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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2010

Sam Querrey

LONDON, ENGLAND

S. QUERREY/X. Malisse
6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 9-7

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Did you think you may have to come out Monday for a moment there?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think that was pretty much the last game right there. It was getting pretty dark. I think if he broke me and we went to 8-Al, I think we would have had to come back on Monday, which would have been tough. We would have had to think about it for a full day.

Q. Did the umpire say something to you three games before the end, I guess?
SAM QUERREY: No, he never said anything.

Q. I thought he said something. It didn't have to do with the darkness then.
SAM QUERREY: Not that I know of.

Q. Okay.
SAM QUERREY: I don't think he wanted to say anything, because then it might have put a little pressure on one of us if he goes, All right, last game. Might make it unfair if you're serving.

Q. Is there a sense that you're kind of racing the sun going down?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think Xavier and I both kind of felt that was gonna be the last game. It was getting pretty tough to see.

Q. But does it affect the way you play? Did you feel a little pressure that way?
SAM QUERREY: A little bit. I wanted to get over with. I didn't want to wait a full day and come back on Monday. I wanted to, you know, finish it there.

Q. How do you feel you played? It was kind of a strange fifth set. You had all those chances with the breakpoints and then serving for the match. But played very well in patches, too.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah. I thought I got better and better. The first set was kind of a little sloppy on both of our parts, I thought. Then I picked up, and he picked his game up.
In the fifth set, yeah, I broke him three times.

Q. I think you had eight in a row that you didn't convert.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, exactly. I had a lot of breakpoints that I wish I would have gotten. I think if I would've been serving with two breaks it would've been a little less pressure.
But, you know, it happens.

Q. Thoughts about facing Andy Murray?
SAM QUERREY: It'll be a tough one. I mean, I'm assuming it'll be a Centre Court match on Monday. He's playing great. I don't think he's dropped a set yet. He's one of the favorites here. I'm just gonna go out there and give it all I have.

Q. When you know you've got Andy Murray to face, is that be extra motivation given it will be Centre Court and it will be the main draw for the British?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, a little bit. You want to go out there and give the crowd a show. I want to play well, and hopefully I can challenge him.

Q. You may have answered this already, but to make this run to get is the second week of this great tournament, how does that feel?
SAM QUERREY: It feels great. You know, the second week of a slam, any time you're doing that you're playing well and it's a good feeling.
I'm really happy right now.

Q. When you served for the match the first time and got broken, did you think that darkness might be an issue? Did you rush it at all because of that?
SAM QUERREY: No, he played a good game. I mean, first point he hit an inside out backhand return. You know, on that breakpoint he just shot a screamer up the line that was right at the baseline. So he played a good game there.
But, um, the game I was serving for it at 9-8, I kind of rush that had one actually, because I kind of felt like that was the last game.

Q. How dark was it?
SAM QUERREY: That was gonna be the last game.

Q. Was it a problem at all?
SAM QUERREY: No, I mean, the last forehand I just kind of almost closed my eyes a little bit. I didn't really see it too clear? Luckily I caught it clean.

Q. Seemed it curl in.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, just snuck in the back there.

Q. Was moving to Centre Court under the roof discussed?
SAM QUERREY: No. I mean, I don't think anything was gonna be discussed until he made the decision that is was gonna be called for darkness.

Q. Have you played on Centre before?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, played there last year against Marin Cilic.

Q. Is there a point where the light kind of went on for you as far as playing on grass is concerned?
SAM QUERREY: Um, I mean, I felt good on the grass last year. This year I'm feeling even better. After my first few rounds at Queen's, at the Queen's Club, I felt great on the grass. I'm still feeling great on it.

Q. What advice did Isner have for you this morning? I saw you in the Village.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, we didn't talk about tennis.

Q. He doesn't want to talk about tennis at all probably.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah. We didn't really talk about tennis. I don't know what we...

Q. If you get to the fifth, don't go 71-69.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, exactly. I had the same referee that he had, too.

Q. Did that thought go through your head at all at the end?
SAM QUERREY: I mean, no.

Q. What's wrong with you? You couldn't take it to 70 games?
SAM QUERREY: I mean, I was trying.

Q. Talk about you won't exactly have the home court advantage Monday, but you've played some pretty big -- if I have it right, about 20,000 in Madrid. What's it like to be playing with the home court crowd against you?
SAM QUERREY: It's a little rough, you know. You just -- hopefully maybe you can get a few claps if you play a good point.
But it's understandable. As an American, I play almost half my tournaments in the U.S. I can't complain too much. Andy Murray has got Queen's and Wimbledon. Let him have his moment with the fans. I've got three months worth of tournaments in America.

Q. Did your new commitment to a positive attitude help after the first set?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah. You know, I knew if I stuck around I was gonna get a break eventually. I got a little bummed sometimes, but I just let it out right away and got back to business.

Q. There was a lot sport for Malisse out there today. Does that help you sort of as a precursor to dealing Monday perhaps with Murray?
SAM QUERREY: Maybe a little bit. I think it will be a little different on Monday. I think it'll be 99% for Murray, and like my mom and dad and sister cheering for me.

Q. How much of it do you actually notice when you're playing?
SAM QUERREY: About the fans?

Q. Yeah.
SAM QUERREY: You notice it. You hear it, and so it's a little annoying. I mean, you know, you hear them cheering for the other guy, and you assume they like the other guy. They don't dislike you. They like both players. They just him a little more.

Q. The cheering section you had last year in L.A., you can't bring them over to...
SAM QUERREY: The Samurai's, I don't know if they're gonna be back in L.A. they have jobs now. (Laughing.)

Q. So when Andy reaches the finals of the Australian, it's sorts of an up-and-down, problematic stretch. Until now, it's been pretty impressive here. Has lots of game and different places to. He's comfortable out there. How do you attack him?
SAM QUERREY: Um, you know, I'm gonna have to go out there and play big. Hopefully I can have a high first serve percentage. That's gonna be key because he has such a great return.
I'm gonna have to take a few more chances than I normally do. You know, maybe on some second serves try to run around and try to rip some forehands.
But I don't want to play just out of control. I want to play safe and aggressive at the same time. Hopefully I'll be feeling good out there.

Q. How important was this for your confidence and just mentally to pull it out, to give up the break and come back and win it and stick with it?
SAM QUERREY: I'm pretty happy with it. I mean, couple times this year - I think in Rome and Madrid - I served for the match and lost those matches.
So, you know, I lost it here, but I'm pretty proud of myself that I came back and pulled it out. That's the first time I've gone past 6-All in the fifth, and it's the first time I've won a five setter -- or you, know, a fifth set in the five-setter.
It's fun to go past 6-All I had a good time out there.

Q. What's fun about it?
SAM QUERREY: It doesn't happen too often. The crowd is into it; my family is into it. It's fun to be a part of something like that.

Q. We just lost to Ghana.
SAM QUERREY: Saw that.

Q. But you brought down one of Belgium's fiercest players. Do you think that will be a healing affect across the U.S.?
SAM QUERREY: Um, no. I don't think the match was televised. I mean, I know it wasn't. So now one even knows what happened out there on Court 1 besides like my family.
Maybe on Monday. If I can get a win there, then maybe.

Q. Are you at all proud of yourself how you turned it around after the flack you took after Paris?
SAM QUERREY: Definitely. Very proud of myself and the way I've been playing and the way I've handled myself on the court. This is what I'm gonna do for the rest of the year.

Q. So you seem pretty relaxed and almost confident. It's gonna be a tough match, but you're feeling good about the Monday match?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, it's gonna be -- it'll be a tough match for sure, but I'm playing well. I've won eight matches now on grass, so I'm feeling good out there. Hopefully I can just play big and things will go my way.

Q. Do you remember playing him in the US Open juniors?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah.

Q. What do you remember about that match?
SAM QUERREY: I think I won the first set; lost the second in the tiebreaker. I mean, it was a close one. I think he went onto win it.
That's really all I remember. That was -- I didn't know US Open juniors existed until one time I got a wildcard in. He was kind of unknown then. He was only 16 or 17.
I remember it, but, you know, it's -- not too clearly.

Q. What have you learned on these grass matches? Have you made any adjustments? Has anything become easier in the course of these eight matches?
SAM QUERREY: Um, not really. I think my return is getting better and better every match. I mean, I'm feeling great. I'm hitting it on both sides. I'm chipping the forehand return sometimes, but on the second serve returns I feel like I'm stepping up in the court and hitting a little bigger than I normally do, and that's something you got to do on the grass?

Q. Aside from talking with your coach and probably resting and maybe a light hit, are you gonna do anything special. You won't speak to Andy Roddick who of course had a great win here last year in terms of Andy Murray? Will you do anything special between now and the match?
SAM QUERREY: No, just kind of like what you said: I'll just hang out and rest and light hit tomorrow. If I run into Andy he might say something. We're not gonna talk. He loses his phone every day, so it's hard to get ahold of him.

Q. Didn't you lose your phone infamously once?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, at the US Open a few years ago.

End of FastScripts

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