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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS WIMBLEDON

July 5, 2017

Sam Querrey

Wimbledon, London, England

S. QUERREY/N. Basilashvili

6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I want to ask you about being at Wimbledon, why it's so different.
SAM QUERREY: In my opinion, it's the best tournament. It's like the Masters for golf. Everything about it is unique and fun. The grounds are immaculate. I like playing on grass anyway, so that obviously helps.

Definitely, Wimbledon, kind of like you said, it feels like a bucket list thing, not only to players but to fans, more so than the other three slams. It's had that aura around it for a long time. Hopefully that will continue on.

Q. What do they do here that no other tournament does for the players, what little things?
SAM QUERREY: I can't name one thing. It's just nicer. Attention to detail in the locker rooms, in the food area, the practice courts. Everything is just perfect in a way. Aorangi, the practice courts, everyone gets to practice on-site. No one is at a park, off-site, like the US Open, the French Open, whatever that place is called. Jean Bouin.

As a seeded player, you're in the seeded locker room, which is a unique and fun thing, which you don't get at other tournaments. It's the attention to detail in every aspect.

Q. I don't know if you're much of a golf fan.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah.

Q. Is it fair to maybe compare it to the reverence that people have for the Masters?
SAM QUERREY: I said that one second before you got in. It is the Masters of golf. Wimbledon and the Masters are kind of the same thing. I feel like they're on that same level.

Q. This year at Augusta, they have a new press area, which is like the Taj Mahal, believe it or not. A guy making omelettes in the morning.
SAM QUERREY: Really? Do they have that here for you guys?

Q. No.
SAM QUERREY: Keep talking about it, they'll probably get it done.

Q. Do you think it's hard for this tournament to maintain the traditions over the century and stuff because of the times we live in? Everybody seems to want things right away.
SAM QUERREY: No, I mean, they do a pretty good job here. They have their ways, they have their rules, and they stick by them. They don't make a lot of exceptions. You wear all white on the court. They don't allow a little strip of black. They'll make you take that off.

With tickets, with credentials, I don't know all the rules, but if you're playing on Court 8, you get one ticket for the day. That's the rule. There's your ticket. Figure it out if you want some more.

They do a good job of sticking to the rules. Things are black and white. They keep doing that, which I hope they do, it will continue on to be a special tournament.

Q. What is the challenge for the tournament in years to come in maintaining these traditions? Can't be that easy.
SAM QUERREY: No, probably whoever their president is, that committee or board, it's those guys making sure they abide by those rules and keep the tradition going. I know it is probably going to be more difficult. I'm assuming those are the people that make the rules here. As long as they stay strong behind that, this tournament will continue to have great tradition and continue to be a special place.

Q. You played Tsonga a few times before. Looking ahead, what do you expect from him and what do you know on your side of the net that you need to focus and work on?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, he's a great player. He's played really well here in the past. Played him once, lost like 16-14 or something like that in the fifth. Always seems like he's ready to go here, always plays well.

I'm going to need to serve big. I'm going to probably have fewer break opportunities than I've had in my last two matches. I think the key for me will be to be on those handful of breakpoints I get, to capitalize on those.

Q. There's been a lot of flying ants around today. They seemed to be giving you a bit of trouble. Did you have any thoughts on them?
SAM QUERREY: It happened I think on a few other courts. I don't know if they had them on every court or a handful of them.

Q. Yours was one of the worst.
SAM QUERREY: Never seen that before. Luckily it was 30 or 45 minutes. I don't know what it was, but they seemed to kind of go away after a while. If it got much worse, I almost wanted to stop because they were hitting you in the face when you were trying to hit balls. All over the place.

Q. Is it distracting?
SAM QUERREY: Yes. I also lost a set when the ants came. If I had won that set, probably wouldn't have bugged me as much.

Q. About Tsonga, you've met him three years ago. It was a very tough match. You missed one match point. It was over two days. What do you remember?
SAM QUERREY: It was just a great match. I walked off the court, I was bummed that I lost, but I had my match point, like you said. He played a good point. He made a good first serve, played the point well.

I feel like both of us like playing on grass. We have big games. It's going to come down to those few points here and there. I'm hoping I can be on the better half of 50% on those crucial points.

Q. A year ago you beat Novak in a match that sent him one direction. Did it send you in another direction? How big was that in your career?
SAM QUERREY: I mean, yeah, it was an incredible match. It was probably, you know, the biggest moment for me, the most fun.

Pretty much ranked the same. No, it didn't, like, skyrocket or jump my career in any way. I'm ranked where I'm ranked. I feel like with that match, without that match, I'd probably be around in the same spot.

Q. With regard to the bugs, was there any discussion with the chair umpire or your opponent about the situation?
SAM QUERREY: No. I brought it up to the umpire. He kind of laughed, The flowers, the bugs, they're happy. Something like that. I don't know what he said. He kind of shrugged it off. Like, these are just bugs, we're going to play through it.

Q. What went through your mind when he said that?
SAM QUERREY: Just kind of to get over it and play through it, too. If it had gotten worse, maybe they would have done something. If it was bees or something, I'm sure they would have stopped.

Q. Is this like the midges in Cleveland when the Yankees and the Indians played the playoffs?
SAM QUERREY: A little. Probably wasn't that bad. At least they went away.

Q. As a guy who plays in an outdoor sport, do you keep bug spray in your bag at all?
SAM QUERREY: No. First time it's ever happened. Maybe sometimes during the U.S. summer when it gets muggy in some of those places, you get some bugs. But no.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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