July 29, 2010

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American Sam Querrey is drawing attention to his game not just for his success on the tennis court, but for his enthusiastic group of supporters known as the Samurai. The Samurai Club was formed by a band of Querrey's friends that went to high school with the tennis star in Thousand Oaks, California. The Samurais have received a tremendous amount of attention from tennis fans and media since breaking onto the tennis scene with Querrey in 2006. His rabid followers will be sure to track Querrey throughout North America when he competes to defend his 2009 title as Olympus US Open Series (OUSOS) champion.

The 22-year-old American clinched last year's OUSOS championship when he won the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, which was the final event of the series in New Haven. This string of events are key as they are the lead-up events to the US Open and give the pros a chance to get in a lot of playing time on the hard courts.

It was a bit of a rough road after his 2009 OUSOS title as Querrey had a freak accident late last year in Bangkok where he fell through a glass table and tore his lower arm muscle. However, he has fought his way back, capturing three ATP World Tour titles since the incident and breaking into the Top 20 for the first time in his career.

As a singles player, Querrey currently occupies the No. 20 spot and is the third-ranked American behind Andy Roddick (No. 9) and John Isner (No. 19). His first 2010 ATP title was on the hard courts in Memphis at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships where he beat Isner. He followed that with another win over Isner at the Serbia Open on clay. His most recent victory was over fellow American Mardy Fish on the grass courts of the AEGON Championships in London. These titles prove that Querrey is a well-rounded player that is dangerous on any surface but his ultimate dream is to win the biggest event played on hard court.

"As an American, we grew up playing on hard court and the US Open is the event we want to win the most," said Querrey. "Hopefully we can have another American holding the trophy over their head this year."

In addition to being a seasoned singles player, Querrey has fared well in doubles play this year, winning at Memphis and reaching the final at the Masters 1000 event in Rome with Isner. He also won an ATP World Tour 250 event with Fish at San Jose in early February. Alongside his fellow Americans, Querrey was selected to represent the US in Davis Cup action for the second time in his young career.

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank will be a very important stop on Querrey's road if he hopes to repeat as Olympus US Open Series champion and build momentum leading into the final Grand Slam of the year. So make sure all you Samurais are cheering him on in Toronto.