Saturday, February 20, 2016

S.F. natives Querrey, Bellis gain semifinals

Sam Querrey will face Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open
champion, in the Delray Beach semifinals. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman
   Two San Francisco natives on Friday reached semifinals in U.S. professional tournaments.
   Unseeded Sam Querrey, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), held off Tim Smyczek, a 5-foot-10 (1.75-meter) wild card from Tampa, Fla.,
6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-4 in Delray Beach, Fla., on the ATP World Tour.
   And eighth-seeded CiCi Bellis, 16, pounded former USC All-American Danielle Lao, only
5-foot-3 (1.61 meters), 6-0, 1-0, retired in the $25,000 Surprise (Ariz.) Tennis Classic.
   Querrey, who now lives in Las Vegas, is scheduled to face wild card Juan Martin Del Potro, also 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), of Argentina. Del Potro leads the head-to-head series
2-0, but the last meeting came in 2011.
   Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open and 2011 Delray Beach champion, is playing in his first tournament since last March. The 27-year-old right-hander, who has a two-handed backhand, underwent the third operation on his left wrist last June. Del Potro also had right wrist surgery in 2010.
   Bellis, an amateur from Atherton in the San Francisco Bay Area, will play qualifier Chiara Scholl, a 23-year-old American, for the first time.
   Cal women -- Freshman Olivia Hauger clinched a dual-match win for the second consecutive time as the No. 1 Bears overwhelmed No. 11 USC 6-1 in Los Angeles.  
   Hauger, ranked No. 102, defeated No. 90 Rianna Valdes 6-4, 6-3 on Court 5 after sealing Cal's 4-3 victory over North Carolina in the final of the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 8. Hauger was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
   The Trojans' victory came on Court 1 as No. 38 Giuliana Olmos, a junior from Fremont in the Bay Area, beat No. 13 Maegan Manasse 6-3, 6-3.
   Cal (7-0) will play at No. 22 UCLA today at 1 p.m.

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