Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in action during his first round match against Nicolas Mahut of France at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 31 October 2017. EPA-EFE/YOAN VALAT
By Ricky Dimon
Sam Querrey’s surprising 2017 World Tour Finals bid lasted until the final tournament of the regular season. But he did not last long at the Rolex Paris Masters, and therefore his London hopes have been extinguished.
The Wimbledon semifinalist and U.S. Open quarterfinalist lost to qualifier Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 6-4 during second-round action on Tuesday afternoon. Querrey served at just 57 percent, double-faulted four times, won only 39 percent of his second-serve points, and was broken three times. An in-form Krajinovic advanced after one hour and nine minutes.
With two more spots in the year-end championship still up for grabs, Querrey went into Paris trailing both David Goffin and Pablo Carreno Busta. He needed to win at least one match in order to have a chance of qualifying for London.
Had both Querrey and Carreno Busta advanced on Tuesday, they would have gone head-to-head in the third round with a potential spot in the World Tour Finals at stake. Instead, that matchup is now Krajinovic vs. Nicolas Mahut. Carreno Busta’s hopes took a hit when he bowed out to wild card Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 26 minutes. The French Open quarterfinalist and U.S. Open semifinalist led by a break early in the opening set but ended up losing 11 of the last 13 games.
Carreno Busta is still holding on to the eighth and final spot, but a whopping nine different contenders have a chance of surpassing him. Most of those players would have to win the Paris title, but Kevin Anderson and Juan Martin Del Potro have more realistic opportunities to overtake the Spaniard.
Anderson must reach at least the quarterfinals, while Del Potro has to make a semifinal run at the very least.
The 6’8” South African, who was runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the U.S. Open, will kick off his campaign against Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday. The winner of that matchup will run into Dominic Thiem, who held off lucky loser Peter Gojowyczk 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4.