Pro Tennis: With Marin title in sight, Brengle in her happy place

Madison Brengle should write a book called “The Joys of Tennis.”

Once ranked as high as No. 35 in the world, Brengle expressed genuine contentment on Saturday when she upset top-seeded Lea Ma 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the semifinals of the lower-tiered W35 San Rafael tournament at Marin Tennis Club.

Sure, Brengle played in the U.S. Open qualifying tournament just last August. And the 35-year-old American has even won Grand Slam matches while banking nearly $5 million in prize money.

But when you break your back from overuse, which ultimately required fusion surgery last summer, perspectives change.

“The fact that I’m playing professional tennis after breaking my back — I am so happy,” said Brengle. “Whatever level I’m going to be playing at, I’m really grateful. I’m so grateful for my health. If my return to tennis was just playing at my local club, that would also be great.”

Nothing is coming easy for Brengle and her No. 738 ranking. She had to win two matches in the qualifying tournament to get into the 32-player main draw in San Rafael. Then she outlasted No. 4 seed Kayla Day in the second round, dominated fifth-seeded Katarina Jokic of Serbia in the quarterfinals and won in straight sets in the semifinals against the top seed.

Brengle will face unseeded Lucciana Perez Alarcón of Peru in the final at noon on Sunday. Alarcón was leading Denmark’s Johanne Christine Svendsen 6-2, 2-0 when the latter retired due to a neck injury.

The singles championship is open to the public and admission is free.

Against the 24-year-old Ma, ranked No. 334, Brengle relied on deep backhand groundstrokes, both down the line and cross court, plus a mix of pace to rattle the hard-hitting Ma.

“She has a really tough first serve, so I knew I had to return well,” said Brengle. “She plays really smooth from the baseline and redirects pace, so I tried to be mindful of only playing at one speed.”

Leading 6-5 in the second set. Ma called for the trainer for a second time in the match. Attacking the slowed Ma, Pringle broke serve in the next game to force the second-set tiebreaker and cruised into her first final after her long layoff due to injury.

“It feels fantastic,” said Brengle. “It’s super exciting, and I’ve been having a really good time.”

The players are being hosted in the homes of Marin Tennis Club members. Prengle is staying with Bee Tan, who lives in San Anselmo. Tan says she was reluctant to host because of her dog, but plans to have players stay with her every year after her experiences the past week.

“It’s been the most incredible time,” said Tan. “I think it goes both ways. For Maddie, it’s good when she looks over and sees someone in the crowd she can make eye contact with. And for me — I’m biting my nails. It’s so exciting that she made it so far. I’m thrilled.”

In the doubles final on Saturday, top-seeds Francesca Pace of Italy and Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland defeated second seeds Ziva Faulkner of Slovenia and Marie Weckerle of Luxembourg 3-6, 6-3, 10-5.

Tiburon Challenger

For the sixth-straight year, an American will win the Tiburon Challenger singles final.

Seventh-seeded American Michael Zheng continued his hot streak with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Rafael Jodar of Spain. Zheng will meet fellow American Tyler Zink, who defeated Abedallah Shelbayh of Jordan 6-3, 6-4.

The 21-year-old Zheng won the Challenger title in Columbus, Ohio, two weeks ago.