His last loss at any major came against Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final in June 2015.
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“Congratulations to Sam. He played a terrific match”, Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. That part of his game was brutal today.
Djokovic had won the past four major titles in a row – and was halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam for a man since Rod Laver in 1969.
The unthinkable has occurred at Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic, the holder of all four grand slam titles, has been beaten in the third round. “I want to try to focus on that rather than on failure”, reported AP.
“I knew it was going to be very close”.
“I had my chances”, said Djokovic who confirmed he would not play in the Davis Cup quarter-final against Britain this month.
Querrey was the first American to beat Djokovic in a grand slam since Andy Roddick in 2009 and he will take on Nicolas Mahut of France with a place in a first grand slam quarter-final beckoning.
“It’s incredible, especially to do it at Wimbledon, the biggest tournament in the world”.
“I’m ecstatic, it’s the biggest tournament in the world”, Querrey said.
“Certainly it’s not the first time that I’m losing in a Grand Slam match, or any match for that matter”.
When they returned almost two hours later Djokovic looked less assured.
“I played the break points really well”. Obviously with all his history and the career he has and the number of Wimbledons he has won, you can think he will win another grand slam but since the Australian Open he practically hasn’t competed. The Serb saved a first match point with an ace but on the second he put a forehand wide, upon which Querrey leapt into the air in celebration.
Last year, Djokovic dodged a similar sort of danger in the fourth round at Wimbledon when he rallied from a two-set deficit over two days to win against another tall, mild-mannered and huge-serving opponent: Kevin Anderson of South Africa. “Certainly, I thought he could be the guy to do it”.
A jinx because: 1) Querrey was a set away from creating history and 2) the Southern California native has not been a beacon of mental fortitude in his career, his relaxed, go-with-the-flow vibe not something that fits in among tennis’ peak.
Murray plays 21-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios or experienced left-handed Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the fourth round on Monday.
That tie was suspended due to bad light at one set apiece.
It could have a major impact on his preparations for his US Open title defence in August and September.
No. 5 Kei Nishikori, No. 6 Milos Raonic, No. 9 Marin Cilic, No. 11 David Goffin and No. 19 Bernard Tomic also advanced to the fourth round.
In the women’s side, twice champion Petra Kvitova was knocked out in the second round, losing a two-hour slugfest 7-5 7-6 (5) to unseeded Ekaterina Makarova after a far longer battle against the weather. “Hopefully will just kind of play freely and have fun and play big and hopefully get another win”.
His win was heard by training partner Steve Johnson (they share a coach in Craig Boynton) on Court 18 and seen on a scoreboard by Centre Court fans and Andy Murray, the British crowd delighting in the exit of Djokovic, their home hope’s foe.
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A semi-finalist in 2012, Kerber will next face Japan’s Misaki Doi.
