Rafael Nadal did not feature in the 2024 Acapulco Open, being one of the biggest names missing from the men’s singles draw. For all his success, he could have one more shot at glory in the Mexican city if it wasn’t for the then 30-year-old American player, Sam Querrey. It could be fair to say that Querrey deserved his win against Nadal in the 2017 Acapulco Open final, although many still believe that it was a major upset.
But after that match, Sam Querrey became a popular name in the tennis circuit. Here’s how that match panned out. The road wasn’t easy for either of them before that. Sam Querrey had to face a then in-form Nick Kyrgios in the semi-final, which the American player won after losing the first set. The score was 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. Nadal, on the other hand, dominated Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-final.
But Querrey won his match 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) against Nadal. Even though the second set went into a tiebreaker, Querrey didn’t let the Spaniard take charge of the set, and therefore the match.
It was a famous win for Querrey, but that wasn’t the only one. Sam Querrey was coming on the back of winning a match against current World No.1 Novak Djokovic, just around six months before he won against Nadal. This was at the 2016 Wimbledon third-round match. The scoreline was 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). It didn’t even take 5 full sets to win against Djokovic.
Djokovic had dominated against Adrian Mannarino in the previous round, winning it by a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) scoreline. This win by Querrey was the onset of the arrival of a talented player, which only came to fruition after the Nadal win.
With two famous wins over two of the Big Three stars, Querrey still never managed to win against Roger Federer. The head-to-head remains 4-0 on Federer’s part. The American has, however, defeated Stan Wawrinka twice. Once was at the 2013 China Open in Beijing, where Querrey won 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). The next time was 5 years later at the AEGON Championships in London, where Querrey won 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1.
Another great player of this generation was Andy Murray, against whom Querrey found the same success as Wawrinka. Sam Querrey won twice against Andy Murray in his career. Once was at the 2010 Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, where Querrey won 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. The other time was at the 2017 Wimbledon, where home player Murray lost 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-1 against Querrey. Querrey’s success against such big names in tennis has made him a popular figure.
What will Sam Querrey do next in 2024?
At the 2024 Netflix Slam, where Rafael Nadal will be facing Carlos Alcaraz, Sam Querrey will be present. Querrey will be there at the Netflix Slam playing exhibition matches and training clinics for the fans in Las Vegas. Querrey will be serving with former American and doubles partner John Isner. They will participate in the Aces Challenge with Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. At the Slam, Querrey also joked recently about doing the following things for a fan – Walk a dog, do their taxes, cook lunch, tuck them to sleep at night, etc.
The day of the Netflix Slam starts with the iconic Bryan Brothers, Bob and Mike, pairing up with Asia Muhammad and Genie Bouchard for a doubles match. Right after that, the doubles match of Querrey-Isner vs Tiafoe-Fritz starts. It will be a fun day out on Sunday, March 3 in Vegas.
