After Sam Querrey brought his 16-year career on the ATP Tour to a close at the US Open in August, the American had quite the list of achievements to look back on.

A 10-time tour-level titlist, Querrey was renowned as one of the biggest and most destructive servers on Tour. The Californian backed up his prime weapon with clinical volleying and a high-powered ground game that carried him to a career-high No. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2018.

Now an ambassador for Top Court, Querrey reveals the secrets behind his dominant one-two punch on serve, emphasising how big serving is made more effective by staying alert to handle your opponent’s return. He also discusses how his approach to tennis and training developed from his time as a junior and reveals some light-hearted off-court stories involving former World No. 1 Andy Roddick.

Technique: Querrey’s dominant serving was all about routine, and the American delves into the technical aspects he focused on during his service motion. The first delivery can’t always work out, of course, so Querrey also walks you through the skills needed to add a kick to your second serve, forcing your opponent into an immediate readjustment on return.

Drills: A big server needs the skills to back up their delivery, and Querrey showcases two drills to help fans develop this crucial aspect of their game. His ‘Short High Forehand Finish’ and ‘20/20 Volley’ drills help develop consistency when dealing with returns, enabling you to move forward with confidence behind your serve.

Follow Querrey’s Tutorials at TopCourt.com.

Under pressure early from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday at the Gijon Open, Andy Murray found a moment of magic to trigger a stunning turnaround at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

Murray pulled off a difficult forehand volley on the stretch at 2-4, 30/40 to avoid going a double break down in the first set of his first-round clash against the Spanish sixth seed. It proved a pivotal moment in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting, as the Briton held serve for 3-4 before raising his level to claim 10 of the next 13 games and storm to a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

The former World No. 1, who is competing as a wild card at the ATP 250 event in north-west Spain, will take on Pedro Cachin or qualifier Alexey Vatutin in the second round.

More to follow…

Alexander Bublik added another win to his impressive indoor record in 2022 on Tuesday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, but this one carried a little extra meaning for the Kazakh.

The seventh seed’s 7-5, 6-2 victory against Cristian Garin at the ATP 250 event in Florence was his 100th tour-level victory. Bublik fired 37 winners and broke the Chilean’s serve three times to notch a Tour-leading 14th indoor win of the season.

“I played a good match, I stayed solid, I served well,” said Bublik after his 87-minute triumph. “The conditions fit me well, the court is quite fast, so I’m pleased with my game and let’s see what goes on after.”

As he celebrates reaching the 100-win milestone at the age of 25, Bublik emphasised his determination to continue working hard as he bids to improve on his career-high of No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The Kazakh achieved that position after lifting his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Montpellier in February.

“I do believe you must improve every day, and improve everything, so I wouldn’t find a specific thing that I need to improve,” said Bublik. “But I think the overall game, if I can stay solid, stay disciplined, I think we can talk about something bigger.”

Bublik’s next test in Florence is a second-round matchup against Corentin Moutet, who came through a tough three-setter against #NextGenATP Italian Flavio Cobolli on Monday night.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mikael Ymer cruised into the second round with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph against Tim van Rijthoven.

The highest-ranked Swede in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Ymer enjoyed the biggest win of his career in mid-September against then-World No. 11 Jannik Sinner in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. He backed up that result by reaching his seventh tour-level quarter-final on the indoor courts in Metz, and the 24-year-old will seek to make it eight quarter-finals when he meets fifth seed Aslan Karatsev in the second round in Florence.

If you are a Dominic Thiem fan, Vienna just became even more interesting.

Last week, Thiem visited Madame Tussauds Vienna — a popular tourist attraction where people pose for pictures with life-size wax figures of their favourite celebrities — to reveal a wax figure of himself. 

“What’s better than one Dominic Thiem? Two Dominic Thiems 😎👬🏻,” Thiem wrote on Instagram. “Madame Tussauds is world-famous for its wax figures, and so it is an honour to now be part of this great collection myself. After all the hard work from the whole team at Madame Tussauds, I was very excited to see the final result, and I can say my twin turned out very well. 😉”

^{Photo Credit: Madame Tussauds Vienna/Christoph Kleinsasser}
Thiem in January 2021 participated in Vienna in a three-hour sitting, during which 250 measurements of his head and body were recorded. There were also 180 photos taken from different angles to ensure that the wax figure would look as much like him as possible. He had to hold his position on a turntable with minimum movement throughout the process.

The figure is dressed in an actual kit the Austrian wore during the 2020 US Open, including a racquet he used en route to his first Grand Slam title. Lukas Rauscher, Marketing Manager of Madame Tussauds Vienna, was thrilled when the figure was unveiled.

“We are delighted that the wax figure of Dominic Thiem has finally arrived at Madame Tussauds Vienna. He was very often requested by our visitors and we are happy to finally make their dream come true,” Rauscher said. “Although he is in high demand, we are proud of the great collaboration we’ve had with his team and Dominic himself and the time he took for the sitting and the launch.”

The Thiem figure went through a rigorous process to which around 20 artists contributed. Typically a figure takes around six months to complete, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused a delay, which allowed the team to make sure the tennis star’s figure came out as well as possible.

The artists inserted each hair one by one, which took six weeks by itself. Thiem’s eyes were made with acrylic resin, with each eye’s iris painted on by hand, with silk threads to create the veins. Rather than using makeup to create Thiem’s skin complexion, oil paint was applied with a special brush-tapping technique. Everything came together to create Dominic Thiem 2.0.

“Being immortalised in wax is a huge milestone in someone’s career and Dominic has certainly achieved so much already at such a young age,” Rauscher said. “We can’t wait to see what lies ahead, he definitely has a very promising future. We are looking forward to seeing many happy selfies of our guests with his likeness.”

A pair of #NextGenATP youngsters were among six ATP Challenger Tour champions last week. American Zachary Svajda rallied from a set down in the Tiburon Challenger final to collect his maiden Challenger title while Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov triumphed at the Parma Challenger presented by Iren.

Svajda spoiled countryman Ben Shelton’s 20th birthday Sunday, defeating the lefty 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to win in Tiburon, California.

“In the first set, Ben played lights out,” Svajda said. “I was nervous, I was getting tight, double faulting quite a bit. I knew in the second set I was going to have to change something up, try spinning my serve in so I don’t have to hit second serves and also try to put more pace on the ball. That was the momentum switch.”

The 19-year-old, who climbs to a career-high No. 255 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is the 11th teenage Challenger champion of this season. The two-time USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships titlist joins fellow San Diego native Brandon Nakashima (Quimper-2, February 2021) as the only American teenage Challenger champion in the past five years.

The title came to Svajda’s surprise. In just his seventh Challenger tournament of the year, the youngster needed a deciding set tie-break in his first two matches to stay alive.

“I wasn’t expecting to win the tournament,” Svajda said. “I could’ve been out in the first round. I could’ve been out in the second round, 1-5 in the third. I told myself, ‘Never give up and just see what happens!’”

In 2019, Svajda made his Tour-level debut at the US Open, where he squandered a two-set lead to Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the first round. The-then 16-year-old became the youngest male player to compete at the US Open since Donald Young in 2005. In 2021, Svajda earned his first Tour-level win at Flushing Meadows (d. Cecchinato), before falling short to Jannik Sinner.

Shelton, who has finished runner-up at three of his past four Challenger tournaments, rises to a career-high 160 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

At the Challenger 125 event in Parma, Italy, Skatov needed three hours, eight minutes to prevail against Slovakian Jozek Kovalik 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4 and claim his maiden Challenger title. Skatov, who is 13th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, ended Kovalik’s nine-match winning streak and is the first Kazakh Challenger champion this season.

Timofey Skatov in action at the 2022 Parma Challenger. Credit: Daniele Combi

The 21-year-old has reached at least the semi-finals in four of his past five Challenger tournaments and the title in Italy propels Skatov to a career-high No. 152. He also surged to 13th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan, keeping alive his outside hopes of qualifying for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

“This week was really tough,” Skatov said. “All my matches were really long, but the best week of my life so far. This is just the beginning. I have to continue working as hard as possible.”

The ATP Challenger Tour returned to South Korea this week for the first time since May 2019. Hungarian Zsombor Piros captured the Gwangju Open Challenger title, ousting Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez in the final, 6-2, 6-4.

Piros, 22, won the Tampere Challenger in July to claim his first Challenger title. Boasting a 28-13 Challenger match record this season, Piros is the second-highest ranked Hungarian men’s player, behind Marton Fucsovics. The 2017 Australian Open boys’ singles champion rises to a career-high No. 138.

Zsombor Piros is crowned champion at the Gwangju Open Challenger.

Gomez, 30, is a six-time Challenger finalist this season and has won 17 of his past 20 Challenger-level matches, including winning the title in Winnipeg, Canada (d. Galarneau). Gomez, son of 1990 Roland Garros champion Andres Gomez, climbs to a career-high No. 98 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

In Gwangju doubles action, top seeds Nicolas Barrientos and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela won a season-leading sixth Challenger team title after defeating Indian duo Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni in a match tie-break.

At the Open de Vendee, Dutchman Jelle Sels defeated Canadian Vasek Posipisil 6-4, 6-3 to seal his first Challenger title.

“Unbelievable week,” Sels said. “I’ve played a lot of matches this past month… I felt really confident before this tournament and I just went with the flow. There was no place for doubting today.”

Jelle Sels celebrates winning a point at the Mouilleron le Captif Challenger. Credit: Nicolas Averty

In September, the 27-year-old finished runner-up at the Tulln Challenger and reached the semi-finals in Braga, Portugal. The Dutchman has won 12 of his past 14 Challenger-level matches and the title in Mouilleron le Captif, France launches him to a career-high No. 141.

Slovakian Lukas Klein dropped just one set all week to be crowned champion at the Alicante Ferrero Challenger, which is held at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy in Villena, Spain. In the championship match, the 24-year-old defeated the Dominican Republic’s Nick Hardt 6-3, 6-4.

“From the first match, I was playing better and better,” Klein said. “I was a little nervous at the end, but somehow I made it. I’m happy.”

Lukas Klein wins his second Challenger of 2022 at the Alicante Challenger.

Klein, seeded eighth, claimed his maiden Challenger title earlier this season as a qualifier in Troisdorf, Germany (d. Bergs). In June, he advanced through qualifying to make his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where he fell short to Liam Broady in five sets.

On the clay-courts of Campinas, Brazil, British qualifier Jan Choinski defeated second seed Juan Pablo Varillas 6-4, 6-4 to win the Campeonato Internacional de Tenis. The championship match was halted by rain Sunday and was eventually moved to an indoor-clay venue in Sao Paulo Monday afternoon. With Choinski leading 6-4, 4-4 15/15 when the match resumed indoors, the 26-year-old wasted no time to earn his maiden Challenger title. Choinski, World No. 348, is the first non-South American to win the Campinas Challenger since Gastao Elias in 2017.

Jan Choinski wins the Campinas Challenger. Credit: Joao Pires

Choinski is one of six players from Great Britain who have combined for nine Challenger titles, the country’s most Challenger titles in a single season. Jack Draper, who claimed four Challenger titles earlier this year, is the only Briton to win more than one Challenger title in 2022.