Klahn advances to Wimbledon main draw; Gibbs falls

Bradley Klahn, shown in the $150,000 Newport Beach (Calif.) Challenger
in January, beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) today in the final
round of Wimbledon qualifying. Photo courtesy of JFS Communications 

   Bradley Klahn, continuing his comeback from a second back operation, will play in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time in four years.
   But another ex-Stanford player, Nicole Gibbs, fell short against an 18-year-old fellow Southern Californian.
   Klahn, a 27-year-old left-hander from Poway in the San Diego region, defeated Simone Bolelli, 32, of Italy 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the final round of qualifying today at Roehampton in the London area.
   The 6-foot (1.83-meter) Klahn hammered 18 aces, committed only two double faults and won 77 percent of the points on his first serve (54 of 70) against Bolelli, who won the 2015 Australian Open doubles title with compatriot Fabio Fognini.
   Klahn's first-round opponent will be determined Friday, when the men's and women's draws are conducted. Main-draw play will begin Monday and end on July 15.
   In his only main-draw match at Wimbledon, Klahn lost to unseeded Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, in four sets in 2014. Klahn underwent his second operation for a herniated disc in February 2015 and missed 21 months. Ranked a career-high No. 63 in March 2014, he dropped out of the rankings in February 2016 but has fought back to No. 170.
   The fifth-seeded Gibbs, 25, lost to Claire Liu 6-4, 6-3. Last year, Liu became the first American girl to win the Wimbledon junior singles title since Chanda Rubin in 1992.
   Gibbs, ranked No. 111, fell to 1-1 against Liu, ranked No. 238. In their first encounter, Gibbs prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last summer.
   Gibbs was seeking her third main-draw berth at Wimbledon. She lost in the opening round in 2015 and 2016.