Paris Masters: Querrey out of London contention

Sam Querrey’s chances of an ATP Finals berth have ended following a shock loss to qualifier Filip Krajinovic at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

Querrey was one of several players – the others being Kevin Anderson, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Lucas Pouille – who had a shot of overtaking Pablo Carreno Busta, the Spaniard currently occupying the eighth and final qualifying position of London.

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Those chances became all the more realistic when Busta, the eighth seed in Paris, bombed 6-4 6-1 in his first match to French wildcard Nicolas Mahut.

But Querrey instead fell 6-4 6-4, ruling him out of the race.

According to ESPN’s UK correspondent Leo Spall, “Querrey was said to be distraught in the locker room after blowing his chances of making the ATP Finals Tuesday, and didn’t face the media.”

Querrey, the world No.13, has won two ATP titles in 2017, as well as reaching the Wimbledon semifinals and US Open quarterfinals.

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But since his run at Flushing Meadows, Querrey slumped to defeat in four of his next six matches – including his last three in a row.

“I felt he had pressure on him because he was close to making London,” Krajinovic said after his win, which sets up a third-round meeting with Mahut.

In first-round results, the in-form Diego Schwartzman and Adrian Mannarino progressed, as did qualifier Borna Coric.

Veteran Fernando Verdasco got past young gun Andrey Rublev, while lucky loser Evgeny Donskoy – who got into the draw as a result of Roger Federer’s withdrawal – was ousted by Brit Kyle Edmund.