In this July 2, 2016, file photo, Sam Querrey, of the U.S., returns to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during their men’s singles match on day six of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. The guy who defeated Djokovic at Wimbledon is ready to get back to playing tennis. Querrey took some time off and now hopes to build off the Djokovic victory this week in Washington and at future events this summer. AP
WASHINGTON, United States — 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 off the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Many more people know who he is now after that upset and a subsequent trip to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“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 Monday (Tuesday Manila time). “That’s usually not my normal week.”
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 doesn’t feel like a different player.
“It was an incredible 10 days for me and something I’ll always remember,” said Querrey, who’s now ranked 29th in the world. “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 quarterfinals. 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’s any other player he’d 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 won’t see those players this week at the Citi Open, which features American John Isner and Frenchman Gael Monfils as the top two seeds. The eighth-seeded American will 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 of the tournament, Australian Samatha Stosur is the top seed and easily took care of qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 6-0 in her opening match 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 No. 2 seed and 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 may 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.”