys 16

   Alexander Lee, Oak Brook, Ill., and Marcus McDaniel (5), Vacaville, def. Martin Maldonado, Ecuador, and Aidan Mayo, Roseville, Calif., 6-1, 7-6 (5).
   Russell Berdusco, Bradenton, Fla., and Zachery Lim, Fairfield, Calif., def. Armin Rostami, Iran, and Yuan Zihao (8), China, 6-4, 6-4.

Girls 16

   Catherine Broerman, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Alisia Manolescu 6), Canada, def. Jenna DeFalco, Tustin, Calif., and Vivian Ovrootsky, San Jose, 5-7, 7-6 (4) [11-9].

Bay Area's Greenwald repeats in National 40s

Jeff Greenwald defeated David McNamara 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
to win the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships
 in La Jolla, Calif. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications

   Not even David McNamara's hard serving could prevent Jeff Greenwald from winning the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships for the second straight year and third time overall.
   The third-seeded Greenwald, from San Anselmo in the San Francisco Bay Area, beat the top-seeded McNamara, from Delray Beach, Fla., 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours, 13 minutes today in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   "I haven't seen a first serve like that in a long, long time," Greenwald, 51, said in a news release. "Adjusting to that and finding a way to manage that was very, very difficult. It put a lot of pressure on me, and it forced me to go for more on my first serve. I served well, and that made the difference for me today."
   In Saturday's women's final, top-seeded Hiromi Sasano of La Mesa in the San Diego area beat second-seeded Dina McBride of Valencia, near Los Angeles, for the second consecutive year, 7-5, 6-1.

Bay Area's Greenwald reaches National 40 final

   Third seed and defending champion Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo in the San Francisco Bay Area will face top-seeded David McNamara of Delray Beach, Fla., on Sunday for the men's title of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
   Greenwald outlasted second-seeded Samuel Schroerlucke of Memphis, Tenn., 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in today's semifinals. McNamara edged fourth-seeded Stuart Duncan of Laguna Beach in the Los Angeles region 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (4).
   Top-seeded Hiromi Sasano, from La Mesa in the San Diego area, beat second-seeded Dina McBride of Valencia, near Los Angeles, in the women's final for the second consecutive year, 7-5, 6-1.

Ovrootsky, Keenan Mayo win Eddie Herr titles

   Vivian Ovrootsky and Keenan Mayo continued Northern California's recent success in the prestigious Eddie Herr International Championships.
   The second-seeded Ovrootsky, from San Jose, beat fourth-seeded Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-4 today for the girls 14 title on hard courts in Bradenton, Fla.
   Ovrootsky, ranked second nationally in the 14s, lost only one set in her six matches. She prevailed 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 against Remika Ohashi of Japan in the second round.
   Unseeded Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria and Mayo, from the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, topped eighth-seeded Alan Fernando Rubio Fierros of Mexico and Dostanbek Tashbulatov of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-4 [10-4] for the boys 18 doubles crown on clay in Bradenton.
   Andreev and Mayo won three of their five encounters in match tiebreakers, including 12-10 in the semifinals. Mayo will enroll at the University of Illinois next fall.
    Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area won the girls 16 singles championship last year, and Sam Riffice, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Mayo, captured the boys 16s in 2014. Riffice will play at the University of Florida.
   Past competitors in the Eddie Herr tournament include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic. Herr, the father of international junior tennis, died in 2000 at 93.

Ovrootsky, Keenan Mayo reach Eddie Herr finals

   Two Northern California juniors reached finals in the Eddie Herr International Championships.
   Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose will play for the girls 14 singles title, and Keenan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area will vie for the boys 18 doubles crown.
   The second-seeded Ovrootsky outclassed third-seeded Clarine Lerby of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-0 today on a hard court in Bradenton, Fla. Ovrootsky, ranked second nationally in the 14s, will meet fourth-seeded Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic. Fruhvirtova dominated top-seeded Hina Inoue, Ovrootsky's doubles partner from Los Gatos (near San Jose), 6-2, 6-0.
   Unseeded Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria and Mayo edged Ronan Jachuck of Boca Raton, Fla., and Sumit Sarkar of New York 6-3, 5-7 [12-10] on clay in Bradenton. Andreev and Mayo will play eighth-seeded Alan Fernando Rubio Fierros of Mexico and Dostanbek Tashbulatov of Kazakhstan. 6-4, 6-2 winners over third-seeded Tomas Machac and Ondrej Styler of the Czech Republic.
   Mayo's brother, third-seeded Aidan, lost to his doubles partner, top-seeded Alexander Bernard of Naples, Fla., 6-3, 6-1 in the boys 14 semifinals.
   In the boys 18 singles quarterfinals, top-seeded Timofey Skatov of Russia beat Stanford-bound Alexandre Rotsaert, seeded sixth from Boca Raton, 6-1, 7-5.
   Ovrootsky and Aidan Mayo lost heartbreakers in the doubles semifinals as the top seeds. Seventh-seeded Estefania Gonzalez of Plantation, Fla., and Lorelyz Marruffo of Venezuela nipped Inoue and Ovrootsky 7-5, 6-2 [13-11]. Unseeded Victor Lilov of Raleigh, N.C., and Evan Wen of Morristown, N.J., topped Bernard and Mayo 4-6, 6-2 [10-7].