For the second straight year at the U.S. Open, not a single American man reached the fourth round. The host nation’s last hopes, Sam Querrey and John Isner, both bowed out of the tournament during second-round action on Saturday.
Querrey’s exit was expected, as he had to go up against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. It proved to be an entirely straightforward affair, with Djokovic cruising 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
“It was so-so today,” Querrey said of his level. “It was tough. He just puts so much pressure on you. And it’s so windy out there. It’s tough for anyone’s level to be that great because of the wind.”
As a whole, the event was far worse than “so-so” for the American men, who were entirely eliminated soon after Querrey’s defeat. For the third straight year in the third round of the U.S. Open, Isner went down at the hands of New York nemesis Philipp Kohlschreiber. And for a second consecutive year, Isner lost in a fourth-set tiebreaker in Louis Armstrong stadium. Kohlschreiber never broke serve but still prevailed 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4).
“(It’s) certainly a very weird situation,” Isner commented. “I never expected I could see him again this year in that round. It’s super disappointing that I’ve lost to him three times in a row at this tournament. I have the crowd on my side, I have a lot of things going my way as far as that goes. I wasn’t able to pull through three times in a row. It’s a bit annoying. It’s very disappointing. You know, there’s nothing else to say. He was just better three times in a row here.”
“It’s a little bit crazy to play three years in a row in the same round,” Kohlschreiber assured. “For sure it was (a) mental advantage for me I think that I always won over a long distance. On the other hand it’s always so close against him. You have to play some tiebreaks. I think I was very solid, very consistent in there, [mixed] it up with good aggression.”
Team USA will now gear up for a Davis Cup tie against Slovakia, while Kohlschreiber has a Monday fourth-round date with Djokovic.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.
Topics: John Isner, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Sam Querrey, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open
AMERICAN UGLY: ONCE AGAIN NO U.S. OPEN FOURTH ROUND BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/025RaMtA8b #USOpen2014 #isner #querrey #fourthround
RT @10sBalls_com: AMERICAN UGLY: ONCE AGAIN NO U.S. OPEN FOURTH ROUND BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/025RaMtA8b #USOpen2014 #isner #querre…