There’s no better time than the present to love competitive tennis in Southern California. Our favorite hometown pros are doing business in France at Roland Garros, while SoCal futures are touring the globe and stars of tomorrow are hoisting trophies in NCAA competition. Let’s get right to our #WeekendWrap!
Sam Querrey (SCTA)
At the French Open, a much anticipated first round match between Sam Querrey (Santa Monica) and exciting compatriot Frances Tiafoe proved to be a near landslide, as Querrey advanced in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (8). Querrey also competes in doubles alongside Mike Bryan (Camarillo) – ending a streak of 76 Grand Slam appearances for the Bryan Brothers tandem (Bob Bryan is recovering from a hip injury). Even more, Querrey is slated to be married on June 9 – the same day as the scheduled doubles final.
After a semifinal appearance last week in Geneva, Steve Johnson (Redondo Beach) notched an easy straight set win in the first round at Paris, while Jared Donaldson (Irvine) survived a five set marathon after winning the first set and dropping the next two. Taylor Fritz (Palos Verdes) suffered an unlucky five-set exit in the opening round after a quarterfinal last week in Lyon. He will team with Tiafoe in French Open doubles.
On the Women’s side, Coco Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe) was solid in a Round 1 straight set win, while former UCLA Bruin Jennifer Brady cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Brady will also join forces in doubles with Vania King (Monterey Park), who fell in her singles meeting with the #31 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu.
Other French Open notes: Sloane Stephens was dominant in her first round win, 6-2, 6-0… USC’s Kaitlyn Christian joins (Orange) with Germany’s Carina Witthoeft in women’s doubles… Venus Williams was ousted in the first round, while Serena Williams moved on to the second round to face #17 seed Ashleigh Barty of Australia.
In Singapore, reigning Long Beach Pro Circuit champion Collin Altamirano won both singles and doubles titles. Ashley Kratzer (Newport Beach) reached the semifinals on the Pro Circuit in Florida, while Asia Muhammad (Long Beach) made the quarters on the ITF circuit in Japan.
In Winston Salem, the UCLA Bruin tandem of Martin Redlicki & Evan Zhu (Irvine) were crowned NCAA Mens Doubles champions with a thrilling win over Ohio State’s Joyce/Torpegaard. The win caps a stellar tennis career for Redlicki at UCLA, while Zhu captured his first NCAA hardware.
In NCAA Women’s finals, Pepperdine’s sophomore sensation Ashley Lahey (Hawthorne) suffered an ankle injury early in her championship final with Arienne Hartono, the senior from Ole Miss. Lahey is the first Pepperdine player to reach an NCAA singles final, but Hartono held the momentum in their finale by winning the title in straight sets.
And for the first time in school history, the women’s squad Claremont Mudd Scripps toppled both Emory and defending champion Williams – both higher ranked Division III rivals – to win the D3 team championship on their home court. CMS and Emory traded blows for nearly four hours in the finale before Rebecca Berger‘s #5 singles win closed out a 5-4 victory for the Athenas.