|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. OPENSeptember 5, 2010Sam QuerreyNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK S. QUERREY/N. Almagro THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Have you played your way into Ashe Stadium? SAM QUERREY: I hope so. (Laughter.) Um, yeah, I mean, a little bit might depend who wins there, but I think I'll get a good shot. I don't think Mardy is on there tomorrow, I think, right? I've heard. Yeah, I think so. Q. So we're down to the three musketeers, are we? SAM QUERREY: You mean Mardy, John, and myself? Q. In the States. Yeah. SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I guess so. Hopefully John can play well tonight against Youzhny and we'll have three guys in the round of 16. Q. Pretty good. SAM QUERREY: Yeah. I'm not sure when the last time we had that. Q. Pretty noisy over there. Even though you weren't on Ashe, it was Ashe-like noise. SAM QUERREY: Yeah, it was great. It was a full house over there and it still is. I think, you know, I'm sold out today, so it was fun to play in front of the packed stadium all day. Q. How much of a sense of pride or importance is there beyond your own accomplishments to see a couple of other American guys make it? SAM QUERREY: It's great, you know. You just -- you want to see all the Americans on the men's side and the women's side go deep. It makes it exciting for us. Makes it more exciting for the fans, I think, because they want to have Americans to cheer for. We're all cheering for each other, and hopefully we can just keep going. Q. Is that anything you guys talk about, say, you and John? SAM QUERREY: Um, a little bit. I mean, we don't really -- I mean, we just -- I mean, I don't know how we talk about it. Like we just cheer for each other. We've jokingly talked about meeting in the quarters. That would be ideal, you know. We want to play each other in the quarters, but I've got to win again; John's gotta win two more times. Q. Coming into this tournament, there was the familiar refrain about, What happened to U.S. men's tennis? When you hear that, what goes through your mind? And as you're doing well in the tournament, is that on your mind at all? SAM QUERREY: Um, I mean, yeah, you always hear that. It's kind of like any sport. You've got waves where you'll have a group of Americans in the top 10; you might have a couple years where we don't. It's like with the Lakers. They'll win some championships and they won't make the playoffs. It's just like that. But, you know, we haven't had a -- it's tough. The average sports fan basically watches the Grand Slams. If you don't have a guy in the finals or winning one of those, you know, tennis is, you know, it's -- you don't really get a lot of recognition, you know. And so, you know, hopefully we can have someone win a Grand Slam. That's what we need. John and Mardy and myself, the three guys left, we're trying our best. You know, and after this -- after this tournament we'll have four guys in the top 20, I think, you know, with Andy, John, Mardy, and myself, which I don't think we've had in a long time. So, you know, we might not have a guy in the, you know, top 5, but four guys in the top 20 is pretty good. Q. So in your mind, how much of that familiar refrain is a misconception? SAM QUERREY: Um, I mean, most of it, because just like I said, four guys in the top 20 is pretty good, you know, compared to -- Spain is probably the only country that's got that. But at the same time, you know, the average sports fan watches the Grand Slams and they watch on Saturday and Sunday and the semis and the finals. That's what we need to do. We need to get some guys there. Q. Are you beginning to feel the spirit that Connors, McEnroe, Sampras, and Agassi experienced on the court now? SAM QUERREY: What was the question? Q. You're beginning to feel the spirit that Connors McEnroe and Sampras and Agassi experienced with the fans today? SAM QUERREY: They were all out there supporting me, which was really awesome and really fun. Those guys had that all the time, I think, the American fans getting behind the Americans. Q. Do you feel like you're playing well right now compared to, say, how you were playing in LA or some of the other summer tournaments? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I feel like I'm playing the best I've played all summer. Makes it a little tough today when it's kind of wind. Both guys don't play their absolute best. But considering the conditions, I felt I played really well. Hopefully I can play better in the next round. Q. Will you watch the match when you leave here? SAM QUERREY: No. I mean, I might peek over every now and then, but I've played both guys before. I've watched enough. You know, I've watched them play a bunch, so I don't need to sit and watch the entire match. Q. If it does turn out to be Andy Murray you will play, could you just talk about that? You've know him for a long time and played him a few times, as you've said. SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think we played five times. He beat me four; I've beaten him once, which was in LA. Whatever guy will be tough, but if it's Andy, he's playing well. He won Montreal [sic]. If I'm gonna beat him, I'm gonna have to serve extremely well and hit my forehand well. Q. What was the key to your win today, and how did the wind play a factor in what you did on court? SAM QUERREY: It wasn't windy enough that it affected too many things. I was just solid on my service games, and especially the three or four breakpoints I faced. I mean, I made him earn those points, which he didn't earn, I guess. I won 'em. You know, I just hung in there on his service games and played well, and I was hitting my forehand well, and, you know, I was trying to just stay aggressive. Q. With so much depth with the men's field, what is the difference, you think, between the champions and the guys who might even rise as high as 6 or 7 on something? Is it tennis skill? Is it in the head? Is it just consistency? What do you think? SAM QUERREY: Combination of all three of those. A lot of those guys, Federer, Nadal, you know, they've -- for the last five years they've been in the semis and finals of slams, you know, every slam, basically, so they've been there before. So if you -- let's say I were to jump into a semifinal of a slam, it's new for me. I might be a little nervous. A lot of it is mental. Those guys are strong in their head and they don't give away free points. A lot of it is skill. I mean, Federer hits those 'tweener shots at will. I can't do that. (Laughter.) Q. How big of an advantage is it to have the crowd behind you? Regardless of what court you're in on the next round, you're gonna have a majority of the support. SAM QUERREY: It's great, you know. It's really exciting and fires me up, you know. The other Americans love it, too. You know, we're just fortunate to have a slam in America. I love it. You know, I think the fans want -- they want someone -- they want someone they feel they have a connection with. Being an American, they want to cheer for us. Q. Do you think Almagro was a little bit undone by crowd sentiment today? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, especially that group of guys going crazy in the front row. I thought they were great. I don't know who they were, but... (laughter.) You know, I liked them. He was letting it bother him a little bit. But, I mean, you know, if I go play in Spain, you know, probably have that against me. Q. You've done well in the smaller tournaments. I think you've won four this year. What do you have to do to carry that same kind of success to the next level, to the Cincinnatis or to the slams? SAM QUERREY: I mean, I feel like I'm doing -- I mean, I made the fourth round of Wimbledon and now the fourth round here. Just going in with a good mindset and a positive attitude and just gotta play well. Q. You spoke earlier about if your opponent in the next round is Andy Murray. If the upset occurs and it's Wawrinka, can you describe what that matchup would be for you since we're not going to have an opportunity to speak with you before that? SAM QUERREY: Um, I mean, I've played Stan one time in Indian Wells like three years ago, and he beat me like 12-10 in the third set tiebreaker, or something like that. I mean, that will be a tough one. Stan is one of the guys that hits the balls so big from both sides. If he gets hot, he can beat anyone. He can hit the ball so well and so clean. That would be someone you need to get him out of his comfort zone and mix it up and, you know, serve big and maybe attack his second serve and maybe catch him off guard a little bit. Q. You made the fourth round here a couple years back. How, if at all, would you say you're different as a player and maybe as a person? SAM QUERREY: I mean, I'm definitely much fitter and much more professional. I think every aspect of my game is a little better now, especially my return game and my backhand. I think those used to be a little bit of a weakness, but now I feel like those are almost strengths. I feel like I'm much faster, too; my speed and court sense is a lot better. Q. When does it hit you to say, Hey, I've got to be professional about this and really work on it, and you thought perhaps before that everything was okay but you needed more? SAM QUERREY: Um, what? Q. Well, when you finally told Sam Querrey, I'm not working hard enough, and if I'm gonna be a professional, I'm gonna be a professional. SAM QUERREY: It was basically the day that I turned pro. I turned -- you know, changed my work ethic then, and I feel like I've worked pretty hard since that day. Q. What was that day? SAM QUERREY: June 2006. I don't remember the exact day. Q. No, but summer of... SAM QUERREY: It was summer of '06. The first challenger I played Yuba City where I was actually a professional I knew I wasn't going to college. Worked really hard and won the first one, and then quickly moved up the ranks, which made it a -- you know, kind of like just made me feel good about my decision to turn pro. Q. How would you describe Mardy's transformation? SAM QUERREY: I honestly think everyone's kind of rough on him. They make him sound like he was just fat before this year and that they're surprised he could play. I mean, the guy used to be 17 in the world. You know, he finaled Indian Wells. I feel like the commentators were surprised that he could move, you know. (Laughter.) I mean, it's obviously helped him. He's much quicker and he's much fitter. He's playing great right now. You know, he's won Newport; he won Atlanta; finaled Cincinnati. Now he's in the fourth round here. I think he's gonna play well against Novak. It's definitely helped him, but, I mean, it's not like -- he's not like a different player. Q. Are you going to ask him advice on how to play Murray? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I'll talk about it a little bit with him. We'll see what he has to say later tonight. Q. You go to Roland Garros, and Clément and Tsonga and Monfils are always on center court; except for a couple of matches, you and John and Mardy have been pretty much on Armstrong or Grandstand. Could you comment on that, and do you think it would help your games to be on a big stage more often? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I definitely don't think it could hurt. It's maybe comfortable -- I think we would feel more comfortable if we -- especially if John, Mardy, and myself for the first rounds played on Ashe, instead of playing on Armstrong, Grandstand, and all of a sudden you're out on Ashe for the first time. I definitely think it would help. I don't know what goes into the schedule. I know a lot of it is TV and stuff like that. It would be nice if we could play a few more matches on Ashe. But, you know, I don't have any control over that. Q. Have you played a match on Ashe yet? SAM QUERREY: No. Q. So if this turned out to be a night match, what are your feelings going into that? SAM QUERREY: It would be exciting. Everyone wants to play a night match at the US Open. Hopefully I'll get the chance. Q. I would imagine that every player at some point has that moment where they say, You know what, I can win this thing; I can win this tournament. Have you had that moment yet, or are you still waiting for that moment? SAM QUERREY: Um, you know, I'm not sure. I definitely think I could, you know, make a run. If I keep playing well, I've got a shot to -- you know, I feel like if I play my best, you know, I could beat anyone. So hopefully -- you know, I've got to prove it, you know, maybe against the top 10 guy first. But, you know, I'm definitely playing well right now and I'm pretty confident. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact 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
|