Los Angeles, CA – Local favorite at #2 seed Sam Querrey continued his quest for another title in Los Angeles as he defeated Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-6(4) in the semifinals. It was a chilly night at Straus Stadium and tempers flared as Querrey committed numerous errors to complicate the match. Unhappy with his strings and his performance, Sam was urged on by his Samurai cheering squad and the local fans in attendance. A long third game in the second set helped settle Querrey’s nerves and he fought back from a 3-0 deficit. Hitting forehands in excess of 105mph, Querrey managed to force a second set tiebreak after narrowly avoiding going down a set point.
The pressure was on as Ram continued his high quality play with change of pace and good serving. However it was Querrey who jumped out to an early lead in the tiebreak after making a clutch down the line passing shot winner. Things were even until 5-4 where Querrey took a deep breath and served up two big points in a row to seal his victory. He’ll go for his third Los Angeles title on Sunday at 1pm Pacific time against qualifier Ricardas Berankis.
In the doubles semifinals, Querrey and Steve Johnson lost to Xavier Malisse and Ruben Bemelmans 6-4 6-4. Despite some unbelievable shots from Querrey/Johnson including an around the net post down the line winner from Sam, they were unable to win the big points in the close duel. Malisse and Bemelmans will face the British duo of Skupski and Delgado in the final on Sunday afternoon following the singles final.