Querrey Wins BB&T Opener from Atlanta; Young Routed In Front of Home Fans

The US Open summer series got underway Monday night as two singles matches headlined the opening ceremonies at the BB&T Atlanta Open. Three Americans were in action for the first round matches but only one advanced as Sam Querrey and Dudi Sela notched victories on the tournament’s opening night.

In an all-American duel, Querrey disposed of Steve Johnson 7-6(3), 7-5, in 92-minutes. Querrey, who is the second highest ranked American in the world rankings, ripped 20 aces en route to the straight set victory. The two had never faced each other professionally until last night, and Querrey used a powerful and consistent serve to hold off Johnson in the first meeting between the pair.

“(The deco-turf hard court) suits my game,” said Querrey. “It takes a kick serve and rewards you with spin and jump, and reqards you with a fast serve and a slice.”

The 26-year old from San Francisco used the surface to his advantage, picking up points on 23 of his 24 first serves. He also picked up the lone break point in the second set which proved to be costly for Johnson, allowing Querrey to advance.

“It’s not fun playing one of my best friends,” Querrey added.

He will not have to play an American again in the second round, as Atlanta resident Donald Young fell short in his match last night to Dudi Sela of Isreal. Sela knocked off the hometown favorite with ease, rolling to the 6-3, 6-0 victory in just one hour.

Sela used an excellent return game to defeat Young, picking up five break points compared to none for the American. He also won 72 percent of his first-serve points which only gave Young three break-point opportunities which he was unable to capitalize on.

Young attributed much of his poor play to the distractions that came with playing in his hometown.

“It was pretty bad,” he said. “I haven’t had good results at all at home. Maybe there are many people who I know around and things pulling me for tickets and a bunch of other stuff.”

Regardless, Young came out flat was steamrolled by the 94th ranked Sela who will move on and meet Querrey in the next round.

The second and fourth seeds in the tournament withdrew from the event in the last couple of days, much to the displeasure of the BB&T tournament committee. Gael Monfils, the second seed, backed out on Sunday because of a knee injury, while fellow Frenchman and fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet withdrew on Sunday.

“I was looking forward to seeing the beautiful game of Gasquet and the athleticism of Monfils,” said tournament director Eddie Gonzalez. “I have to only imagine how disappointed the Atlanta tennis community is. I can only apologize to those fans who are disappointed. I’m disappointed too.”

Gonzalez added that he expects Monfils and Gasquet to be “fined heavily” by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for their late withdrawals.