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  Sam Querrey tough, Sloane Stephens sinks

Sam Querrey tough, Sloane Stephens sinks

AFP
Published : Jul 21, 2016, 2:47 am IST
Updated : Jul 21, 2016, 2:47 am IST

Urszula Radwanska of Poland celebrates during her match against Ukrain’s Kateryna Bondarenko on Day Two of the Stanford Open in California on Tuesday. Radwanska won 6-4, 7-5. (Photo: AFP)

Urszula Radwanska of Poland celebrates during her match against Ukrain’s Kateryna Bondarenko on Day Two of the Stanford Open in California on Tuesday. Radwanska won 6-4, 7-5. (Photo: AFP)

Sam Querrey made a triumphant start to his first event since stunning top-ranked Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, rallying Tuesday to reach the third round of the ATP and WTA Washington Open.

The 28-year-old American outlasted compatriot Bjorn Fratangelo 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4, avenging a first-round French Open loss in May and spoiling his rival’s 23rd birthday in the first hardcourt event on the road to the US Open.

“Even without the Novak win, it would have been tough,” Querrey said. “It was one of those matches you have to fight through and I’m happy I fought through the way I did.”

Eighth seed Querrey downed Djokovic in the third round on Wimbledon grass, ending the Serb’s 30-match major win streak on his way to his first career Grand Slam quarter-final after 10 years of trying, where he lost to Canada’s Milos Raonic.

“I feel the same, maybe a little cooler,” Querrey said. “I’m confident. Beating Novak or not, I’m feeling confident.”

On the women’s side, Japan’s Risa Ozaki second-seeded beat defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1. The 136th-ranked Asian standout needed only 56 minutes to rout the 23rd-ranked American.

“I would say (it was) all me. She played a solid match but I helped a lot,” Stephens said. “It just sucks. One of those days. It was really bad. Hopefully I just pull myself together and do better next week.”

It was Querrey’s first hardcourt match in more than three months and his first night match in some time, but the world number 29 did not drop his level after dropping the first set to a foe rated 79 spots below him.

Location: United States, Washington