Ahn beats Volynets, 17, in San Jose qualies

Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford grad-
uate, slugs a backhand in the semifinals
of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Chal-
lenge last Saturday. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Fifth-seeded Kristie Ahn, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., beat Katie Volynets, a 17-year-old wild card from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, 7-5, 6-0 today in the first round of qualifying for the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at San Jose State.
   Ahn, a semifinalist in last week's $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge, will face former Pacific-12 Conference rival Danielle Lao, a 28-year-old resident of Arcadia in the Los Angeles area, on Sunday at about 2 p.m. for a berth in the main draw.
   Lao, a 5-foot-2 1/2 (1.59-meter), 115-pound (52.2-kilogram) former USC All-American, topped Mai Hontama of Japan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Mayo Hibi, who plays for her native Japan but has lived in California since she was 2, drubbed Jovana Jaksic, a Serb living in Sacramento, 6-1, 6-0 in 69 minutes.
   Hibi, the Berkeley runner-up, will face second-seeded Xiyu Wang of China. Wang dominated Ashley Kratzer, the runner-up in the 2017 Stockton (Calif.) Challenger, 6-3, 6-1.
   Phenom beats ex-Cal standout – Top-seeded Cori Gauff, a 15-year-old sensation from Delray Beach, Fla., returned to action with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Maegan Manasse, a former Cal All-American from Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region, in the first round of qualifying for the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
   Gauff competed for the first time since becoming the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
   Bryan brothers reach final – Top-seeded Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan outclassed fourth-seeded Radu Albot of Moldova and Artem Sitak, a Russia native who plays for New Zealand, 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals of the BB&T Atlanta Open.
   The 41-year-old Bryan twins (Stanford, 1997-98), two-time Atlanta champions, will play second-seeded Dominic Inglot of Great Britain and Austin Krajicek of Bryan, Texas, on Sunday.
   Krajicek reached the singles final in the 2015 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger, losing to John Millman of Australia.
   Cal player falls in pro doubles final – Unseeded Sanaz Marand and Caitlin Whoriskey of the United States defeated wild cards Vladica Babic, a former Oklahoma State All-American from Montenegro, and Julia Rosenqvist, a Cal junior from Sweden, 7-6 (4), 6-4 to win the Braidy Industries $60,000 Women's Tennis Classic in Ashland, Ky.