Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Querrey rallies to win Wimbledon marathon

No. 28 seed Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native,
 defeated Lukas Rosol after losing the first two sets
in tiebreakers. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman
   Critics have accused Sam Querrey over the years of lacking heart.
   But the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) San Francisco native showed an abundance of it on Monday.
   The 28th-seeded Querrey could have folded after dropping the first two sets against Lukas Rosol, a 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Czech, in the first round at Wimbledon. Instead, Querrey rallied to win 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2, 12-10 in 3 hours, 21 minutes.
   Rosol stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal in the second round in 2012 at the All England Club.
   In contrast to Querrey's marathon, former Stanford All-American Nicole Gibbs bowed out to Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens, a Wimbledon semifinalist three years ago, 6-3, 6-1 in 50 minutes.
   Gibbs, ranked 76th, fell to 0-2 in the singles main draw at Wimbledon. She lost to Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-3 last year.
   Gibbs has entered the $50,000 Stockton Challenger, July 12-17 at the new Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center at the University of the Pacific, and the Bank of the West Classic, July 18-24 at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
   Querrey, who pounded 33 aces against Rosol, will face Brazilian left-hander Thomaz Bellucci on Wednesday in a matchup of 28-year-old veterans.
   Bellucci defeated another 28-year-old left-hander, qualifier Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 8-6 in 2 hours, 40 minutes.
   It was Bellucci's first singles victory at Wimbledon since he reached the third round, his best result in the tournament, in 2010. Querrey advanced to the fourth round that year for his career best at Wimbledon.
   Querrey, ranked 41st, is 1-0 against Bellucci, ranked 62nd. Querrey won 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on an indoor hardcourt in Jacksonville, Fla., in the first round of the 2013 Davis Cup.
   The survivor of the Querrey-Bellucci match likely will meet top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the third round. Djokovic has won Wimbledon the past two years and three times overall.

No comments:

Post a Comment