NEW YORK – Sam Querrey is so young that there isn't a trace of irony when he mentions growing up rooting for Andy Roddick and James Blake, two guys still very much on tour and still in their 20s.
Querrey is so new to this whole professional tennis gig that there is nothing but earn-estness in his voice when he admits he's excited his matches are on TV.
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U.S. OPEN
Men's seeded winners: No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 6 Andy Murray, No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro and No. 32 Gael Monfils.
Men's seeded losers: No. 4 David Ferrer, No. 7 David Nalbandian, No. 9 James Blake, No. 14 Ivo Karlovic and No. 16 Gilles Simon.
Women's seeded winners: No. 4 Serena Williams, No. 6 Dinara Safina, No. 7 Venus Williams, No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 16 Flavia Pennetta and No. 32 Amelie Mauresmo.
Women's seeded losers: No. 16 Alize Cornet, No. 18 Dominika Cibulkova, No. 19 Nadia Petrova, No. 27 Alona Bondarenko and No. 30 Ai Sugiyama.
TV today: 8 a.m. (Channel 8); 4 p.m. (USA).
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And Querrey is so young, so new and so eager that he clearly means it when he plainly explains he's “looking forward” to facing No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open, a matchup the 20-year-old Californian set up yesterday by knocking off a seeded player for the second time in the tournament.
It's Querrey's first berth in the fourth round of a major championship.
“And, you know, it's great that it's the U.S. Open,” Querrey said. “It's the one that, you know, if I had to pick one to win, it would be this one.”
Heady talk for a kid who is ranked 55th, owns one career title and has lost more matches than he's won on tour – even after upsetting No. 14 Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in the third round yesterday.
Querrey added that to his victory over No. 22 Tomas Berdych in the first round. A far tougher test follows, of course: Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion Nadal, who won for the 41st time in his past 42 matches by brushing aside Viktor Troicki 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.
Querrey was hardly the only man to author a surprise yesterday, capped by Mardy Fish's 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory over No. 9 Blake in an all-American match at night. Fish took the last five points to earn his first berth in the fourth round at the U.S. Open. Fish now meets French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils, who beat No. 7 David Nalbandian in straight sets.
No. 6 Andy Murray of Britain came all the way back from a two-set deficit to defeat a fading Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-7 (5-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-4. Murray celebrated by pushing up his gray T-shirt's right sleeve and flexing his biceps – a signal to his fitness trainer and support team.
His next opponent is No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who also dropped the first two sets before winning in five against Flavio Cipolla of Italy.
On a day filled with five-setters, No. 17 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina outlasted No. 16 Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to 22 matches. The 19-year-old Del Potro moved on to face 18-year-old Kei Nishikori, who upset No. 4 David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5 to become the first Japanese man to reach the U.S. Open's fourth round in the 40-year Open era.
In women's play, No. 6 Dinara Safina had to overcome a big deficit before getting past 60th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 at night. Both Williams sisters won 6-2, 6-1 against seeded foes who, in theory at least, should have provided something more of a challenge.
No. 7 Venus Williams compiled a remarkable 32-4 edge in winners against No. 27 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine. No. 4 Serena Williams – one of five women with a shot at moving up to No. 1 by tournament's end – was never troubled by No. 30 Ai Sugiyama of Japan.
Meanwhile, Julie Coin's magical run at the U.S. Open ended. On Thursday, the Frenchwoman stunned top-seeded Ana Ivanovic. It was the first time since the WTA computer rankings started in 1975 that a woman ranked so low beat a reigning world No. 1.
Yesterday, Coin lost 6-4, 6-4 to countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo, the No. 32 seed.
With the retirements of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, a shoulder injury sidelining Maria Sharapova, and early losses by Lindsay Davenport and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Williams sisters are the only past U.S. Open women's champions left.
One Williams or the other won the tournament every year from 1999 to 2002, but neither has made so much as a final since. Less than two months after playing in the Wimbledon final, won by Venus, they could square off in the quarterfinals here.
“I've had over a week to think about it,” Serena said. “So right now, I'm just hoping to win my next match.”
