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U.S. OPEN

September 1, 2010

Sam Querrey

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

S. QUERREY/B. Klahn
6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you explain the shot to the privates of your opponent there?
SAM QUERREY: That was an accident. I mean, he hit a dropshot, and I ran up there and it was kind of better than I thought. So I kind of got a little confused where I was going to hit it. I kind of went at him. I didn't mean to hit it there. I felt bad because he's my buddy.

Q. He said before the draw came out you guys have been practicing together. Were you surprised to see his name next to yours when the draw came out?
SAM QUERREY: A little bit. You never know who you're going to get, so it's kind of bummer to play him.
We practiced together pretty much the last two months, the whole summer. He's one of the few guys I didn't really want to play. That seems to happen a lot.

Q. Did he surprise you at all today? Obviously you say you've been practicing with him so you know his level. He came out pretty strong against you for a kid who's stepping into a pretty big spotlight.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think he was a little nervous at the beginning. That's normal. I was a little nervous, too. He played well. He's got a good lefty serve, big forehand. I was impressed with how he played.

Q. How's the heat out there today?
SAM QUERREY: It's so hot out there. I was struggling. I was like -- my legs were cramping, and his were, too. Fortunately his were just a little worse than mine. But, I mean, it was hot.

Q. Have you had it worse this summer?
SAM QUERREY: D.C. was bad. It might have been a little more humid there. But this one, I mean, like, one of the top couple hottest matches I've played in all summer.
So, I mean, I have been hydrating well and doing everything right, but it's just hot.

Q. Would you be in favor of a heat rule for the men?
SAM QUERREY: No.

Q. Why not?
SAM QUERREY: Ah, I mean, tennis is -- we talked about that in the council meeting the other day, whether or not they should close the roof if it gets to be, you know, over a certain temperature.
I think, you know, tennis is a physical sport. You should be rewarded with the hard work you put in. If the heat is too much for some guys, you know, if you're the more fit player, you shouldn't get penalized for that. I don't think so.

Q. They wouldn't be closing the roof here, though.
SAM QUERREY: No. (Smiling.)
Q. They won't be building one, either.
SAM QUERREY: It's pretty rare when it gets rained out.

Q. Your experience is obviously different, turning pro coming out of high school and turning pro. Seeing his level of play, would you ever tell him you think it's time to go pro, or do you think it's a smart move for him to go back to Stanford?
SAM QUERREY: Um, it's tough, he can definitely play with the pros. I've been practicing with him all summer. He's playing well. He takes sets off guys in practice all the time. I think either decision is a good one.
He can improve at Stanford and he can improve playing the tour. So either way I think it is, you know, the right decision.

Q. What was the difference today? I know you were playing at a higher level than him generally, but were there a couple of things that really helped you push through and take it?
SAM QUERREY: Just a little bit of experience, you know. In that third set at 5-All just making the extra ball, and, you know, drew a couple errors. But that was pretty much it.

Q. You got a winner on a volley, and then hit two aces. Then I think you hit, if I've got this right, third set right then, that was pretty key for you when you went up 6-5.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, and then at 6-5 I just told myself, Just make every ball and make him win -- if he's going to win this game and send it to a tiebreaker, make him earn it.

Q. Did it help you to play an extra set? More conditioning for the rest of the tournament?
SAM QUERREY: No, I would have rather been in and out of there in an hour. My legs were tightening up. I could have done without it. I guess it lets me know I have to drink more.

Q. I understand it's supposed to remain brutal out there. So feeling how you feel today, do you change preparation knowing it's going to be that bad next time around?
SAM QUERREY: Somebody told me it's going to rain Friday when I walked in here. Yeah, I mean, I think I have been drinking a lot. Talking to trainers and coaches, I'm going to keep more than I have. I fell like I've been having six bottles of water a day, six Cytomaxes, six Gatorades, coconut waters. You know, I'm going to up that to 10 of each a day.

Q. Aside from hydrating, there is really nothing to be done?
SAM QUERREY: I could probably do a little better job of --maybe like my match today I didn't have like the biggest breakfast. I didn't hydrate especially well before the match. I could maybe a little better with that.
But overall, I think I drank a lot. But I guess I've got to drink more.

Q. Did you really feel it at the end of the fourth set, the dehydration and cramping?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I mean, if he would have won that set, that have been an entertaining fifth set. I mean, he was cramping worse than I was. I don't know what that would have been in the fifth set. Just serve and one shot.

Q. Did he say anything after you targeted his nether regions?
SAM QUERREY: I went up and said, Sorry. You know, we kind of laughed it off a little bit because we're buddies. But, yeah. It happens.

Q. Were you ever on the receiving end of one of those?
SAM QUERREY: No, we talked about that. I can't remember ever getting hit there.

Q. Where are you mentally right now compared to where you were in Paris? A lot has happened since then. You beat Murray in LA, but you seem to be in a different place.
SAM QUERREY: Much better. I'm feeling good out there. I'm just trying to stay positive and keep my mind off things. A lot of it, I think, is this Power Balance that I have been wearing. Kind of after every point I have to adjust it and pull it back up on my arm.
So it almost gives me something to do after every point. I can't, you know, spend time getting mad at myself, because every point I have to like adjust this. So it's just a little bit of a habit and I think a tendency. I think that's really been helping me.

Q. Coming out of Paris, if I remember correctly, you were, I'm done, I'm done traveling. Seemed a little burnt out.
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I was.

Q. Mentally, where are you? Do you feel fresher coming in here? It's been a long, hot summer? How did you recover from that?
SAM QUERREY: I recovered well, because I went home for six days and then came back and had a great Queen's and great Wimbledon.
You know, I had some time off before LA. Had a good like two weeks. In Cincinnati I lost to Ferrer like on Wednesday, so I almost had another two full weeks to kind relax and prepare myself, which was really nice.
I'm coming into here feeling really fresh.

Q. What do you know about Ryan Harrison, and what are your expectations for John later on?
SAM QUERREY: Ryan, I mean, I've known Ryan for four or five years. I have hit with him since he was like 15. I was thrilled for him. When I walked back into the locker room, it was like 4-2 or something in the fourth set.
So I'm really excited for him. He works really hard, and he did a great job qualifying. I'm ecstatic for him. Hopefully he plays Stakhovsky next round, I think.
I mean, if he plays well he can win that one and he could be -- I think he's 18 -- he could make the third, fourth round here.

Q. What do you think of his potential?
SAM QUERREY: It's good. I mean, I think the best thing about his game is that he really wants to be a good tennis player. You know, he goes out there and tries really hard and wants to be good. That's a big part of it. He's also a great player, too.

Q. What about John Isner?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, he's got a couple more hours to go, and hopefully his ankle is feeling well. It's still a little swollen. He's not known for just grinding side to side, anyway. You know, I'm assuming he's gonna, you know, serve big as always and probably take a few more chances on the return games than he normally does so he can kind of shorten the points.
I hit with him the other day. He seems to be all right.

Q. Do you think it could be a problem because he hasn't had as much preparation as he would have liked?
SAM QUERREY: Possibly. I'm not sure.

Q. How much difference mentally do you think there is between, say, top 8, 10, 12 players and the next group or maybe the top 4? In other words, when people play matches, do you think that it's in the head, Hey, I'm playing Federer. This guy is great. Or, Hey, I can go out there and just play with him. Do you have to sort of learn how to play with the top players?
SAM QUERREY: You definitely have to learn. I remember the first time I played Roger when I was 18. I went out there knowing I was gonna lose.

Q. Why?
SAM QUERREY: I was 18. He was like amazing. It was in Miami. It was a night match. I didn't know I was going to lose, but I assumed I was gonna lose. First time, I don't want to embarrass myself out there.
But the more that I played, you know, Roger and Rafa and Andy and practiced with them, you know, you take the occasional set off them in practice and take a set here or two in the match and you beat a top 10 guy, then you kind of start to get the belief.
You know, even if -- you know, I beat Roddick next last year who was ranked 7. When you see him beat these guys, it kind of gives you the belief that you could beat these guys too. It definitely takes a couple of years to get used to, you know, practicing with them, playing with them, and, you know, then you can beat them.

Q. Ryan, I believe, said that this is the first time he's beaten a top 20 player. I could be wrong, but I believe that's what he said. Do you remember when you did that, who it was, and what did that do for you?
SAM QUERREY: Yeah, first time I beat a top 20 player...

Q. Or however you remember it.
SAM QUERREY: I remember the first time at Indianapolis I beat James Blake and he was top 10. That was awesome. I remember the feeling. That was the match I had 10 aces in a row, and I think I had 30 in the match.
It was kind of a steppingstone of your career. It's really exciting. I'm sure -- obviously he's pumped up, and I'm sure he'll have a lot more wins like that.

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