Querrey ends Thompson’s Queen’s fairytale
LONDON: Jordan Thompson was unable to build on his stunning Queen’s Club victory over Andy Murray as the Australian was beaten by Sam Querrey in the second round on Thursday.
PRETORIA: Daniel Hammond rode a hot start to break free from the chasing pack and win The Roar, the third and final event on the MENA Tour’s South Africa swing, cosanctioned with the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, at Waterkloof Golf Club on Thursday.
Starting the final round one back, the 26-year-old South African signed for a solid five-under 67 to finish on 14-under, beating his nearest challenger and MENA Tour regular Matias Calderon by one shot for his third victory on the Sunshine Tour.
The South African duo Danie Van Niekerk and Combrinck Smit shared third on 11 under as Czech Republic’s Cyril Suk, two behind at the start, returned a 71 to settle for tied seventh on nine-under, two clear of England’s Scott Campbell, who matched the day’s low score of a 66 after dropping a bogey on the first, to finish in a tie for 14th along with fellow Englishman Jordan Garnish.
“I played really, really solidly,” said Hammond, who rattled up five birdies and an eagle against two bogeys. “It’s been a while, I have won twice before on the Big Easy Tour and to win this is the biggest thing of my career so far since I turned pro.
“So I’m really chuffed with that. Hopefully, I can build on this and take it to the main tour and show what I can do,” said Hammond, who reiterated that a change of attitude toward the game has helped him a lot and he attributes the win to that shift.
“So, like I said in the week, it’s just trying to have a positive outlook on everything,” he said.
That mental strength came was evidenced by a chip-in on 17 and a great bunker shot on 18, because on any other day emotions could have taken over and ruined the moment for him.
Chilean Calderon, who closed with a 67, had a shaky start that saw the young prodigy drop a shot on the first hole, but he swiftly recovered and made three birdies on the front nine.
The homeward stretch was similar to the front for Calderon as he dropped another shot on 12 before three more birdies made their way into his scorecard.
Karabo Mokoena completed a double for South Africa, winning the amateur division on four-under after carding a final round 71, one ahead of Dylan Kok. India’s Dubaibased Arkesh Bhatia had put himself in contention after opening with a 70, but followed it with a 75, missing the cut by one shot.
The MENA Tour will resume after a summer break in September.
Thompson, ranked a lowly 90th, was the talk of the tennis world after his astonishing straight-sets victory over world No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Murray.
But the 23-year-old’s bid to reach only his second Tour-level quarterfinal was brought to an end by Querrey’s 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 win at the Wimbledon warmup event.
While Thompson will rue his missed opportunity, he should leave West London with renewed belief in his ability after his brief but memorable moment in the spotlight.
Beaten by France’s Jeremy Chardy in the second round of Queen’s qualifying on Sunday, Thompson received an unexpected call-up when Aljaz Bedene, Murray’s scheduled opponent, withdrew with a wrist injury just hours before Tuesday’s match.
After spending his career trying to eke out a living on the unglamorous second-tier Challenger circuit, Thompson thrived on the big stage, outplaying Murray to shatter the Scot’s hopes of a third successive Queen’s title.
There was no sign of any hangover from that epic performance when Thompson returned to center court to face Querrey.
Querrey, ranked 28th, has impressive pedigree on grass after lifting the Queen’s trophy in 2010 and memorably shocking Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.
Yet Thompson made the American work for every point before finally succumbing in two hours and 11 minutes.
“Jordan is tough. I knew he was confident coming off that win against Andy,” said Querrey, who faces Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller for a place in the semifinals.
“Queen’s is one of my favorite places to come. It was fun to win it back then.
“But to be able to win two matches in a row gives me more confidence than winning the tournament seven years ago.”
With Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic already knocked out, Croatian fourth seed Marin Cilic is the highest ranked player left in the draw.
The 2012 Queen’s champion breezed through with a 6-0, 6-4 second-round victory over American teenager Stefan Kozlov.
Cilic’s sixth Queen’s Club quarterfinal appearance will come against American Donald Young as the former US Open champion aims to reach the final for the third time.
Watched by David Beckham and son Romeo, highly-rated Russian youngster Daniil Medvedev defeated Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-2.
Kokkinakis, the world No. 698, became the lowest ranked player to beat a top-six opponent since 1994 when he shocked former Wimbledon finalist Raonic in the first round.
But Medvedev, 21, is emerging as a potential star and, just a week after beating Kokkinakis at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the world No. 60 was on top again as he cruised to a quarterfinal meeting with Bulgarian sixth-seed Grigor Dimitrov.