After all, Djokovic had never lost to an American at Wimbledon and had not bowed out of a grand slam before the quarter-finals since losing in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round of the 2009 French Open.
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The top seed was widely expected to claim his third grand slam title of the year on the grass courts of Wimbledon, but instead, will have some additional time off after stumbling to a 7-6 (8), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7) defeat at the hands of Querrey. “His game was brutal and I was overpowered today”, said Djokovic after his admission of not being 100 per cent added: “This is not the place or time to talk about it”.
Rod Laver figured Novak Djokovic might very well be the player, and this might very well be the year, that would finally end his distinction as the last man to win a calendar-year Grand Slam. “Maybe he felt winning all four titles and being the defending champion of all four was a Grand Slam in his mind. Coming into Wimbledon, I knew that mentally it’s not going to be easy to kind of re-motivate myself”.
Still, after play was halted Friday evening by rain – a recurring theme in this contest and the tournament as a whole – Djokovic came back out Saturday and played much better at the outset.
Querrey, a 28-year-old American, fought off break point after break point, usually with huge aces that reached up to 134 miles per hour.
Querrey, who faces Nicolas Mahut in the last 16, is not getting too carried away with regards to his enormous feat.
The world No. 41 dominated the rest of the way with his biggest weapon and appropriately converted match point at 5-4, 40-15 with his 23rd ace. Sam Querrey later said, “I can play golf also”.
The 29-year-old insisted there was no correlation, saying: “Obviously if you see a result or hear the fans, then you think about it”.
Querrey had to save three break-points in the opening game of the fourth set and three more in the third for a 2-1 lead, his thunderous serve providing a welcome escape route. But it was not meant to be as big-serving Querrey held his nerve to win the tennis match in 4 sets.
The top seed saved the first, but ballooned a forehand wide and his fate was sealed.
Murray beat Millman 6-3 7-5 6-2, after the world number 67 put up some stern resistance on Centre Court. “It has been a long few months for me already”, said Murray. “I had belief that I could win the match when it resumed on Saturday”.
That tie was suspended due to bad light at one set apiece.
In other action, fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori also reached the fourth round – equaling his best performance at the All England Club – with a quick 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 win over Andrey Kuznetsov of Russian Federation.
It could have a major impact on his preparations for his US Open title defence in August and September.
RAONIC VS. QUERREY: Querrey is playing the tournament of his life, reaching the quarterfinals of a major for the first time while beating top-ranked Djokovic along the way.
Canada’s Milos Raonic celebrates during his match against Belgium’s David Goffin.
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The Czech 10th seed, with 43 unforced errors, lost 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. He threw down 31 aces, survived four rain delays and dismissed Djokovic in four sets.
