U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier says Sam Querrey gave James Ward too many chances in the Briton’s 1-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 6-1 upset of the higher-ranked American. Querrey held a 4-2 lead in the fourth set before losing 10 of the next 11 games. Great Britain leads the U.S. 2-0 in the first round tie in San Diego.
“He had a lot of chances to close it out, lots of break points and opportunities that came and went and you can’t give anybody that many chances and expect them to do anything but get better,” Courier told Davis Cup.com. “It’s like a get out of jail free card. It was a momentum match… fourth set should have been a cruise and we should have put them away. You have to put the stake in the heart when you have the chance.”
The *San Diego Union Tribune* reported that after his win over Donald Young in the opening match, Andy Murray “hung with the press and watched the tiebreaker. At one point, Murray mumbled, 'Miss it, Sam.' ”
British captain Leon Smith added that the 175th- ranked Ward “kept believing in himself and we just talked about being the aggressor, being the boss. He won a lot of the points when he got Querrey on the back foot. He's been brave, he's been courageous."