Sam the Man

Nole Patrol is TENNIS.com's Wimbledon blog that will provide on-site news, insight and commentary on Novak Djokovic as he aims for a fifth consecutive Grand Slam singles title.

LONDON—For Sam Querrey, seeing Novak Djokovic’s name so close to his in the Wimbledon draw was déjà vu in the worst of ways.

Last year, the American met another high seed—eventual finalist Roger Federer—in the opening week, losing 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in his second match. On Wednesday after beating Thomaz Bellucci, Querrey said he would “rather play literally anyone else at this point.”

Despite those thoughts, Querrey stormed to the biggest upset of the year, taking out the world No. 1, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5). His win marks Djokovic's first loss at a major since losing to Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros final last year.

Due to a drop in rankings, Querrey hasn’t been seeded at a Slam since 2013, and poor draws come with that territory. The 28-year-old’s ranking has fluctuated with his health and inability to consistently win, especially at big tournaments. The 6’6” big server is injury and accident-prone. Case in point, at the end of 2009 Querrey fell through a glass table he was sitting on, and cut his right arm so severely that it nearly ended his career.

More injuries, including elbow surgery, saw him nearly plummet out of the Top 100 by the end of 2011, the same year he reached his career high of No. 17.

Djokovic was 44-3 on the year heading into his campaign for a fourth Wimbledon title, while Querrey was just 20-14. The American captured his eighth title in Delray Beach, and then scored his biggest win of the season over Kei Nishikori in Acapulco shortly thereafter. But since then, he had failed to string together a significant series of wins, finally showing improvement when the surface turned to grass—a semifinal in 's-Hertogenbosch.

“I like playing on grass,” Querrey said Wednesday. “I’ll try to serve well and be aggressive. We’ll see. It depends. He’s pretty good on grass too.”

His third-round match against Djokovic, which began on Friday and finished Saturday, was scheduled on No. 1 Court instead of Centre Court, which bothered the world No. 1 more than Querrey.

Djokovic said he was “more comfortable on Centre Court, obviously,” having played the majority of his matches there, while Querrey had more of an appreciation for this stage.

“It’s something that not many people get to do,” the Santa Monica resident said Wednesday. “Travel around to these great tournaments, see the world and play in these amazing stadiums.”

His California cool personality comes out a lot, both in interviews and on court.

“He’s pretty good,” Querrey said before facing Djokovic. “In order to beat him right now I’d have to play an incredible match… I’ll try not to get to engulfed in the moment and see what happens.”

Querrey is clearly very laid back, but he’s also willing to take risks. This is a man that appeared on Millionaire Matchmaker early last year, openly looking for love in front of millions of viewers. (He’s now dating model Abby Dixon).

Though he doesn’t take himself too seriously, he’s taken tennis very seriously during his 10-year career, winning his first title as a 20-year-old in Las Vegas in 2008.

“He's been around for so many years,” Djokovic said. “I think from the experience he has had, he's learned and became a better player.”

Querrey stepped up in both tiebreakers to give himself all the right opportunities. In the second set, Djokovic’s first 6-1 lost set at a major since 2013, Querrey continued to press Djokovic, and the Serb cracked, spraying loose errors all over the court. He essentially gifted the second set over in just 22 minutes.

The English rain inevitably fell, long enough to suspend play for the night. What does a player think about when he goes to bed up two sets against a 12-time Grand Slam champion?

“I slept great. I'm a pretty relaxed guy,” Querrey said. “Had an easy dinner at the house. My parents are there, some friends, my girlfriend. We just kind of hung out.  Nothing exciting. Got back here today and went to work.”

After dropping the third set on Saturday, between more rain delays, Querrey got himself into a fourth-set tiebreaker. Despite his slow start (1-3), Querrey continued to take his chances, benefited from some more Djokovic errors, and eventually achieved the unthinkable.

“Can be tricky with all those rain delays,” Querrey said. “But fortunately just went out there, served well the whole time, played a great tiebreaker at the end to get the win.”

Though Querrey had beaten Djokovic before—at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris, four years ago—he wasn’t fooling himself into thinking it would be simple.

“He’s beat me on pretty much every [surface],” Querrey said, having had a 1-8 record against the Serb going into Friday.

While much has been made of America not having a Grand Slam champion, beating one, especially Djokovic, has captured the world’s attention.

Fellow American Steve Johnson also moved into the fourth round, taking out Grigor Dimitrov. But it’s less about compatriots motivating Querrey with their performances, and more about the presence on the road.

“It doesn’t play a role either way,” he said Wednesday. “I cheer and follow those guys, but it’s an individual sport. I’m just trying to be the best I can. I want them to do well so we’re all at the same tournaments. I don’t want to be the only American in Madrid or something like that.”

After his colossal win, Querrey teamed up with Johnson late on Friday in doubles, falling to Nenad Zimonjic and Radek Stepanek.

The world No. 41 is keeping his signature, easygoing attitude intact moving forward as he faces Nicolas Mahut in the fourth round.

"I'm just looking forward to the next match," he said. "There's another one after this. I have to get ready for that."