Querrey rocks Wimbledon to dump Djokovic
American journeyman sends top seed packing with gruelling four-set victory
SO HIGH has Novak Djokovic towered over the world of tennis this past year that any major fall was bound to have a seismic effect. Therefore the ground fairly shook at Wimbledon yesterday when he screwed a final forehand into the tramlines, sealing the kind of defeat that had been discounted in any rational observer’s mind.
Prior to this, the most mainstream publicity his conqueror, world No 41 Sam Querrey, had obtained may have been for appearing on a reality dating show in the US entitled Millionaire Matchmaker.
And when the aftershocks from the American’s remarkable feat had come and gone you were inevitably left searching for the reasons behind one of the most sensational upsets that has been seen at Wimbledon in the past 25 years.
This will go down with unknown Swiss George Bastl beating Pete Sampras in 2002, or the American Lori McNeil bundling out Steffi Graf in the 1994 first round. Go back further and you might come to Boris Becker being ousted by Australian journeyman Peter Doohan in 1987.
Becker was now the coach sitting helplessly in the stands as Querrey, resuming from two sets up, completed a 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 victory that spanned two days and took two hours and 58 minutes of rain-interrupted action to complete.
Never one to divulge the secrets of the often opaque Djokovic camp, Becker will surely have some insight into what went wrong. His player was giving little away after what was his first Grand Slam defeat since the French Open final last year, since when he has reeled off four titles and 30 straight wins at the tournaments that matter the most. However, there were hints of a problem in his left shoulder, which he could occasionally be seen to clutch both on court and during his post-match press conference. Asked if he was 100 per cent healthy, he replied: ‘Not really, but it’s not the time and the place to talk about it. My opponent was playing on a very high level and he deserved to win.’ His body language lacked the usual swagger and, while he managed some animation in the fourth set it was shortlived. Of the rain interruptions he said: ‘It’s the same for both of us. Not just us but all the people who were coming to watch were frustrated.’ Then there was the suggestion that he is rarely happy playing on Court No 1, where he narrowly escaped a year ago against another tall, big server, South African Kevin Anderson from two sets down.
Even the top seeds usually take one turn on the secondary arena, but this year looks unusual in that Andy Murray might stay on Centre throughout. Could it have been that Djokovic, not slow to feel a slight, was unhappy at neither of Murray’s second or third-round matches being put out on Court No 1?
Something he was unequivocal about was that he will not play in the Davis Cup quarter-final for Serbia against Great Britain the week after Wimbledon. It was always likely, with him prioritising the Olympics.
‘I’m going to pay attention to things other than tennis in the next period,’ he said. ‘I just need some rest.’
The truth is that few people would have thought that Querrey, an amiable 28-year-old, would have the chutzpah to deliver the knockout blow required. He has hardly been a byword for mental fortitude in the past.
Yet a crucial difference this time may have been his first round here. There, he beat the Czech Lukas Rosol from two sets down, the first such win of his career.
Querrey later revealed that he had not tossed and turned on Friday night, with play suspended with the American two sets up. ‘I’m a pretty relaxed guy. Had an easy dinner at the house. My parents are there, some friends, my girlfriend. We just kind of hung out. Nothing exciting,’ he said. ‘I got back here today and went to work.
‘I just stayed the course, didn’t do anything special. It can be tricky with all those delays but fortunately I just went out there, served well the whole time and played a great tiebreaker to get the win.’
Djokovic’s exit will increase expectation on Murray, but as he luxuriated in his weekend off, safely in the fourth round, Roger Federer may have been quietly purring as well.