WHAT HAPPENED: Sam Querrey was undaunted in his first evening session match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, playing near-perfect tennis to defeat Mischa Zverev, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to his first US Open quarterfinal.
Cracking a total of 55 winners, 18 aces and committing just eight unforced errors, Querrey never trailed in the match to move into the last eight, as he broke the lefty's serve six times and never faced a break point on his own delivery.
The No. 17 seed sprinted through to the last eight in a tidy one hour, 17 minutes, putting 75 percent of his returns in play for the match, going 10 for 12 in points won at the net and losing just three points behind his booming first serve in the match.
"I felt good out there from the beginning. I felt like even when I was warming up, the ball was coming off clean. I felt like I was going to play well before the first point started," Querrey said. "I went out there with the game plan of getting the return down and then try to pass, hopefully on the first ball, but if it took two passing shots, go with that. The more comfortable I got with the return, the more I kind of started trying to hit the return further and further away from him to make tough volleys."
WHAT IT MEANS: With the victory, Querrey will become the top-ranked American man when the new rankings are released following the US Open. He will face fellow big server Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the quarterfinals as each man bids to reach his first US Open semifinal – which would be the first Grand Slam semifinal of any kind for Anderson.
The two have played 14 times overall, with Querrey holding an 8-6 lead in the head-to-head. However, the two have split a pair of meetings this season, with Querrey taking their previous meeting in a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, and Anderson earning victory in the US Open Series event in Montreal.
"I've played him more than I think any guy on tour. Mischa and I have been on tour together 10 years, never played each other. Kevin and I have played each other 14 times," the American said. "He's tough, got a big game. He's another one that is tough to play. He doesn't give you much rhythm. He can go games where he's serving huge, you don't get a ball in play. He takes big cuts from start to finish. If he's on and he is dialed in, he's one of the toughest guys to play out there. You have to weather the storm against him, know he's going to have some brilliant shots.
"But I feel like when my game's on, I have a dangerous game as well."
MATCH POINT: A Wimbledon semifinalist over the summer, can Querrey reach the same heights – or higher – at his home Grand Slam?
