Wimbledon Day 2: Querrey Upsets Thiem

Two years after Sam Querrey reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, he gave notice in the first round of this year’s tournament that he might be ready to make another run. The 31-year-old San Francisco native upset No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0, Tuesday to advance to the second round at the All England Club.

Querrey’s appearance in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2017 remains his best result at a Grand Slam event. He stunned No. 1 seed and defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in a five-set quarterfinal match that year before falling to Marin Cilic in the semis.

“This is probably the Slam that I’m most comfortable at,” Querrey said at his post-match press conference. “I like playing on all the courts. I’m confident here. The opponent matters, but it doesn’t matter as much as going to the other Slams. I’m fine playing whoever.”

Thiem had six break points through the first two sets of the match, but he could not convert a single one. The two players split the first two sets, both ending in tiebreaks. Then Querrey broke Thiem early in the third set, and that got him rolling.

“Me getting that break kind of deflated him a little bit, especially after having the opportunities in the second set,” said Querrey. “I think just maybe he lost his confidence a little bit. I know this isn’t his favorite surface.”

Querrey missed about three months earlier this year with an abdominal injury, but he said that’s behind him. After the extended break, he returned last week and reached the final at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne.

“It’s all better now,” said Querrey. “Last week went really well, my first tournament back in a while. The momentum is kinda still there. I like playing on grass, so I’m glad after an injury I got to play Eastbourne and this, and not a clay-court event and then the French Open.”

Querrey will face Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the second round.

“This is probably my favorite tournament,” he said. “It’s a fun place to play. I’m always, especially the last five or six years, I’m confident when I come here, even if I’m not seeded or haven’t won a lot of matches. Usually when you’re comfortable playing somewhere, you play well.”

In all, 14 Americans were in action Tuesday at Wimbledon—seven women and seven men.

Also on the men’s side, No. 9 seed John Isner defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. Isner’s second-round opponent will be Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

Taylor Fritz, who beat Querrey last week in the Eastbourne final to win his first career ATP event, defeated Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Fritz will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round.

Steve Johnson was a straight-sets winner over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Johnson will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur in Round 2.

Tennys Sandgren defeated Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3, and will play France’s Gilles Simon, the No. 20 seed, in the second round.

American men who lost in Tuesday’s first-round action were Noah Rubin and Frances Tiafoe.

On the women’s side, seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams defeated Italy’s Giulia Gatto-Monticone, 6-3, 7-5. Williams, seeded No. 11 in the tournament, will play Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan in the second round.

No. 9 seed Sloane Stephens defeated Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky, 6-2, 6-4. Stephens will face China’s Yafan Wang in the second round.

Amanda Anisimova, ranked No. 25 in the tournament, defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 6-3. Anisimova’s next opponent will be Poland’s Magda Linette.

Alison Riske came back after trailing 4-1 in the deciding third set to defeat Croatia's Donna Vekic, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Riske's next opponent will be Serbia's Ivana Jorovic.

Lauren Davis defeated the Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova, 6-3, 6-2. Davis’ second-round opponent will be defending Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber, the No. 5 seed.

Taylor Townsend defeated Australia’s Arina Rodionova, 6-2, 6-3. Townsend’s second-round opponent will be the Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens, Wimbledon’s No. 4 seed.

The only American woman who lost Tuesday was Christina McHale.

Day 3 at Wimbledon will feature several U.S. players in action, including teen phenom Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin, Madison Brengle, Denis Kudla and Reilly Opelka.