Querrey hits back for Los Angeles crown

 

Originally published on: 02/08/10 10:16

There’s something about returning to the scene of a former triumph. The ‘I won it once, I can win it again’ mentality kicks in.

Just like Tommy Haas, Andre Agassi, Richard Krajicek and Jimmy Connors before him, Sam Querrey did exactly that at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, kick-starting the defence of his US Open Series crown in style with his fourth title of 2010.

The American had never managed to take so much as a set off Andy Murray in their four previous meetings, but Querrey avenged his swift loss to the Scot at Wimbledon, winning 5-7 7-6(2) 6-3 for the first successful title defence of his career.

“This is the first time that I’ve actually tried to defend a title because the Vegas tournament went away,” said the Las Vegan native after successfully turning around the match on a second set tiebreak.

“The last two sets were great, Andy is one of those players who allows me to hit my shots.”

The world No.4 did have his own chance to seal the win, but after gaining a match point with Querrey serving at 4-5 in the second set, he could only skew a backhand into the tramlines at the end of a lengthy rally.

In the third set, Murray’s frustrations got the better of him, and when his tame drop shot failed to clear the net, the Scot responded by smashing his racket in fury. The rage failed to inspire him into mounting a comeback as Querrey served out the match in two hours and 22 minutes.

Despite missing the chance to pick up his first title since Valencia last November, Murray was positive about his run in Los Angeles.

“If you take the circumstances into consideration, I have to be happy with getting to the final,” said Murray, who had split with coach Miles Maclagan earlier in the week.

“I had a good week, I enjoyed it. Each match I felt better physically. I played reasonably well, better than the other matches.”

The 23-year-old Brit next heads to Toronto for the first Masters 1000 tournament of the summer, which begins on August 9.

There was more American joy in the doubles, with Bob and Mike Bryan notching up their 62nd career title after downing Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer. Their triumph saw the duo surpass the record of 61 doubles titles held by Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

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