Heat hits Legg Mason as No. 6 seed is ousted
After four days of temperate weather, suffocating heat finally descended on the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on Wednesday, officially christening the start of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
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First in the hot box for a 4 p.m. start were American Sam Querrey and Serb Janko Tipsarevic. It was an unfortunate matchup for the sixth-seeded Querrey, who couldn’t find a way to overpower his scrappy opponent in a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 defeat.
The 22-year-old Querrey entered on a roll, coming off an upset of No. 4 Andy Murray in the finals of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles — his fourth title in a breakthrough season.
But in the oppressive heat at the Stadium Court on Wednesday, he was not sharp. In losing a first-set tiebreaker, Querrey handed his opponent five points on unforced errors.
“It was much hotter,” Querrey said. “It was a big change from L.A. It was tough out there.”
The 6-foot-6 Querrey, ranked No. 20 in the world and one of the most powerful servers, was beaten at his own game by the 5-foot-11 Tipsarevic, who fired more aces, 16-13, and did not double fault.
“I think he’s got the best serve on tour — first and second serve,” Querrey said. “Because his serve is so big, he automatically puts more pressure on your service game.”
Querrey had three double faults, one in the tiebreaker and another on the final point of a decisive eighth game of the second set — the only game either player failed to hold serve. Earlier in the game, Querrey had Tipsarevic off balance, but tried an ill-advised drop shot that looped into the net.
The trip wasn’t a total waste for Querrey, who joined other Legg Mason players for a visit to the White House earlier this week.
“It was awesome,” Querrey said. “At the end, Barack just kind of popped around the corner and said, ‘Hey, guys what’s up.'”
