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Stunning Upset: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic Goes Down At Wimbledon

By Adrian Lawhorn
Published on: 10:01 PST, Jul 2, 2016

A stunning upset occurred today on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked player in the world and No. 1 seed at Wimbledon, fell to American Sam Querrey 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 in their third-round encounter at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. Querrey entered this year’s tournament seeded 28th, and was rated No. 41 in the world by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals).

According to ESPN, Djokovic gave Querrey credit after falling to the six-foot-six resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, in four sets.

“Congratulation to Sam. He played a terrific match,” said Djokovic. “He serves very well, as he usually does. I think that part of his game was brutal today. He made a lot of free points with the first serve. Just well done. He just overpowered me.”

Not only does this stunning upset end Djokovic’s quest for a fourth Wimbledon singles title, but also prevents him from completing a rare calendar-year Grand Slam. Djokovic came into Wimbledon this year having won the last four Grand Slam tournaments, and was bidding to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam: winning Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open all in the same year.

In addition to the gracious attitude he displayed toward his victorious opponent, Djokovic also seemed to take the loss in stride, choosing to reflect on his prior accomplishments.

“I believe in positive things in life,” Djokovic stated after the loss to Querrey. “I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row two different seasons. I want to try to focus on that rather than on failure.”

The Guardian has opined that this is one of the most stunning upsets in Wimbledon history, and perhaps in professional tennis history. How must one feel after accomplishing a feat of this magnitude?

“Really excited,” said Querrey. “It’s an unbelievable win. To do it here at Wimbledon is really special. You know, I’m just looking forward to the next match. You know, there’s another one after this. I have to get ready for that.”

While Novak Djokovic unexpectedly heads home, Sam Querrey now has further business to attend to. Querrey will now face unseeded Nicolas Mahut from France in Wimbledon’s fourth round. After his historic victory over Djokovic, it will be interesting to see if Querrey can avoid a letdown against Mahut, a player who has a lower world ranking (No. 51) than Querrey. The two combatants just met last month in the Ricoh Open, where Mahut came away with the win over Querrey.

While Sam Querrey’s win over Djokovic qualifies as a stunning upset, Querrey is not completely unknown to tennis fans. Originally from San Francisco, California, Querrey has been on the ATP Tour for a decade. He achieved his highest singles ranking, 17th, in early 2011. He is also a world-class doubles player, reaching the No. 23 ranking in doubles back in 2010.

Interestingly, Querrey is also a known quantity to television fans. USA Today describes Sam Querrey’s 2015 appearance on The Millionaire Matchmaker, a reality TV show in which millionaires are set up on dates by matchmaker Patti Stanger. Querrey described the experience as “fun,” and the girl he met on the show as “really cool.”

As a tennis pro, Sam Querrey has never been beyond the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament, so it will break new ground for the hard-serving Californian if he is able to get past Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in their upcoming Wimbledon match-up.

A stunning upset victory at a major tennis tournament like Wimbledon is certainly a huge boost for Sam Querrey’s career. However, what he does from here on out will truly define whether this is his one shining moment, or if he is here to stay as a Grand Slam tournament contender.

[Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Images]

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