Djokovic loses to Querrey in third round of Wimbledon
WIMBLEDON, England — Sam Querrey upset top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the third round of Wimbledon, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5), Saturday, ending Djokovic’s run of Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic, 29, had won the past four major tournaments and set an Open era record Wednesday by winning his 30th Grand Slam singles match in a row. He also was chasing the Grand Slam, having won the first two major titles this year at the Australian Open and the French Open.
Querrey, the No. 28 seed, won the first two sets Friday night before rain forced the players off Court 1 shortly after 8 p.m.
When the match resumed Saturday around noon, Djokovic was in much better form, breaking Querrey twice to build a 4-0 lead in 17 minutes before rain again suspended play.
After a two-hour delay, Querrey was able to get one break back before Djokovic closed out the set.
There was another quick shower at 1-1 in the fourth set. Both players saved numerous break point opportunities before Djokovic finally converted on his 12th try of the set to serve for the set at 5-4. But Querrey broke him back in the next game, then held to go up by 6-5, when it started to rain again.
The delay gave Djokovic an hour to mull having to hold serve to stay in the match. But he held at love to send the set into a tiebreaker.
The loose play and errors that plagued Djokovic throughout the match were his undoing in the tiebreaker, which ended with a forehand sailing wide.
Querrey, a 28-year-old American, finished with 31 aces and 56 winners. He has never advanced past the fourth round at a major. He had beaten Djokovic only once in their nine previous meetings and had not won a set against him in three years.
Rod Laver was the last man to complete the Grand Slam, in 1969, and the last man to win the first three majors in a season. Only one man won five straight Grand Slam titles: Don Budge, who claimed six in a row in 1937-38.
Djokovic had not lost at a Grand Slam tournament since the final of the 2015 French Open. He was last beaten before the quarterfinals of a major in 2009, when he fell to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round of the French Open.
