Folks on the UCLA campus are used to seeing the occasional Trojan. But a Samurai?
In what he hopes will just be one step in a long and productive summer, sixth seeded Sam Querrey, aided by the fervent Team Samurai, won the second title of his career, beating qualifier Carsten Ball 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 at the L.A. Open. “If I keep playing like I am playing now, hopefully I have a shot at the U.S. Open,” Querrey said. “You don’t want to think you can only get to the Round of 16. You want to think you can win it.”
With his serve, forehand and movement all rounding into form, Querrey rode into the meat of the summer hardcourt season with a real head of momentum. Coming into L.A., the 21-year-old American had reached the finals in both Newport and Indianapolis. With his title, Querrey now has a legitimate shot of cracking the top 20 prior to the U.S. Open.
Team Samurai, a group of headband wearing childhood buddies from nearby Thousand Oaks, were given the assist this week by Querrey, especially in his big 6-3, 7-5 win over top seed Tommy Haas in the emis. In a tight and dicey second set, the boisterous (and shirtless) Samurai managed to get into Haas’ head at just the right moment.
“They were just fired up,” Querrey said. “It’s the semis…a night match. They pulled me through a lot of matches this week.”
For the 22-year-old Ball, who had never won a round in an ATP World Tour event, it was also a week like no other. The Newport Beach native entered the L.A. Open qualifying on a three-match losing streak, the last of which was a first round challenger loss to a player ranked 1,742 in the world. But the UCLA courts played to his liking, and after winning his first round, Ball’s confidence grew.
“I think I have a game that, if I can put it together and can get some confidence, I can go ahead and win a few matches,” said Ball, who play Davis Cup for Australia. “A little confidence and self belief goes a long way.”
Although Querrey is right-handed and Ball is left-handed, both players have similar games: booming, go-for-broke serves and heavy ground strokes. As the match entered the third set, however, Querrey managed to find another gear, dropping only three points on his own serve while managing to break Ball twice. “There’s no doubt he’s a great player and that he’s just constantly getting better and improving,” said Ball. “I would love to see him keep doing well and get in the top 10.”
Querrey was equally complimentary of Ball. “He played great. He has a huge lefty serve, he’s talented at the net and he has a strong forehand. I think we are going to see a lot more of him.’’ Both players left L.A. at career highs in the rankings. After hoisting the winner’s trophy, Querrey rose to 26 in the world. Ball jumped sixty spots to 145.
Querrey became the first American to reach at least three ATP World Tour finals in a row since Andy Roddick did it in ‘04.
Top seeded Americans Bob and Mike Bryan continued their virtual stranglehold on the L.A. Open, winning their fifth doubles title in nine years by defeating Benjamin Becker and Frank Moser 6-4, 7-6(2). “We’re happy to come here and clean the slate and get number 54 and start off a good summer hopefully.”
