Why is Querrey not a top 20 player

bjk

Hall of Fame
Watching Sam play and his big serve and big forehand and solid backhand, it's hard to understand why his results are so mediocre. Considering that he's a much better athlete than Raonic, why is Raonic 3 and Querrey 30?

My best guess is that Sam goes for too many first serves and should go for bigger second serves or improve his second serve.

Comparing Raonic and Q:
Stats Aces DF 1% 1W 2W 2WinP Hold Brk
Sam 16% 4% 58% 80% 50% 56% 84% 17%
Milo 17% 4% 64% 79% 55% 62% 90% 19%

These stats are pretty surprising. Raonic wins more 2nd points in play (62-56%) and more breaks on return (19-17%). How can that be? Raonic is a total klutz who has a very iffy backhand. I don't get how he is beating Q off the ground. Objectively, his groundstrokes and movement are inferior.

On the serve, Raonic gets more 1st serves in and converts more 2nd serve points in play. Clearly Sam is going for more of his first serves which means he's relying more on his 2nd serve *but he is no good on second serve.* Sam needs to get more 1st serves in play and rely more on his serve-forehand combo instead of going for aces. He needs to improve his second serve, which is really no better than the avg second serve on tour. In general, the worse your second serve, the more first serves you need to get in. Sam goes for too many aces, and every ace/first serve fault is a missed opportunity to use his serve/forehand combination, which is his best pattern. He's like a fastball pitcher going for strikeouts and gives up too many hits when he's behind in the count. Get more first serves in and don't get in the position of defending serve on second serve. Sam may also get into situations where the score is 30-40 and he has no choice but to roll a second serve in. If he got more first serves in, he wouldn't get into as many 30-40 points. Sam wins 64% of first serves in play vs. 62% for Raonic (assuming that all aces come on first serves).

Sam likes easy points, that's why he likes aces. If he was willing to work a little harder on first serve, he wouldn't have to rely as much on his inferior second serve.
 
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D

Deleted member 743561

Guest
Wasn't his trajectory altered by some fluke kitchen injury? Nearly severed a finger or something like that? I haven't watched him too, too much... but that's my recollection. Don't know whether it affected his mechanics, or whether it was mainly some form of psychic trauma.
 

Fridge

Professional
because he cant hit a backhand, return or volley and can't move. With that being said I don't think he is a headcase and actually has pretty good mental toughness, but that won't do anything if he doesn't have a good game to start with.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Sam is just a little too inconsistent. At his best, he can cause havoc to top players (eg. 2016 Wimbledon) but can't sustain it and then predictably hits a run of bad form. Seems to be primarily a mental thing. He just lacks the killer instinct to make it to the top and seems a little too content to be where he is. Raonic, on the other hand, is intensely ambitious and determined to squeeze every last bit of advantage out of his game. Their personalities are like chalk and cheese!
 

Bukmeikara

Legend
because he cant hit a backhand, return or volley and can't move. With that being said I don't think he is a headcase and actually has pretty good mental toughness, but that won't do anything if he doesn't have a good game to start with.

A bit harsh, he has big wins over Djokovic and Murray. Often gave a good fight against the top dogs. He smiles a lot and seems like a nice guy so maybe he doesn't want it that badly. In 2009-2010 he reached career high 17th and present time basicaly you have 80% of the same players just being older so on paper he has the tools. I don't think that guys like Lorenzi are good as him considering that they are with a very similar ranking
 

Shaolin

Talk Tennis Guru
Wasn't his trajectory altered by some fluke kitchen injury? Nearly severed a finger or something like that? I haven't watched him too, too much... but that's my recollection. Don't know whether it affected his mechanics, or whether it was mainly some form of psychic trauma.

He sat on a glass table (who does that when you're 6'6??), fell through it and sliced his arm up badly.
 

Meles

Bionic Poster
A bit harsh, he has big wins over Djokovic and Murray. Often gave a good fight against the top dogs. He smiles a lot and seems like a nice guy so maybe he doesn't want it that badly. In 2009-2010 he reached career high 17th and present time basicaly you have 80% of the same players just being older so on paper he has the tools. I don't think that guys like Lorenzi are good as him considering that they are with a very similar ranking
Classic story for these tall players. They have early success because they are tall and can handle the heavy high bouncing balls of the Poly string era. Players reach their speed peak by 23. Querrey has gotten stronger and slower. Its just been a bad trade off as the extra weight and age has made him just too slow. Its all a balancing act as we see giants like Karlovic and Isner still able to win. Delpo when healthy has a great balance to his current game. But for many like Janowicz, Querrey, and perhaps now Tomic, loss of speed seems to be really hurting them. The heavier these players get the harder it is to change direction too.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
because he cant hit a backhand, return or volley and can't move. With that being said I don't think he is a headcase and actually has pretty good mental toughness, but that won't do anything if he doesn't have a good game to start with.
completely disagree!
what game are you watching?

basically the inverse of your post is whats true. Querry has all the tools needed to be a consistent top 20 or even top 10 player. his problem lies solely in his head! I have never seen a player with worse mental toughness. Querry literally plays his worst on the biggest most important points.

and hence he has never reached his potential.

plus now he's getting older and slower...
 

SinjinCooper

Hall of Fame
Watching Sam play and his big serve and big forehand and solid backhand, it's hard to understand why his results are so mediocre. Considering that he's a much better athlete than Raonic, why is Raonic 3 and Querrey 30?

My best guess is that Sam goes for too many first serves and should go for bigger second serves or improve his second serve.

Comparing Raonic and Q:
Stats Aces DF 1% 1W 2W 2WinP Hold Brk
Sam 16% 4% 58% 80% 50% 56% 84% 17%
Milo 17% 4% 64% 79% 55% 62% 90% 19%

These stats are pretty surprising. Raonic wins more 2nd points in play (62-56%) and more breaks on return (19-17%). How can that be? Raonic is a total klutz who has a very iffy backhand. I don't get how he is beating Q off the ground. Objectively, his groundstrokes and movement are inferior.

On the serve, Raonic gets more 1st serves in and converts more 2nd serve points in play. Clearly Sam is going for more of his first serves which means he's relying more on his 2nd serve *but he is no good on second serve.* Sam needs to get more 1st serves in play and rely more on his serve-forehand combo instead of going for aces. He needs to improve his second serve, which is really no better than the avg second serve on tour. In general, the worse your second serve, the more first serves you need to get in. Sam goes for too many aces, and every ace/first serve fault is a missed opportunity to use his serve/forehand combination, which is his best pattern. He's like a fastball pitcher going for strikeouts and gives up too many hits when he's behind in the count. Get more first serves in and don't get in the position of defending serve on second serve. Sam may also get into situations where the score is 30-40 and he has no choice but to roll a second serve in. If he got more first serves in, he wouldn't get into as many 30-40 points. Sam wins 64% of first serves in play vs. 62% for Raonic (assuming that all aces come on first serves).

Sam likes easy points, that's why he likes aces. If he was willing to work a little harder on first serve, he wouldn't have to rely as much on his inferior second serve.
Raonic is the better athlete. He's also got a world class forehand, which Querrey lacks. He's also got competent volleys, which Querrey lacks.

Raonic's serve is also better.
 

papertank

Hall of Fame
Mediocre net game, horrible returner, bad movement, nothing between the ears. By listing his big serve, big forehand and solid backhand, you pretty much have an exhaustive list of everything that is good about his game.
 

vladisimo

Semi-Pro
completely disagree!
what game are you watching?

basically the inverse of your post is whats true. Querry has all the tools needed to be a consistent top 20 or even top 10 player. his problem lies solely in his head! I have never seen a player with worse mental toughness. Querry literally plays his worst on the biggest most important points.

and hence he has never reached his potential.

plus now he's getting older and slower...

sorry querrey IS NOT A TOP 10 player in any way posible.
 
J

JRAJ1988

Guest
The majority of the locker room gives the impression that Sam is one of the nicest guys on tour, so if he does make the top 20 or top 10 people would be happy for him.
 

TheRed

Hall of Fame
Mediocre net game, horrible returner, bad movement, nothing between the ears. By listing his big serve, big forehand and solid backhand, you pretty much have an exhaustive list of everything that is good about his game.
Yeah but you essentially described roddick other than the bad movement and mental game and roddick wasnt that much better of a mover. Querrey is slow, relatively, but not slower than raonic, who isn't really a very good athlete. He's like roddick with a slightly worse serve and slightly slower. Problem is he also played for long stretches like roddick 2.0, staying on the baseline too much and not attacking and moving forward. That style didn't play to his strengths. When he's aggressive, he's got the game to be a top 15 guy
 
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DRII

G.O.A.T.
DUH!

anyone who has watched him play, and has any decent sense of discernment, knows what Querry is capable of! he's definitely top 10 material if his level remained consistent!

his weakness is mental toughness, and (sadly) Nadal was not able to exploit that in Acapulco. Nadal is playing better but his decision making is still not on par yet. he's not adjusting in matches the way he used to...
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Well I think he could be top 20 if he applied himself fully. He's not the most self motivated guy from what I can gather. Other than that he's inconsistent. That's most of the battle for a tennis player. Also the court in Acapulco suited his game and he said as much if I'm not mistaken. Something about the ball bouncing right into his hitting zone. Not all courts are going to suit a player like Querrey who probably prefers slightly faster conditions which, as we all know are not the norm these days.

So there are a few factors. Also the top 20 is a crowded place. It's easy to say "why isn't player X a top 20 player?" The reality is that only so many guys can be top 20 players.
 
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Mainad

Bionic Poster
Well I think he could be top 20 if he applied himself fully. He's not the most self motivated guy from what I can gather. Other than that he's inconsistent. That's most of the battle for a tennis player. Also the court in Acapulco suited his game and he said as much if I'm not mistaken. Something about the ball bouncing right into his hitting zone. Not all courts are going to suit a player like Querrey who probably prefers slightly faster conditions which, as we all know are not the norm these days.

So there are a few factors. Also the top 20 is a crowded place. It's easy to say "why isn't player X a top 20 player?" The reality is that only so many guys can be top 20 players.

And those guys tend to be the most consistent ones. Lack of consistency and lack of ambition have always been Sam's drawbacks. We've just seen what he can do when he really applies himself because he's got a great game. Now he needs to build on that and keep up the momentum but knowing Sam....will he?
 

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
Well I think he could be top 20 if he applied himself fully. He's not the most self motivated guy from what I can gather. Other than that he's inconsistent. That's most of the battle for a tennis player. Also the court in Acapulco suited his game and he said as much if I'm not mistaken. Something about the ball bouncing right into his hitting zone. Not all courts are going to suit a player like Querrey who probably prefers slightly faster conditions which, as we all know are not the norm these days.

So there are a few factors. Also the top 20 is a crowded place. It's easy to say "why isn't player X a top 20 player?" The reality is that only so many guys can be top 20 players.
Yeah, exactly. Who should Querrey replace, then? Cause you've got the big 4, Nishikori, Berdych, Cilic, Kyrgios etc. and they all deserve to be in the top 20.
 
N

Nashvegas

Guest
He certainly doesn't move like Gael but he's faster than you'd expect for his size. Showed some pretty good coverage against Nadal. No doubt the court suited his game this week and he capitalized by swinging big and making those shots. If he played like that every week he'd be a top 10 player, but one week doesn't cut it. Would like to see this be the start of a trend. Seems like a good guy.
 

vive le beau jeu !

Talk Tennis Guru
^^ I just had a recount :) and I can confirm that only 20 players are in the top20 at any one time. ;)
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D

Deleted member 716271

Guest
his movement s*cks. Also wish he'd stop appearing on Millionaire Matchmaker and reality shows etc.

He seems like a nice guy tho. When he's firing on all cylinders, he's clearly a tough out for anyone, but his poor movement and lack of consistency means he is unlikely to win a slam.

He's too tall basically.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Well I think he could be top 20 if he applied himself fully. He's not the most self motivated guy from what I can gather. Other than that he's inconsistent. That's most of the battle for a tennis player. Also the court in Acapulco suited his game and he said as much if I'm not mistaken. Something about the ball bouncing right into his hitting zone. Not all courts are going to suit a player like Querrey who probably prefers slightly faster conditions which, as we all know are not the norm these days.

So there are a few factors. Also the top 20 is a crowded place. It's easy to say "why isn't player X a top 20 player?" The reality is that only so many guys can be top 20 players.
uhm, he's already been top 20 :rolleyes:
 

okdude1992

Hall of Fame
Sam is definitely a bit of an under achiever. He really can play some good tennis, and had a seriously impressive run in Acapulco beating Goffin,Thiem, Kyrgios, and Nadal.
Also has wins over Djokovic and Murray so he can obviously beat anyone on his day.

I think this thread probably covered it though: poor return, below average movement, inconsistency, and questionable fire have hurt his career. Also the table incident stalled his momentum. He was looking quite dangerous in 2010 if I remember correctly.
 

tennisnut1

Semi-Pro
Over the years I only saw a big serve and average strokes from him, but lately that has changed. He has been crushing the groundies lately, amazing. If he can keep it up, I think he will move up fast. He can do some serious damage backing up that serve with a decent ground game, I wish him the best, would be nice to see another American player in the running.
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
He's not consistent enough; he doesn't maintain Acapulco level or Wimbledon QF level enough. He has been Top 20 in this career though, and he is No. 26 this week.
 
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