S.F. native Querrey dominates Lopez in Aussie Open

Sam Querrey, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, beat
Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 today in the first round
of the Australian Open. File photo by Paul Bauman

   Sam Querrey, coming off the best year of his career, got off to a strong start in the Australian Open today.
   The 30-year-old San Francisco native, ranked and seeded 13th, dismissed Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in Melbourne. Lopez, ranked No. 38 at age 36, had been 6-3 against Querrey.
   Querrey, 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), blasted 28 aces against four double faults. He won 84 percent of the points on his first serve (39 of 46) and 65 percent on his second delivery (21 of 32).
   A semifinalist at Wimbledon and quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open last year, Querrey is scheduled to play 80th-ranked Marton Fucsovics of Hungary on Wednesday (PST). Fucsovics, the 2010 Wimbledon boys champion, defeated Radu Albot of Moldova 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
   Querrey, who now lives in Santa Monica in the Los Angeles area, has a good chance to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his 12th attempt. If he does, he could meet second seed and defending champion Roger Federer.
   No. 22 seed Milos Raonic loomed in the third round, but the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up lost to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Raonic, who was hampered by injuries last year, fell to 0-2 in 2018.
   On the women's side, 20th-seeded Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic beat wild card and former Stanford star Kristie Ahn 6-1, 7-5.
   It was the second Grand Slam main-draw match for Ahn, who has a long history of injuries, and first in almost 10 years. She qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open at 16 and lost to Dinara Safina of Russia in the first round. Safina was ranked seventh at the time and climbed to No. 1 the following year.
   Strycova reached the fourth round at Melbourne last year, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4.