Changing Guard, Now Missing A Known Name

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John Isner and Sam Querrey share several things in common. They are tall; they are young; and with Andy Roddick and James Blake already eliminated from the United States Open, they have been given the brightest of stages to present themselves as the leading men in the next generation of American tennis.

But their fortunes diverged Sunday. Querrey is joining his fellow American Mardy Fish in the Round of 16, while Isner is out, the victim of his own mistakes in a trying battle with Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

Youzhny's 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory in the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium stripped the Open of one of its recognizable names — thanks to Isner's record-setting Wimbledon match with Nicolas Mahut — and also vanquished the possibility of an all-American quarterfinal between Querrey and Isner, good friends and doubles partners.

Querrey, who at 22 is younger (by three years) and shorter (by three inches) than Isner, did his part to keep that possibility alive. Two years after making the Round of 16 as an unseeded 20-year-old, Querrey got there again Sunday by beating No. 14 Nicolás ...
... Almagro of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

That matched his best showing at a Grand Slam, and he wondered aloud what another victory or two might bring.

I might be a little nervous, Querrey said. A lot of it is mental. Those guys are strong in their head, and they don't give away free points. A lot of it is skill. I mean, Federer hits those 'tweener shots at will. I can't do that.

Indeed, the 20th-seeded Querrey is not spoken of in the same league as superstars like the second-seeded Roger Federer. But he and Isner have at least asserted themselves as the faces of a changing of the guard in the United States, no small feat itself. Querrey came into the Open with four titles this year, second only to the world No. 1 Rafael Nadal's five; Isner has won once and made the finals three other times.

And although Roddick, the 2003 Open champion, may be synonymous with men's tennis in the United States, Querrey and Isner are gaining on him.

It was Querrey who took the biggest stride Sunday.

On another gusty day, Querrey sometimes had the wind in his face, but it did not seem to matter, given the partisan crowd that was firmly behind him. It included a group of young men whose chants of Sam! Sam! Sam! seemed to throw Almagro off his game as much as anything served up by Querrey, whose 19 aces included one that whizzed by Almagro at 137 miles per hour.

Querrey had 42 winners against 29 unforced errors and was not broken on his serve.

I just hung in there on his service games and played well, he said.

Isner could not match his performance in the evening, however. For one thing, he was surprised just to be playing here: he injured his ankle at Cincinnati last month and did not get medical clearance to play in the Open until a few days before the tournament was to begin.

His ankle did not prove much of a problem Sunday, nor did his serve: he had 33 aces and topped out at 144 m.p.h. And he showed admirable fight; after dropping the first set and falling to 1-5 in the second, he fought back and won the tie break, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

But Isner made 61 unforced errors, compared with 36 by Youzhny, and won less than half his net points.

I just didn't have the pop I needed on my shots, he said. I wasn't able to get to the balls like I thought I should have. You know, certain shots, running around a forehand, coming up late, hitting them late.

Querrey will face the No. 25 seed, Stanislas Wawrinka, who stunned Andy Murray, the No. 4 seed, on Sunday. Fish, who advanced the day before, will face the No. 3 seed, Novak Djokovic, who already disappointed the crowd at Arthur Ashe once by beating an American — Blake, perhaps the fan favorite here — on Saturday night.

Things have changed quite a bit since Querrey first made the Round of 16, back in 2008.

Asked after his match Sunday to reflect on how he has changed since then, Querrey suggested he is a different player these days. His return game and his backhand have gone from weaknesses to strengths, he said, while he has improved his speed and his court sense, too.

And although Querrey said he had hoped he would get to face Isner in the quarterfinals, he said he would certainly be rooting for Fish. We're all cheering for each other, and hopefully we can just keep going, Querrey said.

Drive from: best phones for men John Isner and Sam Querrey share several things in common. They have been best cell phone given the brightest of stages to present themselves as the leading men in the next generation of American tennis.