NEW YORK — When Rafael Nadal double-faulted on a break point Monday at the U.S. Open, it allowed Sam Querrey to pull even at a set apiece and 4-4 in the third.
Exactly two hours into their fourth-round match, the 55th-ranked Querrey was tied with the No. 1-ranked Nadal — tied with a man who owns five Grand Slam tournament titles.
“You know,” Querrey said, “I felt like I was right in that one.”
Indeed he was, to the surprise of pretty much everyone but Querrey. The 20- year-old Californian managed to match the relentless Nadal stroke for stroke for long stretches, before losing 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
“Not the worst thing in the world — going out to the No. 1 guy,” Querrey said.
After a poor start, one he attributed mainly to nervousness, Querrey began to make a stand when Nadal served for a two-set lead at 5-4 in the second. Querrey broke at love there, and he broke Nadal again two games later to take the set, then skipped to the sideline shaking a fist as most of the partisan crowd rose for a standing ovation.
“I thought I was maybe going to lose, like, (6-2, 6-2, 6-0) or something. . . . After I broke him in 5-4 at love in the second set, then I started having a little more fun,” Querrey said. “From that point on, it was awesome.”
He actually led briefly, when it was 5-4 and 6-5 in the third set, but he couldn’t keep up in the ensuing tiebreaker.
Double trouble.
American twins Bob and Mike Bryan became the highest-seeded team in the U.S. Open men’s doubles quarterfinals when they won — and the No. 1 pairing of Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia lost.
Nestor and Zimonjic, the Wimbledon champions, were upset 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-2 by Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, an unseeded duo.
The No. 2-seeded Bryans, meanwhile, beat Michal Mertinak of Slovakia and Lovro Zovko of Croatia 6-3, 6-2.
The Bryans, who won the 2005 U.S. Open doubles title, meet Germany’s Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner for a spot in the semifinals.
Dinkins honored.
The area outside the public entryway to the U.S. Open will be named “David Dinkins Circle” after the former New York mayor.
Gov. David Paterson and current Mayor Michael Bloomberg are scheduled to attend the dedication ceremony today. Dinkins has served on the USTA’s board of directors since 1999.
