Giron beats top seed in 25K Berkeley semifinals

Marcos Giron, shown last year, outlasted top-seeded Ruben
Bemelmans of Belgium 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals of the
$25,000 Berkeley Futures. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Unseeded Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles area surprised top-seeded Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday in the semifinals of the $25,000 Berkeley Futures at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
   Giron, who's listed at only 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and 165 pounds (75 kilograms), turned pro after winning the 2014 NCAA singles title as a UCLA junior. He is scheduled to play wild card Andre Goransson of Sweden for the Berkeley crown today at 10 a.m.
   Goransson, a Cal senior playing on his home courts, routed sixth-seeded Lucas Gomez of Mexico 6-1, 6-0.
   Bemelmans, a veteran left-hander, lost to Andy Murray of Great Britain in host Belgium's 3-1 loss in the Davis Cup final last November.
   Top-seeded Connor Smith and Rhyne Williams, both of Tampa, Fla., won the doubles title, beating unseeded Goransson and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-3.
   Verbeek, a 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) left-hander, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in April as a Pacific senior.