home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

U.S. OPEN


August 28, 2014


Sam Querrey


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

S. QUERREY/G. Garcia-Lopez
6-3, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It was a pretty comfortable win for you. Did you feel that coming after the first match? It was a lot more straightforward.
SAM QUERREY: Sometimes the first matches are always the toughest ones. Usually play better as the tournament goes on. I felt like I played great today. Serve felt good, forehand felt good, I was making the right decisions. Hope I can keep playing like that.

Q. Is that the best you have played all year?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah.

Q. What do you think has been the problem keeping you playing like that so far this year prior to that?
SAM QUERREY: You know, I don't know. I got some confidence right now. I had momentum after last week, you know, putting together four wins. I'm just committing to hitting the forehand big and serving well, and it seems to be working.

Q. Simplifying things?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I guess so.

Q. Patrick McEnroe was talking when the tournament started it would be great if we could get a couple of guys into the second week. Do you think he was referring to you in particular as the guy that could maybe do that with the draw you had?
SAM QUERREY: I mean, possibly. There is not many American men in the draw to begin with. He was kind of referring to all of us. You know, if Novak wins next round I have to play him; that will be a tough one. I hope we can have a few guys in the second week. That would be great for men's tennis here.

Q. Seeing a couple of the guys have had a tough go of it; Jack and Steve retiring. Seeing six already out and John is playing now, is it disappointing?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I mean, we're all friends. You know, we're all cheering for each other, so it's tough to see those guys go out with retirements. Hopefully they can bounce back. You know, this is a big tournament, but it's only one during the year. They have other events, so hopefully -- Stevie has had a great year and a great summer, so hopefully he can continue to build on that. Same with Jack. A lot of times when you are put of the singles - both are still in doubles - Stevie with me and Jack won this morning - that can help your confidence a lot for singles. Hopefully they can make deep runs in doubles.

Q. John was saying you're a much better player than your ranking. Do you feel that? Especially with how you played today. I know you have had some fluctuations over the last few years.
SAM QUERREY: I feel I'm much better than my ranking. If I keep playing like I played today I will keep going in the right direction and hopefully get back up in the top 20. I have played now seven good matches in a row, and so if I just continue do that, my ranking will keep going the right direction.

Q. In a Novak match, do you hope you have big crowd support?
SAM QUERREY: What is the question?

Q. Do you hope that you're going to get a big crowd support when you play someone like a Novak at the US Open?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, definitely. The crowd here seems to be pretty pro-American, so I'm sure they will be behind me. They like the stars, too. They will be cheering for him, as well. I feel like they are going to be behind me quite a bit when we play.

Q. What kind of strategy do you have when you play someone like him?
SAM QUERREY: I usually just worry about myself and try to focus on my game and not change up my strategy too much. I'll pretty much just try to serve big and be aggressive and take my chance was some big forehands.

Q. What do you think sort of derailed you if you look back? You were just in the top 20, I guess, spring of last year, and then since then it's been not continuing that sort of rise you had for the 12 months prior to that. What do you think it was?
SAM QUERREY: I don't know. I can't put my finger on it. I'm not really sure.

Q. You had shoulder issues in the past, right?
SAM QUERREY: No.

Q. Oh, you have never?
SAM QUERREY: I had elbow surgery a few years ago.

Q. Health-wise, though...
SAM QUERREY: Health-wise I'm 100% and feeling great. I have the whole year.

Q. It was torn?
SAM QUERREY: I had some bone spurs break off. That was in 2011, so it's been a while.

Q. Does the narrative of the Americans and getting asked those questions ever get tiring for players?
SAM QUERREY: A little bit. I mean, question is fair enough, though. At the end of the day it's an individual sport. I don't really care too much. I mean, I want all the Americans to do well, but I want them to do well for them. I don't really -- you know, they are doing it for themselves. I don't really know where I'm going with this answer right now, to be honest (smiling).

Q. Just around tis time of year it ends with these questions of...
SAM QUERREY: We are all working as hard as we can and doing everything we can. We all want to win and we all want to be in the second week, and hopefully that can be the case in the years to come.

Q. Patrick sat down with a few writers to talk about the American men situation, and he actually talked about coaching. He feels they have lost ground in coaching. That maybe we emphasized the serve and volley when the game was changing. Any thoughts on Patrick's remarks? Also about the certification, that the USTA is the only governing body that doesn't certify coaches. Other organizations do. Any thoughts on that in the big picture?
SAM QUERREY: I think we have great coaches. I think the USTA does a great job of employing great and talented coaches. As far as serve and volley goes, I don't know any coach in the USTA system that's advocating or teaching serve and volley. That's really not today's game. I think Patrick and those guys do a great job with coaching all the young players up to the pros.

Q. Roger Federer and Serena Williams are both going for their 18th major title. Other than that, what are the similarities, if any, that you see between the two of them? And then what are the biggest differences?
SAM QUERREY: I mean, one is a man and one is a woman (smiling). I don't know. They're just both great champions, both confident players, both have dominated the game for years. I mean, I really don't know. And I don't care that much, honestly. Sorry. I don't really know what their similarities are and differences are.

Q. Do you think you should get picked for Davis Cup in Chicago?
SAM QUERREY: I think Jim will pick -- you know, whatever he wants. If he wants me on the team, I'll be there ready to go. If he has other guys on his mind, that's fine too. I will be ready if he picks me.

Q. As a big hitter, do you think that gives you more of a chance to surprise someone like a Djokovic when you're hitting your forehands and serves nobody can return...
SAM QUERREY: Possibly. I mean, I have played Novak a number of times. He's played guys with big serves and big forehands and he's played guys that grind from the baseline. He's had success against everyone. You know, I feel like if I played like I played today and I'm aggressive and, you know, everything is dropping in, I think I can challenge him and hopefully come out with a win.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297