Sam Querrey

Sam Querrey survived a match point as he rallied to beat John Isner , 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in an all-American final Sunday in the Serbia Open at Belgrade. The second-seeded Isner wasted a match point in the second set while serving and leading, 5-3. His powerful first serve seemed to desert him in the crucial moments as Querrey converted a break point with a forehand passing shot. The third-seeded Querrey then converted his fifth break point in the ninth game of the third set before serving out the match for the fourth ATP tour title of his career, and his first on clay.

More fun than watching some undistinguished first-round tennis matches at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday afternoon? Crowding around a patch of lawn to hoot and holler as Rafael Nadal kicked around a soccer ball with Novak Djokovic. And if tennis rankings were conducted by a popular vote among the fans who begged for autographs, it would be Nadal ranked No. 1 instead of Djokovic. But it is the Serbian Djokovic, who was also playful with the crowd, who is the defending champion here and who has won four of the last five major tournaments.

Sam Querrey smashed a couple of rackets, called himself "Debbie Downer," bungled a bunch of points in the second set and generally, he said, wanted to leave his job Friday afternoon, maybe sneak out early, get away from his mistimed serves, his out-of-whack forehand, his muddled head. Instead Querrey will have to come back to work Saturday and continue his job of defending a tennis title. Querrey, seeded second at the Farmers Classic tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, overcame all his mistakes and beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4)

Mardy Fish and John Isner beat Colombia's Robert Farah and Carlos Salamanca , 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, on Saturday at Bogota, Colombia, to give the United States a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup World Group playoff. In Sunday's reverse singles on the outdoor red clay court at Santamaria bull ring, Fish is scheduled to open against Santiago Giraldo , and Sam Querrey will face Alejandro Falla . Fish could make a bit of history. The last American to win three times in a tie was Pete Sampras in the 1995 final in Moscow.

When Sam Querrey opted to play professional tennis rather than accept a scholarship at USC in 2006, he didn't give up summer break. The 22-year-old Querrey, who begins doubles play with James Blake on Tuesday at the Farmers Classic at UCLA, last played at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on July 8. In between, Querrey set aside plenty of time to relax at his Santa Monica home. "A lot of my friends come to stay at my house; we'll go to the ocean, cook barbecue at my house, go to the movies.

The tennis was compelling if not always technically perfect. There were wild swings of quality and of mood between defending champion and second-seeded Sam Querrey and sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals of the Farmers Classic on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. When Tipsarevic jumped way ahead in the second-set tiebreak, Querrey suddenly decided to pack a punch in his forehand. When Querrey roared from behind to win that set, Tipsarevic responded with a stylish service break to start the third.

That last forehand Sam Querrey hit, a winner from deep behind the baseline, the one that touched every line, it seemed, came just in time. It was getting dark again at the All England Club, well past 9 p.m., and a tall, gangly American was deep into a fifth set with no tiebreaker to save him and Mohamed Lahyani in the chair, possibly crossing his legs uncomfortably. Lahyani, after all, was the umpire who supervised the 11-hour, 5-minute, three-day marathon won, 70-68, in the fifth set by John Isner over Nicolas Mahut in the first round, and there he was again as Querrey and Xavier Malisse of Belgium stood tied, 7-7, in the fifth set. But Querrey, the 22-year-old from Santa Monica who is seeded 18th, put on some blinders, kicked his game into a higher power mode and finished off Malisse before play was stopped Saturday, advancing to the fourth round of Wimbledon with a 6-7 (4)

This could have been a defining moment for 22-year-old Sam Querrey, a chance for him to advance to his first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal with a real opportunity to move to the semifinals of the U.S. Open. But as quickly as Stanislas Wawrinka chipped a service return and snapped off a sneaky volley, a weary Querrey ended up the dejected loser, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, in a men's fourth-round match. The exit of the 20th-seeded Querrey means there are no American men left in the draw.

The Davis Cup match between the U.S. and host Serbia on March 5-7 in Belgrade could almost be called Southern California against Serbia. Sam Querrey of Thousands Oaks will play singles and twins Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo will play doubles, captain Patrick McEnroe announced Wednesday. The other singles player will be John Isner of Georgia. The match will be played on red clay in a 20,000-seat arena, one that McEnroe expects to be raucous. It will be the first Davis Cup meeting between the U.S. and Serbia.

At least next year the L.A. Tennis Open men's event should have its defending champion in the draw. Sam Querrey, a rising 21-year-old who was playing in his third final in three weeks, did something different this time. He won the thing. After being a runner-up in Newport, R.I., and Indianapolis, and playing in front of an enthusiastic group of former high school buddies who call themselves "The Samurai," Querrey beat qualifier Carsten Ball, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, on Sunday.

There will be a rematch. Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams will play again at the U.S. Open, on Friday, in the semifinals. There will be left-handed Spaniards. Fernando Verdasco and Rafael Nadal, both lefties, will hook up in a men's quarterfinal. There won't be any American men in the singles. Sam Querrey's bid to make the final eight was scuttled by a quirky wind, cramping legs and a sturdy man from Switzerland who wasn't named Roger Federer but who was quite happy to make it Switzerland 2, USA 0 in the quarterfinals.

This could have been a defining moment for 22-year-old Sam Querrey, a chance for him to advance to his first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal with a real opportunity to move to the semifinals of the U.S. Open. But as quickly as Stanislas Wawrinka chipped a service return and snapped off a sneaky volley, a weary Querrey ended up the dejected loser, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, in a men's fourth-round match. The exit of the 20th-seeded Querrey means there are no American men left in the draw.

Every year, we are bombarded with propaganda about player development. It is as if a huge stigma exists if there aren't lots of players from the United States doing well in the United States Open. Monday began with a long news conference on the subject, featuring the top two people in the U.S. Tennis Assn.'s player development program. One was Patrick McEnroe, who said he was resigning his Davis Cup captaincy to focus on player development. The other was Jose Higueras, who lives in Palm Springs, who won 15 tour tournaments in the 1970s and early '80s and who has been a successful coach of several past and present pro stars.

John Isner played from behind Sunday night, getting his wicked serve broken in the very first game of his third-round match against Mikhail Youzhny, a 28-year-old Russian veteran who doesn't often win the biggest matches but who wins enough. "It's tough playing from behind like that," Isner said. "It takes so much energy to try to come back from a hole like that. " Energy was mostly missing from the 18th-seeded Isner on Sunday night. He had a moment of mid-match rejuvenation, but it wasn't enough, and he lost to the 12th-seeded Youzhny, 6-4, 6-7 (7)

Andy Roddick is out of the U.S. Open, and lately when Roddick is eliminated from major tournaments, it's the end of American men in the draw. But here Thursday there was 19th-seeded Mardy Fish gliding around the Louis Armstrong Stadium court using his sweet touch, able to time his volleys, willing to change the pace on his groundstrokes. Combined with a late-career decision to become supremely physically fit, the 28-year-old Fish looks rejuvenated, especially after his 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Pablo Cuevas in his second-round match.

The tennis was compelling if not always technically perfect. There were wild swings of quality and of mood between defending champion and second-seeded Sam Querrey and sixth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the semifinals of the Farmers Classic on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. When Tipsarevic jumped way ahead in the second-set tiebreak, Querrey suddenly decided to pack a punch in his forehand. When Querrey roared from behind to win that set, Tipsarevic responded with a stylish service break to start the third.

There will be a rematch. Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams will play again at the U.S. Open, on Friday, in the semifinals. There will be left-handed Spaniards. Fernando Verdasco and Rafael Nadal, both lefties, will hook up in a men's quarterfinal. There won't be any American men in the singles. Sam Querrey's bid to make the final eight was scuttled by a quirky wind, cramping legs and a sturdy man from Switzerland who wasn't named Roger Federer but who was quite happy to make it Switzerland 2, USA 0 in the quarterfinals.

Farmers Classic Straus Stadium Beginning at 2 p.m. Janko Tipsarevic (6), Serbia, vs. Sam Querrey (2); Bob and Mike Bryan (1) vs. Rohan Bopanna, India, and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistan (4). Beginning at 7:30 p.m. Andy Murray (1), Britain, vs. Feliciano Lopez (4), Spain; Ross Hutchins, Britain, and Jordan Kerr, Australia, vs. Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer, Curacao, OR Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, and Horia Tecau, Romania (2).