In a day of upsets at the Bank of the West Classic at least one seed, Patty Schynder, prevailed, but that win came at the expense of local favorite, Amber Liu.
The two-time NCAA singles champion and four-time All-American was at home on the grounds of her alum mater, where she played for Stanford from 2002-06, but could not challenge the 29-year-old Swiss’ game.
Now a pro—she is ranked 328th in the world—Liu is making her fifth appearance at the event thanks to a wild card from the tournament. While not fully acclimated to life on the professional circuit, Liu, 24, admits that she has made progress in other parts of her life that are non-tennis related—sort of.
"A lot of exciting things have been happening at home and they've taken priority over my tennis," Liu told local press at the Stanford event.
What she was referring to was her recent engagement to former Grand Slam winner Michael Chang, 36, whom she accompanied this weekend as he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I.
While her preparation for the tournament may not have been ideal, Liu is prioritizing and is already reaping a return on her investment as Chang flew out to California to cheer her on from the stands on Tuesday night.
Chang became the youngest male Grand Slam champion in history when he defeated World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in a five set epic at Roland Garros in 1989. He was 17 years, 3 months old.