By Jackie Finn
Sam Querrey wrapped up one of the finest weeks of his 11-year professional career Saturday evening in Acapulco, Mexico, downing 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 7-6, to win the Mexican Open.
Here’s a little more on the veteran American:
The Sam Querrey File
Age: 29
Height: 6-6
Residence: Santa Monica, CA
Current Rank: 26
Career-High Rank: 17 (January 2011)
Best 2016 Series Finish: Round of 16 (Winston-Salem)
The Baseline:
- Querrey, who was unseeded and ranked No. 40 in the world at the start of the tournament, defeated four Top 20 players and five in the Top 50 on his way to the Acapulco title. After beating world No. 45 Kyle Edmund in the first round, the American went on to take town No. 11 David Goffin, No. 9 Dominic Thiem, No. 17 Nick Kyrgios and No. 6 Nadal.
- The win was Querrey’s ninth ATP title and his second at the 500-level, along with Memphis in 2010. Following the title, he rose 14 places to No. 26 in the ATP World Rankings, his highest position in three and a half years.
- Four of Querrey’s nine career tour titles have come in Series events, including in Los Angeles in 2009, when he won the men’s Series crown. He has also reached the semifinals of the Winston-Salem Open on three occasions (2012-14), the quarterfinals in Cincinnati (2007) and the round of 16 at the Rogers Cup (2012).
- Querrey posted his best career Grand Slam result last year at Wimbledon, snapping Novak Djokovic’s 30-match Grand Slam winning streak en route to the quarterfinals.
- Over the course of his career, Querrey’s best major results have come at the US Open, where he has two fourth-round showings and three additional third-round finishes. He has also reached the third round at the Australian Open and French Open.
They said it!
"It's definitely a tournament that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. It's just one of those weeks where I got in the zone and everything was working for me. I hope I can have more like this." – Querrey, to atpworldtour.com, after winning the title in Acapulco