Brooksby rolls to another win in $25K Newport Beach

Jenson Brooksby has lost only six games in two
matches in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in
Newport Beach, Calif. 2018 photo by Paul Bauman

   Jenson Brooksby continued to dominate in the $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Series in Newport Beach, Calif.

   In a matchup of 20-year-olds, Brooksby of Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area routed qualifier Miles Jones of Marina Del Rey in the Los Angeles region 6-1, 6-2 today in round-robin play.

   Brooksby has lost only six games in two matches in his first tournament as a pro. He set up a showdown against Alafia Ayeni (2-0), a Cornell senior from San Diego, on Wednesday in a round-robin finale in Group A. Ayeni defeated 30-year-old Alex Sarkissian (0-2) of Glendale in the L.A. area 7-6 (4), 6-3.

   In other matches involving Northern California players:

   —Qualifier Karl Lee (2-0), a UCLA signee from Sacramento, topped former Bruins standout Gage Brymer (0-2) of Irvine, Calif., 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 in Group E.

   —Govind Nanda (3-0), a UCLA junior from Redlands in the L.A. region, beat Keenan Mayo (2-1), a Loyola Marymount junior from Roseville in the Sacramento area, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in Group D.

   —Timothy Sah (1-2), a Stanford senior from San Diego, outplayed Kris Van Wyk (0-3), a Weber State senior from South Africa, 6-4, 6-4 in Group B.

   —Aidan Mayo (1-1), a high school senior and Keenan's brother, defeated Ethan Quinn (0-2), a high school junior from Fresno, Calif., 7-6 (8), 6-3 in Group H. Quinn won the Orange Bowl 16-and-under doubles title last month.

   —Nicolas Barrientos (2-0), a 33-year-old Colombian, beat Luke Casper (1-1), a Texas A&M signee from Santa Cruz, Calif., 3-0, retired.

   —Group F players had the day off. They include Tristan Boyer (2-0), a Stanford freshman from Altadena in the L.A. area; Eric Hadigian (1-1), a Gonzaga sophomore from Sacramento; and Alec Adamson (0-2), a former UC Davis star from Corona Del Mar near Newport Beach. 

   WTA Tour — Carol Zhao, a former Stanford star from Canada, and Ena Shibahara, a native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area who plays for Japan, won their first-round qualifying matches in the $565,530 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open.

   Zhao, playing her first match since September 2019, beat 16th-seeded Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden 6-0, 2-6, 6-2, and Shibahara defeated alternate Makoto Ninomiya of Japan 6-1, 6-4.

   Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who plays for Mexico, lost to 12th-seeded Anastasia Gasanova of Russia 7-5, 6-3.

   Players must win two qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.