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Querrey Recalls Beating Djokovic At Wimbledon
The last man to beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon is Sam Querrey who accomplished the feat in 2016 (Note: Djokovic lost to Tomas Berdych in 2017 QF but retired with an elbow injury at 67 02). Querrey shared memories of his second win of nine clashes with Djokovic…
Book Excerpt “Facing Novak Djokovic.”
Sam Querrey: My most memorable match with Djokovic was beating him at Wimbledon (76 61 36 76 in 2016 3R). Unbelievable win. He beat me seven other times, that’s the only one I can remember [smiles]. It’s definitely the biggest win I’ve ever had. It’s not career‑defining, but it’s really exciting. It’s something that I’ll always get to have, which is great.
Question: What happened that day?
Sam Querrey: I just won more points than him [smiles]. Served well the whole time. Played a great tiebreaker at the end to get the win.
Question: Multiple rain delays a factor?
Sam Querrey: It was tricky. I think we went on and off four times, including the two sets the first day. So it made it tricky the second day. I think going out I lost the first four games, and I think the rain delay helped me. I got to regroup. I broke back once in the third set which helped me gain back a little momentum for the fourth set. Like I said, with that rain delay, made a couple adjustments, came back out. Kind of settled down a little bit. Lost the third set, but played well the last four games of it. The fourth set was similar to the first set. I was saving a lot of breakpoints early. Every game I held, it put a little more pressure back on him and a little less on me.
Question: When did you realize you could beat the ATP world no. 1 Novak Djokovic that day?
Sam Querrey: I’m not going to lie and say going into it I thought I was going to win. But I think as the match progressed, I was serving well and holding in the first set, we were kind of going back and forth, I gained a little more confidence with every game. We got to that tiebreaker and I played a great tiebreaker. Once I won that, I was like in my head, All right, I can beat this guy, I can hang with him and turn this into a match.
He’s played at such a high level for so long. What makes him so good is he wins those matches where he isn’t playing his best. Definitely in the second set, yeah, he lost some momentum. He wasn’t playing like he usually does. He made me earn it. He’s not a guy that goes away. He made me come out and win those big points. Probably not the best he’s ever played, but not the worst he’s ever played. He was No. 1 in the world and the best out there.
Question: Remember what advices your coach (Craig Boynton) gave you vs Novak?
Sam Querrey: Craig did an unbelievable job. We had been working together all year. He also was coaching Steve Johnson. Every time we were going on and off, he just kept things very simple for me, Throw the ball up on the serve, pick a target, hit it. Don’t think about it. Keep thinking about your second serve, return of serve. Make sure you’re always smiling out there, having fun. I got to have him in my ear a lot because we had so many rain delays. He kept reminding me of that, which was helpful.
Question: Before beating Novak at Wimbledon you had beat him before in Paris Bercy (76 64 in 2012 ). Did it help you at Wimbledon to beat Novak?
Sam Querrey: I think it helps. I didn’t really pick anything from that match or recollect anything specific from that match. The fact I had one win gave me a little bit of belief like, Hey, maybe I can do it again. I also had eight losses going into it. But, yeah, it definitely helps to have the one win under my belt.
Djokovic won Wimbledon in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 (Wimbledon was cancelled in 2020. This year Djokovic is playing his 17th Wimbledon, his first time competing in the Wimbledon main draw was in 2005, a second round loss to Marat Safin.
This year Djokovic is seeking his fifth Wimbledon title in a row and eighth overall.
Sam Querrey retired from pro tennis last year at US Open and is now competing in professional pickleball.
Novak Djokovic · Sam Querrey · Wimbledon
