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3/10/08 2:53 PM | Ricky Dimon
Sam Querrey bounces back from a set down to overcome Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and capture the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. It’s the first ATP title for the fast-rising American.
For a while it looked like little-known Kevin Anderson would just the ranks of shocking 2008 title winners along with Kei Nishikori, Sergiy Stakhovsky, and Steve Darcis. Instead, it was Sam Querrey who emerged as the surprising champion on Sunday in sunny Las Vegas. Querrey prevailed in the all-unseeded matchup with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that took just over two hours.
As expected, the 6’5’’ Querrey and the 6’7’’ Anderson came out with almost identical game plans—win a lot of free points with booming first serves and work the other player’s backhand during baseline rallies to induce short balls asking to be put away with monster forehands.
Anderson executed that plan to perfection in the early going, and the 6-4 first set was not even as close as the scoreline indicated. The 21-year-old South African served at a stunning 89 percent rate and lost just six points on serve in the entire first set. While Anderson fired three aces and no double-faults in the opening frame, Querrey threw in four doubles. The American managed to save seven of eight break points, but the one break was all Anderson needed.
Querrey looked frustrated with both himself and the fact that his opponent seemed unstoppable in the first set, and that dejected body language continued briefly into the second set. But Querrey recovered from 0-30 to hold serve at 2-2 and from then on Anderson slowly but surely let him off the hook. The former University of Illinois standouts played two loose service games, one in each of the final two sets, and that was enough for Querrey, who did not lose his serve from the middle of the first set until the end.
Anderson’s all-court game faltered along with his serve as the match dragged on and the pressure increased. He also started playing more passively—which is not his game at all—at the beginning of the third set, as if hoping Querrey would melt down and hand him the match. When that did not happen, Anderson began to press and therefore made too many errors. The critical mistake came on a break point in the third set when Anderson completely over-hit a volley that should have been an easy winner. With break in hand, Querrey served out the match in routine fashion.
The more-experienced Querrey handled the pressure much better than his opponent
Anderson converted just one of 10 break point chances (nonetheless he still had a remarkable tournament)
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janhavi, Nov 21, 2008 1:53 PM
janhavi, Nov 21, 2008 5:53 AM
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Kevin Anderson 
Sam Querrey 
Tennis Channel Open