Querrey falls in final; Stanford loses heartbreaker

Kevin Anderson of the Sacramento Capitals serves in a
2012 World TeamTennis match in the Sacramento area.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Talk about anticlimactic ...
   Today's final between top-seeded Kevin Anderson and second-seeded Sam Querrey, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, in the inaugural New York Open came down to a tiebreaker.
   But Anderson reeled off the first six points, leading the normally mild-mannered Querrey to slam his racket on the court, and then won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) in Uniondale, N.Y.
   The 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson slammed 16 aces in the match, and the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey had nine. Each player double-faulted once.
   Anderson won all four of his matches in three sets, three of them in third-set tiebreakers, after receiving a first-round bye. The 31-year-old South African, who lives in Florida with his American wife, won his fourth career title and first since 2015.
   Anderson had been 3-11 in ATP finals, including a loss to Gilles Simon of France in Pune, India, during the first week of this year.
   "I have been runner-up quite a few times in my career," Anderson, a former University of Illinois star (2005-07), lamented to reporters. "One of the big goals I had for this year was to try to be a bit more successful in that final stage. I fell a little short earlier this year in India, and it feels great to come through and get today's win. It gives me a lot of confidence for the year."
   Anderson, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open in nearby Flushing Meadows, N.Y., last September, will rise two places to a career-high No. 9 in Monday's rankings. He was ranked 10th for one week in 2015.
   Querrey, who was seeking his 11th ATP title, would have moved up one spot to a career-high No. 11 with a victory.
   Anderson improved to 8-9 against Querrey with four victories in their last five matches. They first met in the first round of the 2007 Sacramento Challenger, with Querrey winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
   Both Querrey and Anderson played part-time for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis in 2012, but not together.
   College men -- In a match that came down to a third-set tiebreaker, top-ranked Wake Forest beat No. 5 Stanford 4-3 in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle.
   In the deciding match on Court 1, 100th-ranked Borna Gojo edged No. 33 Tom Fawcett 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The Cardinal (8-1) twice fought back to even the dual match.
   Wake Forest (8-0) will play No. 7 UCLA (11-1) for the title on Monday. The Bruins, with senior Logan Staggs of Tracy, defeated No. 6 Texas A&M 4-2. Staggs, ranked 58th, beat Valentin Vacherot, ranked 35th, 7-5, 7-5 on Court 4.