There is one chair in the interview room. Steve Johnson sits down first, leaving Sam Querrey with two options. He can either wait, and do his interview separately, as is the custom, or plop down on the same chair with his longtime friend and US Open doubles partner.
Naturally, Querrey chooses the latter and scoots in next to Johnson, his friend since long before he turned 10一that’s the way this tandem rolls. Loose, laid back and quick to crack jokes, Querrey and Johnson say that one of their strategies at this year’s US Open is… wait for it… not to have a strategy.
So far so good. The American tandem reached the men’s doubles semifinals on Tuesday in New York with a commanding 6-2, 7-6 win over No. 6 seeds Horia Tecau and Kevin Krawietz.
“When we get so caught up in the X's and O's, we overthink things sometimes,” Johnson says. “So for us, when we see the ball and hit the ball, it may not be the perfect strategy, but on returns or how we like to play on our serve, we feel like if we do what we need to do, we'll have a good chance to win.”
The Americansーdescribed by Querrey as “Happy go lucky”ーare soaking up the good vibes in New York in 2021. With fans back at full capacity they are enjoying every moment at their home slam, and it shows. Thanks to Tuesday’s triumph they reached the last four at a major for the second time, and first since 2015, when they defeated American doubles icons Mike and Bob Bryan in the opening round.
Querrey remembers that shocker well. And he was glad to have Johnson by his side when it happened.
"For me that might have been my first time beating them,” he said of facing the Bryans on the doubles court. “I was like 0-15 against them, I'm not even kidding. It was like 15 losses in a row, mostly with [John] Isner, so when I got myself a better partner, we finally snuck out a win. It's never fun when you have to play guys like that, guys who are your buddies, in the first round, but it was exciting to beat them that first time for me."
Johnson says he was simply honored to face the Bryans on that day, but to get a win off a tandem that won five US Open titles and 16 at the Slams? Even better.
"It was just like a super fun atmosphere, it was a night match on Armstrong against the best doubles team of all-time, and people that I looked up to as kids, I'm sure Sam did as well,” he said. “To have a win over them at the Open, and it started that run for us. For us I think they are getting honored here at the Open this yearーthey deserve every bit of the honors and the accolades since they are hands down by far the best doubles team of all-time."
This year, with no Bryans in the draw (they were honored for their legendary careers on Tuesday night in New York), Johnson and Querrey hope they can continue deeper into the draw, and maybe even take home the title.
They will face fellow American Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the semifinals on Thursday.
Johnson’s only ATP doubles title (with Querrey) came against Ram and Raven Klaasen in Geneva in 2016, and Johnson doesn’t want Ram to ever forget it.
"If you do ask Rajeev anything, just make sure to ask him who my only win is against in a final,” Johnson said. “It's a fun talking point for me, I'm 1-7 in finals, but Sam and I beat him in a final, so that's my only oneーI like to remind him of that often.”
In case you haven’t noticed, the laughs are part of the strategy for Querrey and Johnson. They believe that by keeping it loose, they’ll be able to do what they do best on court: Impose their games on their opponents. They have enough trust in their games, both collectively and individually, to know that they can do more damage when they play free.
“We like to play our game and make the opponents play to our strengths rather than theirs,” Johnson says.
The Americans may like to joke, but when it comes to talk of winning the title, Querrey quickly gets serious. Does he think it’s within reach?
"It'd be great but we're not thinking about it yet,” he says. “We are trying to get through the semifinals, we obviously know we are two away, but those last two are the toughest.
“The teams just get better and better. Rajeev and Joe have had a great couple of years, so we have to think about that one and hopefully we can play well and get through."
