The Serbian already won the first two Grand Slam tournament of the year, Australian Open and French Open and was also looking for his third Wimbledon title after wins in 2014 and 2015. “He serves very well”.
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“I’m not going to lie and say going into it I thought I was going to win”, Querrey acknowledged afterward. He made a lot of free points with the first serve.
When the rain returned just after Querrey had held for a 6-5 lead, it left Djokovic heading for the locker room knowing he would have to serve to stay in the match on the resumption.
“We’ll see. I have to think about it”, he said, revealing he would take a break from the sport after suffering only his fourth loss this season. I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row.
America’s Querrey, the world number 41, built only his second win in 10 meetings with Djokovic on an epic-serving performance over two days after the tie had been suspended with him two sets to the good on Friday.
“The difference between this year and 2013 is those players were all in my section of the draw, and so their losses had quite a direct effect, whereas Novak Djokovic losing on Saturday won’t have any bearing on me at all unless I reach the final”. Querrey, 0 for 6 on break points in the set until then, converted No. 7 when Djokovic’s poor forehand volley found the net for 5-all.
Although rain interrupted the match and it was played in Court No. 1 instead of the center court, Djokovic took no credit away from Querrey.
Querrey saved 11 of 12 break points in the fourth set, broke Djokovic when the world number one was serving to level the match, and showed great composure in the tiebreak.
Asked how much the pursuit of history was a burden, Djokovic said: “I don’t think it played (that) big of a factor, to be honest”.
“I just wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I wished”.
Querrey’s earth-moving triumph ended Djokovic’s open-era record 30-match winning streak at the slams and consigned the Serb to his earliest departure from a major since the 2009 French Open.
“As I said, you know, in sports everything is possible”, Djokovic said.
USA’s Sam Querrey in action against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. “If he plays well (and) I’m not on my game, I can lose that match for sure”. Sometimes it works in your favor, sometimes against. “You got to deal with that”.
Yet rather than conduct a depressing post-mortem of his first defeat in 31 Grand Slam matches, Djokovic did his best to accentuate the positives of his incredible run, claiming he would be back to his best in time for the Olympics and then the US Open in August. “It’s actually special that they are playing tomorrow because it’s like a tradition here in Wimbledon”. Every time I step out on the court, if I don’t win, it’s major national news.
In the fourth round, Querrey went into his next match with all the confidence in the world.
Querrey is the first American man to reach a Wimbledon quarterfinal since Mardy Fish in 2011, and the first to reach any major quarterfinal since the 2011 U.S. Open.
Later, No. 2 seed Andy Murray made quiet progress into the fourth round beating John Millman 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
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Murray will play Australian 15th seed Nick Kyrgios or Spain’s Feliciano Lopez for a place in the quarter-finals.
