[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [28] Sam Querrey (USA)
No one but Querrey, his team, and his close friends gave him a chance of defeating Djokovic. He hasn’t yet, but leads the number one seed and defending champion by two sets to none. This is a compelling story because in nine tries, Querrey has only defeated Djokovic once, in 2012. This is their first meeting on grass and I did not see this coming. Querrey came out focused and forced a tiebreak set which he won 7-6(6). That’s when we all expected Djokovic to shift gears and go to that other level where no one can touch him. It did not happen, instead Querrey kept the pressure on and Djokovic unraveled. Querrey won the second set 6-1. This would be the biggest win of his career. Did the rain help Djokovic and possibly derail Querrey’s momentum? Can Querrey ignore the press, suppress his emotions and play like this tomorrow to win one more set and get the upset?
UPSET OF THE DAY
[4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. [165] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
After undergoing three wrist surgeries, Del Potro doubted that he would be able to come back to the Tour. His love of the game motivated him to keep trying and although his backhand will probably never be as good as it used to be, it was enough to frustrate Wawrinka today. Wawrinka had won their only grass court meeting in 2008. While this may appear as an upset, Del Potro won their last three encounters and led their head-to-head 3:2 coming into this match. Despite the long lay-off and the questionable state on his wrists, Del Potro is still inherently a fierce competitor. He proved that today when he won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3.
What’s wrong with Djokovic? We’ve never seen him, at least not in a long, long time, give such a lack luster performance. It’s going to be interesting tomorrow to see if the rain will cure what ails him and allow him to come roaring back as he usually does or will Querry continue his domination of this match. Only time will tell.
I watched that match and I must say as much as I would like to say that Querrey played magnificent tennis, it was more a story of Djokovic not playing well. Querrey served well; however, I fear if the real Djokovic shows up today, he will come back to win in five. Nevertheless, perhaps he will still be off his game and wouldn’t it be great for Querrey to get the upset?