The Australian Open dominated tennis news this weekend, with strong representation for Southern California. Women’s champion Serena Williams (Lynwood, CA) notched a record 23rd career Grand Slam victory, over sister and fellow Californian Venus Williams, and the siblings were joined by CoCo Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) in the semifinals. David Wagner (Chula Vista, CA) teamed with Brit Andy Lapthorne for a convincing Quad Wheelchair Doubles triumph over the top seeded Australian duo. Paired with Canadian Bianca Vanessa Andreescu, Carson Branstine (Orange, CA) won the Junior Girl’s Doubles championship.
While Serena captivated with her benchmark victory, a number of American women had strong showings in Melbourne. Ranked #92 in the world, Nicole Gibbs (Santa Monica, CA) moved into the third round with wins over China’s Xinjun Han and fellow American Irina Falconi, before dropping a third round showdown with finalist Venus Williams. Julia Bossrup (Santa Monica, CA) lost only one set in Qualifying before dismissing former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in straight sets. Bossrup’s run would end in the second round against Ukranian Elina Svitolina. Vania King (Monterey Park, CA) reached the third round of Women’s Doubles, alongside Yaroslava Shvedova of Kasakhstan. King is ranked #23 in world doubles.
On the Men’s side, Sam Querrey (Santa Monica, CA) reached the third round for the fifth time in ten years, only to meet #1 seed Andy Murray, who won in straight sets. Steve Johnson (Redondo Beach, CA) won his opening round match but fell in straight sets to Stan Wawrinka in the second round. After sweeping his three Qualifier matches, Ernesto Escobedo (Redondo Beach, CA) posted a first round win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia, then fell to Spaniard David Ferrer. Both Taylor Fritz (Palos Verdes, CA) and Jared Donaldson (Irvine, CA) suffered first round defeats, the latter gutting out a long five setter with Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Tristan Boyer reached the second round of Boy’s singles after a convincing win over Philip Henning of South Africa. In the third round, Carson Branstine was upended by top seed Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland, while #2 seed Taylor Johnson was upset by Russia’s Elena Rybakina.
Lastly from Down Under, a shout out to former UCLA Bruin Abigail Spears teamed with Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal to win Mixed Doubles, Spears’ first Grand Slam title in this, her retirement season. Congratulations!