Pro tennis: Zheng takes title at Tiburon Challenger

The Michael Zheng victory tour splashed down at the 17th annual Tiburon Challenger, where the 21-year-old American captured his third straight tour singles title on Sunday.

The former NCAA champ from Columbia University won his 15th match in a row, showcasing an all-court game to beat Tyler Zink 6-4, 6-4 in front of a sold-out crowd at Tiburon Peninsula Club.

Zheng’s title run started as an unseeded player at both the Chicago Challenger in August and the Columbus, Ohio, tournament two weeks ago. He earned the No. 7 seed in Tiburon and surprised himself a little by taking all five matches in straight sets.

“I want to say I think I’m exceeding my expectations,” said Zheng. “Obviously, I have a lot of confidence with the way I’ve been playing. But these tournaments — the level is so close that anyone can beat anyone. To go three in a row is definitely special, and I’m super happy with the results.”

An American has won the Tiburon Challenger six consecutive years and eight times in the past 10 tournaments.

Beginning the week with a No. 227 world ranking, Zheng’s experience in his third final proved to be invaluable against 24-year-old Zink, ranked No. 317.

“I knew it was his first Challenger final, so I knew he’d be a little nervous,” said Zheng. “I thought he played great, but I was willing to put an extra ball in play and going for my shots when I needed to.”

Zheng only needed one break of serve to take the first set in 33 minutes. With the score knotted at 3-all and Zink seemingly holding his own, Zheng ripped a cross-court forehand for a winner and nailed two impressive serve returns to jump ahead for good 4-3.

Zink’s most disappointing moment came while serving in the second set at 2-2 and leading 40-love. The runner-up played three loose points to send the score to deuce before Zheng used his overpowering groundstrokes to push Zink back on his heels and force errors.

In his first Challenger final, Zink believes he’s on the right track. A former U.S. Open junior doubles champ and top college player, Zink was coming off a first-round loss in Las Vegas and a quarterfinal disappointment in Columbus, where he only won four games.

Earlier this year, Zink climbed as high as No. 232, so reaching his first Challenger final after a few tough showings was quite meaningful.

“This is a great step forward,” said Zink. “It was an amazing week. It means a lot.”

As Zheng’s star continues to rise, the 6-foot-2 right-hander aims to keep on doing what’s working.

“I just hope to keep the momentum going forward,” said Zheng. “It’s a little bit of everything coming together — the work I’ve put in throughout the summer. I’ve gotten a little bit stronger physically and being able to withstand the physicality week end and week out has helped me a lot.”

W35 San Rafael

Madison Brengle made herself at home during the W35 San Rafael tournament at Marin Tennis Club, winning her first tournament since back surgery a year ago.

The 35-year-old defeated Lucciana Perez Alarcón of Peru 7-6, 6-0 on Sunday after upsetting top-seeded Lea Ma in the semifinals a day earlier.

Once ranked as high as No. 35 in the world, Brengle didn’t even make the main draw in San Rafael and had to win two qualifying matches just to get into the 32-player field. She strung together seven straight wins to reach the winner’s circle.