Sam Querrey knows it's time. The 34-year-old stalwart of American tennis is ready for one last ride: the 2022 US Open is his last tournament before retirement.
"Earlier this year, let's call it like April, May, I started thinking about it a little bit and then really didn't make the decision until earlier this summer that I was going to stop here," Querrey told USOpen.org on Sunday on the eve of the US Open.
"This is going to be the last one. And now we're here. I've got one more left."
Choosing when to retire isn't a decision that a tennis player takes lightly, nor is it one that's easy. But for Querrey, it's one that's been freeing. He says he's looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Abby, and two young sons: toddler Ford and Owen, 9 months.
"Since I made the decision probably five or six weeks ago, I've been in a great state of mind," he said. "Going out to practice has been fun. I've been relaxed. I haven't been stressed about it or anything. It's actually been pretty enjoyable the last month and exciting, looking forward to this tournament. I've got my wife here, my kids are here, and some friends and family. It's a fun group of people that have come out to watch.
"It's not easy to travel with little ones, but they are here. ... The two-and-a-half year-old can watch a match each day for maybe 30 minutes, which is pretty fun. Even outside of the matches, it's fun. When they come to the practice, they walk around the court and they'll pick up a racquet. It's just fun to be out here as a family."
The US Open is a fitting place for the one-time world No. 11 to say farewell. In 2017, he reached the quarterfinals in what was his best-ever season. He reached the semifinals of Wimbledon that year, too, and achieved his best-ever ranking the next February on the strength of those results. Querrey made his US Open debut in 2006, and only missed one Open over the next 16 years.
A winner of 10 ATP singles titles, this laid-back Californian boasts achievements that others covet. He beat Rafael Nadal in a final (Acapulco, 2017). He conquered both Novak Djokovic (2016) and Andy Murray (2017) at Wimbledon when each man was ranked No. 1. In all, he earned 23 Top 10 wins in his career. But, he says, there no tournament more special than this one to say farewell.
"This one feels like the right one just because it's the Grand Slam in America. ... This one feels like the right place," he said. "I feel like my game isn't what it used to be, but that happens to everyone with age, besides Rafa, Novak and Roger [Federer], it seems like.
"I haven't enjoyed it as much since I've got the two little kids, like I mentioned. I mean, I want to be home with them more and I just want to go do other things. Tennis has been a great part of my life and I've been a pro for 17 years. I played junior tennis since the time I was eight years old, so it feels even longer than that. I want to go explore something else and test my mind in another field of some kind."
Querrey's playing singles and doubles in his swan song. Unseeded with a singles ranking of No. 287, he'll face Ilya Ivashka on Court 7 Tuesday a match where the winner will likely advance to a meeting with No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz. A 2021 US Open semifinalist with Steve Johnson in doubles, the pair reunites 12 months later and opens against title favorites and No. 2 seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.
With Top 10 seeds before him in his last act, there might just be one last opportunity to show what Querrey thinks was his greatest strength.
"I feel like I was consistent. I was essentially in the Top 100 and a lot of that in the Top 50, Top 25 for 15 years," Querrey said. "I feel like I was a pretty good big-match player. I feel like I played my best against the better players.
"And then I just feel like I'm a good person. I feel like I have a great relationship with pretty much all the men's players, all the women's players and tournament directors. I feel like I've made so many good friendships and relationships over the years that I can call any one of these people or they can call me, and continue to be friends and hang out for the rest of my life."
