The player who beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon is ready to get back on the court.
Sam Querrey has been on the ATP Tour for a decade, but he arrived at the Citi Open with an entirely different level of celebrity after knocking out the world No. 1. Many more people know who he is now after that upset and a subsequent trip to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“I got to do Good Morning America, I got to throw the first pitch out at the Dodger game, I got to do a GQ photo shoot,” Querrey said on Monday. “That’s usually not my normal week.”
Photo: EPA
Querrey took some time off and now hopes to build off the Djokovic victory this week in Washington and at other events this summer. The 28-year-old picked up some confidence along the way, but does not feel like a different player.
“It was an incredible 10 days for me and something I’ll always remember,” said Querrey, who is now ranked world No. 29. “I still view myself as a good player. I thought I was good before the match. I think I’m still a good player now.”
Querrey beat Djokovic in a five-set thriller, then dispatched Nicolas Mahut in straight sets before losing to Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals. The only players left on his wish list are Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but his giant-killing reputation preceded him when he was asked if there is any other player he would like to beat.
“I mean I’d love to beat every player,” Querrey said. “If I get to play Roger or Rafa, those are kind of the two big-name guys that I’ve never beat, that’d be incredible, but we’ll see if that happens.”
Querrey will not see those players this week at the Citi Open, which features John Isner of the US and Frenchman Gael Monfils as the top two seeds.
The eighth-seeded American is to face either Bjorn Fratangelo or qualifier Alex Kuznetsov in his first match, and his summer goal is to get back into the top 20.
On the women’s side, Australia’s Samatha Stosur is the top seed and she easily took care of qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-0 in her opening match on Monday.
With the conditions as hot and humid as Querrey said he has ever experienced, Stosur calmly advanced without much difficulty.
“The start was a little bit close and then once I got that first break of serve, then I really was able to loosen up and play well, and maybe she got a little bit deflated as well,” Stosur said.
Defending champion Sloane Stephens is the second seed and she opens against Japan’s Risa Ozaki.
She said it feels normal to be back, but has felt a noticeable boost from winning a tournament.
“It’s kind of just been a weight lifted,” Stephens said. “I think it was kind of a relief that I kind of got that out of the way.”
Likewise, Querrey made a name for himself at Wimbledon, but might have created some higher expectations for himself in the process.
“I’m trying to kind of put it behind me and move on,” Querrey said. “I just want to kind of continue on with the momentum, and keep working and focusing on my ranking and moving in the right direction.”
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