Roddick sunk, Isner and Querrey sail on
Originally published on: 23/08/12 00:00
Roddick was beaten 7-6(6) 7-6(3) by the world No.81 – his first defeat to the 28-year-old Belgian in three meetings – and the 2002 US Open champion now heads into the final Grand Slam of the year with just two wins under his belt from his last three tournaments.
“I served okay, but I didn’t return too well,” said Roddick. “I didn’t hit the ball clean and he played better when he had to. I wanted to play better here.”
Roddick was troubled by a back injury during his straight sets defeat to Jeremy Chardy in the first round in Cincinnati a week earlier and had been hoping for a successful week at the ATP event having fallen to John Isner in last year’s semi-finals. The 2002 US Open champion hasn’t been beyond the third round of a Grand Slam this year, having fallen in the second round in Melbourne, the first round at the French Open and the third round at Wimbledon, but reached the quarter-finals on his last outing in New York in 2011.
Isner, meanwhile, continued his title defence in Winston Salem after beating Juergen Melzer 6-4 6-3, while Sam Querrey showed no tiredness in his fifth straight week of competitive action on the ATP Tour with a 6-3 6-4 win over Felciano Lopez.
Since winning his seventh career title in Los Angeles in late July, Querrey has played in back-to-back events in Washington, Toronto, Cincinnati and Winston Salem. The Las Vegan, who plummeted to 125th in the world last September but is now back at No.28 – just 11 spots off his career-high ranking – simply says he’s making up lost ground having been sidelined for three months last summer after undergoing elbow surgery.
“I’ve done it before; in 2009 I played every week,” said the 24-year-old right-hander. “I just felt I missed all of last summer, I didn’t win a lot of matches in the first half of the year, so I feel I am making up for it. As long as I am happy and playing well, I don’t need to go home to train. I feel fresh and motivated. If you’re playing good, don’t stop.”
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