It's Querrey's (double) fault in late ITC collapse

No. 2 U.S. player falls to Gulbis after leading 4-0 in decisive set at Delray Beach

  • Sam Querrey reaches for a shot during his loss to Ernests Gulbis at the ITC tennis event at Delray Beach. (Craig Davis, Sun Sentinel)
Sam Querrey reaches for a shot during his loss to Ernests Gulbis at the ITC…
February 28, 2013|By Craig Davis, Sun Sentinel

DELRAY BEACH — — The answer sounds like a question.

Who is the second-ranked men's tennis player from the United States? Querrey.


There was a time the game was loaded with recognizable American names, like Sampras, McEnroe, Connors and Agassi.

Today's top two U.S. players cast long shadows, though average fans may be hard-pressed to name them — 6-foot-9 John Isner is No. 15 in the world rankings, 6-6 Sam Querrey is 23rd.

Querrey's performance Thursday in an epic collapse at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships won't serve to elevate his status or name recognition.

Third-seeded Querrey was up two service breaks at 4-0 in the third set against Ernests Gulbis and couldn't close out the match.

Somehow the fiery Gulbis, who received a warning after breaking a racket and a point penalty for profanity in two separate bursts of anger in the the decisive set, regained composure to force a tiebreaker and earn an unlikely 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4) victory.

"I'm pretty bummed," Querrey said. "I thought I had him on the ropes, but he can get hot and just rip some winners and he's right back in it."

Querrey had reason to be most upset with himself after losing control of his powerful serve when he needed it most. Serving for the match at 5-4, he double-faulted the deciding point of the game. He also miss-hit two forehand returns in that game, opening the door for Gulbis to even the match.

Then in the tiebreaker, Querrey double-faulted the last two points for an ignominous ending.

"I usually don't do that. I can't put my finger on it. It was just one of those matches," he said.

Gulbis said that trailing 4-0 the only thought is to get a service break. Then another.

The eccentric Latvian said his show of emotion was frustration about being unable to maintain his early advantage, as well as pique at some line calls.

"You like it, everybody likes it. I think tennis has lost a little fire. Which interesting characters do we have nowadays?" said Gulbis, who is one of the notables. "Everybody is trying to be like Roger [Federer]. Look back 20 years. They gave interesting interviews, they gave a show on the court. It was fire."

Guys like McEnroe, Connors, Agassi also understood that finishing touch was the most important part of the show. This crop of Americans needs to master that.

Isner, who played the late match Thursday, and Querrey each knocked off No. 1 Novak Djokovic last year. They are big, powerful hitters who can fire up a crowd. Instead, Querrey went down in flames Thursday.

Sock falters

It was a rough day for Americans as promising young Jack Sock bowed out after a late meltdown against Ricardas Berankis, who won 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Sock rolled through the first set and was up 3-1 in the second before his serve began to betray him and the Lithuanian's shot placement confounded him.

Sock's frustration boiled over as his game unraveled in the final set. A penalty for launching a ball into the trees was the decisive point that put him two breaks down at 4-1 and sealed the 20-year-old's fate.

"Definitely was a little frustrated. If I can learn some things out of it, it's a good lesson, it's worth it," said Sock, who later won in doubles with James Blake over Colin Fleming and John Peers.

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