Klahn trails in suspended Aussie Open qualifying match

Bradley Klahn, a 29-year-old Stanford graduate, trails Viktor
Troicki of Serbia 6-4, 4-1 in the first round of Australian Open
qualifying. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Viktor Troicki of Serbia served at 6-4, 4-1 against 22nd-seeded Bradley Klahn, a 29-year-old Stanford graduate from Los Angeles, tonight in the first round of Australian Open qualifying when the match was suspended by rain in Melbourne.
   The rain was welcome as Australia has been ravaged by deadly wildfires, blanketing Melbourne in smoke.
   Troicki, 33, and Novak Djokovic won the deciding doubles match against Spain in the final of the inaugural ATP Cup on Sunday night in Sydney. In 2010, Troicki gave Serbia its first Davis Cup championship with a singles victory against France.
   Both Troicki and Klahn have tumbled in the rankings because of back problems.
   Troicki, ranked as high as No. 12 in 2011, has plunged to No. 159. He missed three months in 2018 with a lower-back injury.
   Klahn, the 2010 NCAA singles champion, had back surgery for the second time in 2015. He is ranked No. 131 after reaching a career-high No. 63 in 2014.
   Klahn played in the main draw of all four Grand Slam tournaments for the second time last year, advancing to the second round of the U.S. Open. In the first round of the Australian Open, he led Hyeon Chung of South Korea two sets to none before falling 6-4 in the fifth set.
   Chung reached the semifinals of the 2018 Australian Open, ousting Djokovic in straight sets in the round of 16.