Querrey beats Anderson in LA
Sam Querrey started things off slow at the Farmers Classic on Wednesday, with two sets down against Kevin Anderson, yet eventually fought back in the third set to defeat the South African with a score of 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-0. Querrey is currently the second seed at the tournament, and is vying to defend his Farmers Classic title this week.
With a match that lasted over 2 hours, Querrey was able to gain a 3-0 winning record against Anderson. The South African was originally supposed to qualify at the Farmers Classic, but after advancing to the semi-finals in Atlanta last week, was able to avoid the qualifiers. Receiving a special exemption, Anderson made it into the main draw, creating a tough draw for Querrey in their face-off match.
“We both have big serves. I got lucky there,” Querrey admitted. “He’s got such a big serve. I couldn’t really get a rhythm. I just focused a little harder on my service games and I got a few more returns.”
Taking the first two sets to figure out his opponent, Querrey was finally able to take a commanding lead in the third set. During their most recent meeting at the AEGON Championship, Querrey defeated Anderson in the second round.
Round two face-offs
In his second-round match against wild-card Ryan Sweeting, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus defeated the American with a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Baghdatis is currently third seeded at the Farmers Classic.
Baghdatis hammered out a total of 11 aces throughout the match, equaling them with the same number of winners. The Cyprus native proceeded to advance to the quarterfinal round, making it his fifth appearance at the quarters this year.
Baghdatis has had less than an impressive playing streak recently, losing all three matches in his past three grass-court tournaments. The victory against Sweeting was the first for Baghdatis since his second-round win at the French Open at Roland Garros in May.
“I fought for the match without playing perfect tennis,” Baghdatis said. “I came to L.A. knowing I wasn’t going to play my best tennis. I felt really bad on court and it’s good to win when you feel bad.”
Baghdatis is now set to play Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who is currently the number six seed at the tournament. Tipsarevic beat out Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman with a 7-6 (11), 6-2 score. This was the first time that Devvarman missed the opportunity to crack the ATP top 100, with a victory.
More records broken at Farmers Classic
German export Rainer Schuettler ousted American Robby Ginepri with a three set victory of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The two men met for the first time since their face off back in 2003. Being the oldest player in the singles draw at the age of 34 does not seem to phase Schuettler, who is set to play Querrey next.
Famous doubles
Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan are bidding for their 62nd career doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fish and Mark Knowles. This would be a record breaking win for the Bryan brothers, who are currently tied with Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in the Hall of Fame, with a total of 61 career titles. The Bryan brothers came close to breaking the record at Wimbledon last month, with their effort failing after a loss in the quarter=final round.
Bob Bryan mentioned that there was even more pressure on the twin brothers to tie Woodforde and Woodbridge with 61 career titles but said the goal was easily in reach. After accomplishing the tie at the Madrid Masters last May, the possibility of breaking the record with another doubles victory is certainly within reach of the Bryan brothers.
“That was the number we were looking at,” Bob Bryan said. “We want to play this game for another five years. We don’t feel that pressure.”
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