There was a slight sense of deja vu at the singles final of the 2009 Los Angeles Tennis Open, where 21-year-old Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks topped Carsten Ball, a 22-year-old Australian citizen from Newport Beach, by the score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Last year’s LATO saw lesser-known Juan Martin Del Potro, who was coming off of two straight ATP Tour wins, defeat much-renowned Andy Roddick in the final. Del Potro stretched that win streak to four and is now ranked No. 6 in the world. This year’s tournament had somewhat of a similar storyline, but to a lesser extent. Sam Querrey rode a less-successful but still respectable streak of two straight runner-up finishes at ATP events to the singles title at this year’s LATO, defeating Ball, a tournament qualifier who had never reached an ATP semifinal, let alone a final. Querrey was ranked No. 32 entering the tournament, and his victory will likely move him up inside the top 30.
“(Del Potro) kept it going throughout the whole summer,” Querrey said after his victory on Sunday. “He won four events, went to the quarterfinals of the US Open and went deep in a few others. I’ve got a long way to go to keep up with what he did last summer but hopefully I can do it.”
The match between the two Southern California natives was anything but perfect, with both players committing far too many unforced errors and recording first serve percentages in the mid-50’s, but Querrey’s experience proved vital in the end. Ball lost his composure in the third set, failing to record a single service ace after blazing 11 past Querrey in the first two sets.
“It wasn’t a great match on either side,” Querrey said. “I don’t think either of us really lit it up out there.”
The first set was very even, with both players gunning at each other with equal abandon and aggression. Querrey broke Ball’s serve to go up 3-2 but Ball immediately returned the favor to return the set to a 3-3 deadlock. Querrey broke again to go up 5-4 and was able to hold serve to take the first set.
The second set was Ball’s time to shine. After Querrey skied a backhand that landed wide, Ball won the ensuing break point to go up 5-3, but he wasn’t done yet. Ball smashed four consecutive unreturned serves, three of them aces, to grab the second set 6-3 and force the final to an unexpected third set.
However, after finishing second best in two straight tournaments, Querrey made it a point that he was not going to let this one get away.
“I didn’t want to lose three finals in a row,” Querrey said. “I was a little worried after that second set but I came back strong in the third.”
Down 0-1 and facing a break point in the third set, Ball hit a simple forehand into the net to put himself in a 0-2 hole, and Querrey took it from there.
At match point, Querrey blasted an ace down the center line to seal his first ATP Tour win of the season and the second of his career.
Ball was disappointed at the loss but pleased with his overall performance in the tournament.
“It’s been a good breakout week,” Ball said of his unlikely run to the LATO final after almost pulling out of the tournament with a sore back he suffered in qualifiers. “I’d never won a round at an ATP (event) before. Hopefully I can keep up my confidence and keep playing well.”