Top Spin Blog » Querrey

Americans Up and Down on the ATP Tour

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:58:24 +0000

As soon as I write a post about Americans hoisting trophies in the summer hardcourt tournaments, the news all turns bad. Roddick, Querrey, Isner and Fish all lose early in Washington. Roddick falls to 11 in the rankings, marking the first time since the ATP rankings began that there are no American men in the world’s top ten. Querrey, despite winning the Los Angeles tournament two weeks ago, falls out of the top 20 to 21. Then Roddick pulls out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a yet-to-be-determined illness (the symptoms of which are lethargy), and no other American reaches the third round of the Masters 1000 event.

If anything, this shows how tough it is on the ATP Tour. In the spring, Roddick won the Masters 1000 event in Miami and finished second at Indian Wells, but his poor showings in Grand Slams over the last year have hurt him, and it’s not surprising he dropped once the points he earned for the 2009 Wimbledon final dropped away (ranking points expire after 12 months). And Querrey falls one point despite winning a tournament?

A rankings decline is precipitous on a bad streak. Remember James Blake? He’s 10-12 for 2009 and has fallen all the way down to 108 in the world, from No. 10 only two years ago. But as fast as it falls, you can recover. Some big wins in New York at the U.S. Open can propel one of these Americans back up the charts. I’m betting that either Roddick, Querrey, Isner or Fish will reach the U.S. Open final, and I’d love to see Blake make a last, big run and see a nice guy finish first. The big show gets started on Aug. 30.

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Americans Hoisting Hardcourt Trophies

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:54:46 +0000

It’s not alway easy writing a blog about American men’s tennis (remember those Wimbledon predictions?) but the past two weeks have produced plenty of fodder, especially this weekend. Sam Querrey wins his fifth title of the year, coming back on no less than Andy Murray. The Bryan brothers set the all time record for doubles titles. And last week Mardy Fish wins in a final against John Isner. Throw your kids’ lacrosse and field hockey sticks away and buy them some tennis rackets. At this pace tennis might become more popular than NASCAR and the X Games. But they’ve got to keep it up through the Open, where if they can make it there, they’ll make it anywhere.

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U.S. Davis Cup: Backs to the Wall in the Balkans

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:13:17 +0000

From Daviscup.com: Novak Djokovic confirmed Serbia’s dominance over USA by beating Sam Querrey at the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie in Belgrade.

Playing in front of a passionate home crowd, Djokovic handed his team a commanding 2-0 lead on Friday. Despite a spirited fight back from Querrey in the third set, the world No. 2 won the second rubber of the day 62 76(4) 26 63 in three hours, 25 minutes.

In the opening rubber, Viktor Troicki withstood a creditable clay court challenge from John Isner to win 76(4) 67(5) 75 64 in three hours 36 minutes.

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American Young Guns to Get Chance at Davis Cup in Serbia

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:44:52 +0000

A new era for American Davis Cup has begun, and it will be up to John Isner and Sam Querrey to step up and fill the shoes of long-time Davis Cuppers Andy Roddick and James Blake who are sitting out the competition this year. The tall twosome — Isner is 6′9″ an Querey 6′6″ — have a tall order to fill against the Serbian team lead by Novak Djokovic on indoor red clay in Belgrade on March 5-7. “This is the first time since 2000 that neither Andy Roddick nor James Blake will be on the U.S. Davis Cup roster – a span of 25 Davis Cup ties,” a USTA press release said. The Bryan brothers, the world’s No. 1 doubles team fresh of an Australian Open championship, will try to continue to build on their dominant career record of 16-2 in Davis Cup play. The U.S. vs. Serbia winner will face either Ecuador or Croatia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, July 9-11. If the United States beats Serbia, they will be guaranteed to host the July quarterfinal, the press release said.

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Querrey and Five More Americans Out; Roddick Rolls

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:06:09 +0000

Half of the dozen American men in the Australian Open draw fell on the opening day. Of the nine Americans in action in the men’s singles, three, including a trimmed-down Andy Roddick and No. 23 seed Mardy Fish, won. However, six players from the U.S. came up short, including Sam Querrey. He lost in straight sets to No. 32 seed Philip Kohlschreiber, losing the first in a tight 8-6 tiebreaker and then dropping the rest 6-3, 6-2. Querrey’s loss spoils the chance for a matchup with Roddick in the third round. Roddick, who has lost 15 pounds in the off-season, could see a Melbourne rematch against Kohlschreiber, the German groundstroker who knocked him out early last year.

Amer Delic was the only other American to win Monday, beating fellow countryman Taylor Dent in a five-set struggle. The other Americans on the Australian Open scoreboard to lose Monday were Robby Ginepri, John Isner, Robert Kendick and Bobby Reynolds. Three more from the U.S. play today: James Blake, Vince Spadea and Wayne Odesnik.

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Americans Bunched in Australian Open Draw; Roddick vs. Querrey in Round 3?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:31:07 +0000

Six of the 12 American men playing the Australian Open are bunched in No. 3 seed-Novak Djokovic’s quarter of draw, including two of the three seeded Americans, No. 7 Andy Roddick and No. 23 Mardy Fish. Most intriguing is the strong possibility of a third round matchup between Roddick and unseeded Sam Querrey, who with a current ranking of 36 missed out by four spots of being seeded.

Querrey must get past No. 32 seeded Philip Kohlschreiber in the first round, whom he last beat resoundingly in straight sets in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open. Querrey would then have to beat one of two aging Europeans: 36-year-old Fabrice Santoro or almost-29 year-old Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Roddick, who lost to Kohlschreiber in a five-set match in the third round in Melbourne last year, has an opening round against world No. 190 Bjorn Rehnquist and then would face either Xavier Malisse or Michael Llodra, who he beat in last year’s Davis Cup match in April. If there is going to be an American semifinalist, expect it to come from this section of the draw, although beating defending champ Djokovic will be a high quarterfinal hurdle.

No. 9-seeded James Blake is in No. 4 seed Andy Murray’s quater of the draw. He plays Canadian Frank Dancevic in the first round; if Blake wins through his first two rounds, the first seed he would face would be No. 18 Igor Andreev. Other Americans to watch are Robby Ginepri, whose ranking has risen to 47; 34-year-old Vince Spadea, now ranked 81, and continuing to battle; and No. 68-ranked Bobby Reynolds, a longtime triple-digit ranked player who is at his career peak.

In addition to the 12 players in the main draw, seven Americans failed to qualify, a hell of a long way to go not to make the tournament. But at least it’s warm there. View the full list of Americans on the Australian Open web site.

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Heartbreaker on the Court of Matadors: Spain Up 2-0

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:28:29 +0000

The Americans put up a tremendous effort Friday, with Sam Querrey pushing No. 1 Rafael Nadal to four sets and Roddick losing in a heartbreaking five-setter to David Ferrer, dropping the final set 8-6. The Roddick-Ferrer match was a brilliantly played contest, with both players hitting 80 winners each and making only 55 or fewer errors (Ferrer had 55, Roddick 54). In fact, Roddick won 13 more points than Ferrer, 153 to 140, but still lost the match.

The Americans now find themselves in a deep hole, down 2-0 to the Spaniards at home. Winning three in a row, including a tired Roddick beating Nadal in the first match on Sunday in a bullring built for matadors seems highly unlikely.

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Nadal Knocks Off Querrey in Four Sets

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:17:10 +0000

Sam Querrey won the first set against the world No. 1 in his Davis Cup debut but that was the end of the red dirt road for him. Rafael Nadal ultimately won 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the first match being hosted in Madrid’s famous bullfighting arena. See the Associated Press story for more details.

For scores to the ongoing second match featuring Andy Roddick against David Ferrer, click on the Live Scores on daviscup.com.

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America’s Only Davis Cup Hope: Never Mind Nadal, Defeat Ferrer

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:10:47 +0000

The key to the U.S. upsetting Spain on their home red dirt in a Madrid bullfighting ring will not be the seemingly impossible task of knocking off world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, the reigning king of clay. The key for the U.S. team — acknowledged underdogs despite being the 2007 defending Davis Cup champions — is for Andy Roddick and substitute Sam Querrey to beat Spain’s second best player, David Ferrer, and rely on the Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish (a last-minute sub for Bob Bryan) to hold the doubles line. If the U.S. can beat Ferrer twice and get a doubles win, they can slip out of Spain with a 3-2 victory.

Past matches don’t provide much guidance for what might happen in the Ferrer meetings. Ferrer is 3-2 against Roddick, but they have never played on clay, and Ferrer and Querrey have never played on any surface. Nadal, on the other hand, is 3-2 against Roddick, including a brilliantly played, four-set win in the 2004 Davis Cup final on his home clay in Seville. Roddick did beat Nadal in straight sets earlier this year on hardcourts in Dubai, but clay is an entirely different story. Nadal is 2-0 against Querrey, although Querrey pushed the tired Spaniard on hard courts in the fourth round of the U.S. Open — but, again, the New York hardtop is a long way from red dirt in Spain where Nadal will be almost unbeatable.

But Davis Cup is a team competition after all, and Nadal is only one man of four. The Spaniards most likely will play their doubles team of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in doubles. (In 2004, the Bryans annihilated Tommy Robredo and Juan Carlos Ferrerro, the only meaningful U.S. win on the clay.) It would be interesting to see Nadal take the doubles court on Saturday, but he has had a grueling year with two Grand Slam wins and the Olympic gold medal and will most likely rest.

If Ferrer wins on Friday or Mike Bryan and Fish don’t win the doubles, you can all but write off the Americans for 2008. Whatever happens, the matches in the 23,000-seat Plaza de Toros Los Ventas, a storied bullfighting ring, will be a spectacle to see.

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Blake Pulls Out of Davis Cup; Querrey, Not Fish, Named Replacement

Joe Samuel Starnes — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:40:49 +0000

James Blake has pulled out of the Davis Cup match against Spain in Madrid Sept. 19-21, and team Captain Patrick McEnroe has replaced him with Sam Querrey — not the higher ranked Mardy Fish.

“James is just physically and mentally exhausted after a grueling summer,” McEnroe said. “He said he needed a break and we respect that. This is also a great opportunity for Sam, who has had a solid year, strong results on clay and has been a loyal practice partner for this team.”

McEnroe, in a USTA press release, did not address why he chose Querrey, ranked 40 in the world, over Mardy Fish, whose ranking rose to 24th after reaching the quarters. Both Querrey and Fish lost to Rafael Nadal, the leader of the Spanish Davis Cup team, in four sets.

Querrey reached the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo in the spring on red clay. McEnroe did tell Tim Curry on Sept. 4: “You know, certainly wouldn’t put clay as his (Fish’s) best surface, but, you know, hopefully for him ‑‑ I certainly thought that he was moving better overall here, so maybe having a fitness guy, sort of more full time has been good him. ”

Fish is getting married in Beverly Hills at the end of September, and Blake, whom he beat in the third round of the open, will be there, as will Roddick.

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