Big Sam Ousts Stan, Saves Seven Set Points In First Set
20 June 2018 03:52
Former champion Sam Querrey lived to fight another day at the Fever-Tree Championships on Wednesday, saving seven set points in the first set en route to a second-round victory over Stan Wawrinka.
Querrey, the 2010 titlist at The Queen’s Club, struck 25 aces in a 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1 win over Wawrinka, who is growing in confidence in his rehabilitation from two left knee surgeries last year, in one hour and 56 minutes.
The American, who is now 20-9 lifetime at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament, will next play top seed and 2013 champion Marin Cilic of Croatia or Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, who play later today.
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In a dramatic 10th game of the first set, which included six aces and two double faults, fifth seed Querrey fended off seven set points. He then won eight of 10 points in the next two games to clinch the 48-minute opener.
Wawrinka regrouped in the second round, but was denied another set point opportunity at 6-5, with Querrey serving at 30/40. In the tie-break, Wawrinka won four of the first five points, but it was one-way traffic in the decider with Querrey losing four of his service points.
Querrey, now 13-11 on the season that includes a run to the New York Open final (l. to Anderson) in February, beat Wawrinka for the first time since October 2013 at the China Open. Wawrinka now leads 5-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
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