Newly-crowned 2010 AEGON Championships Men’s Singles champ Sam Querrey has set his sights on the upcoming Grand Slam tournament. Currently sitting at career-high no.21, Querrey hopes that his recent successes will boost his chances of a Wimby win. For Querrey, the best is yet to come. After his surprise victory at The Queen’s Club, Sam will shoot for another W in Wimbledon. The grass is greener on the other side, after all.
Having won titles on three different surfaces this season, Querrey has been on a romp as of late, helping him reach new heights in terms of his world ranking. But a sizable cut from his ranking comes from ATP’s lowest-level tournaments. And he now realizes that this won’t cut it if he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the Nadals and Federers of the world.
In every pro tennis player’s life, there comes a point when points from low-level events won’t do what they once did.
Days after winning his Queen’s Club title, Querrey now understands that a move up in the rankings won’t be in the cards if he keeps himself in the 250s.
“I can win every 250 from here on out and my ranking won’t move,” said Querrey. “So it’s really just playing my best tennis in [the big] events, which I need to start doing.”
The Californian will get his chance to make true of his statement this Monday, when play gets underway. After failing to advance in the Australian Open and French Open, Querrey is raring to have a go on the grass courts of Wimbledon, in search of his first major win this year.
The way to Wimbledon has been rocky for Querrey so far. In three career appearances at the All England Club, Querrey has won just one match. Querrey probably had his best finish last year, when he pushed Marin Cilic to five sets in the second round albeit a losing effort.
Always the gentleman, Querrey refused to predict his performance, focusing instead on having a positive attitude all throughout the tournament. Perhaps, that will take some pressure off his shoulders.
“I’d like to at least make the third round, but I don’t really like putting goals out there where you have to make a certain round,” said Querrey. “I would just rather go out there and do what I did last week in Queen’s. I don’t want to let negative energy show, I want to have a positive attitude and stay composed throughout the whole match. I want to give 100 percent on every point, whether it’s up 40-love or down love-40,” added the Californian.
This early, things are looking up for Querrey. After his fairy tale finish at The Queen’s Club—a tournament which included the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, and Novak Djokovic, Querrey can proudly say that he has adapted quite nicely to the grass court.
Querrey says that grass is his new best friend. And that’s a vast improvement on his third-round exit last year.
“When I first started playing, I never thought I’d be able to win a match on [grass],” said Querrey. “It was so difficult to move and so different than playing on a clay court or a hard court, but now I love playing on it. It’s great for my serve. I like hitting the ball big on my forehand side—you get more out of your shot. And I’m comfortable moving on it now,” said the new king of The Queen’s Club.
For Sam Querrey, a big win at Wimbledon is on its way. Tennis fans, watch out!
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