By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 4, 2016
Determined to prove his Wimbledon upset of Novak Djokovic was no fluke, Sam Querrey won 48 of 50 points played on his first serve dismissing Nicolas Mahut to reach his first major quarterfinal.
Photo credit: Stephen White/CameraSport
On Manic Monday, Sam Querrey was in no mood for a major hangover.
Querrey backed up his shocking third-round upset of reigning champion Novak Djokovic powering past nemesis Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to advance to his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
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Determined to avoid the label of a "fluky" upset winner, the mild-mannered Californian competed with fire and dictated play with his sledgehammer serve and heavy forehand.
"It was a straight set win today, but Nicolas was tough," said Querrey, who was winless in two prior meetings with Mahut. "It was a close match. I was down a break in the second set tiebreaker. Snuck my way back in it.
"It was a match I wanted to win to make it to the quarterfinals. If I didn't win, there would have been a lot of, 'Wow, it was kind of a fluky match against Novak because you didn't back it up.' I feel like I did a really good job of putting my head down and playing really well today."
One round after denying Djokovic his shot at the calendar Grand Slam, the 6-foot-6 Querrey gave Mahut no shot on his first serve.
The son of a former college pitcher who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers tossed a near shutout on serve. Querrey's cracked 23 aces and won 48 of 50 points played on his first serve.
"For me, the win (over Djokovic) was really exciting," Querrey said afterward. "But my match today, I was playing for my first quarterfinal, so I was playing for something else. There was still something, you know, exciting, kind of like another carrot on the line for me to play for.
"I really just wanted to focus in and play the best I can. Today everything really clicked. I thought I did everything really well today."
Contesting his 38th career Grand Slam, Querrey became the first American man to reach the last eight at Wimbledon since Mardy Fish did it five years ago.
It's been a break-out Wimbledon for the world No. 41, who edged hard-hitting Lukas Rosol, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2, 12-10 in his opener, registering his first career victory from a two-set deficit. Toppling the top-seeded Djokovic in the third round, he became the first American man to defeat a reigning world No. 1 at a major since Andre Agassi stopped Lleyton Hewitt in the 2002 US Open semifinals.
So what's the difference between this decisive Querrey and the sometime skittish competitor who had failed to survive the second round in 10 of his last 12 Grand Slam appearances?
Apart from cracking big serves on critical points, Querrey insists he's the same player now as he was then.
"This week, I can't really pinpoint anything in particular," Querrey said. "I'm finding a lot of first serves on big points when I need them. I feel like that might be one thing. I feel like I'm doing everything really well. I feel like I'm returning well. I feel like I'm playing confident. I'm looking to come in. I'm working the ball around the court with my forehand.
"Everything feels pretty good. There's not really one thing that feels like it's, you know, picked up amongst the tools in my game."
Confidence and clarity helped Querrey make his major quarterfinal debut. Though he's not an exceptional volleyer, he has been willing to attack and close at net. Querrey won 21 of 29 trips forward after converting on 26 of 42 net points against Djokovic.
Querrey's 97 aces through four rounds are second only to his former doubles partner, John Isner, who hit 114 aces through three matches.
Next up for Querrey is a quarterfinal showdown with Milos Raonic.
The sixth-seeded Canadian pulled off his first career comeback from a two-set deficit rallying past David Goffin, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Querrey has won two of three meetings with Raonic, including a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory at the 2012 Wimbledon.
"It's going to be a tough match," Querrey said. "I'll have to keep my level really high. I'm feeling confident and hopefully whoever I play, I can keep it close and possibly win again."