Sam Querrey and Jack Sock competed on the ATP Tour for several years, to varying degrees of success.
American tennis has had plenty of ATP Tour stars over the years, all of which no doubt dreamt of Grand Slam success.
Big server Querrey, looked a real threat at times in Major tournaments, achieving his best result in 2017, when he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
His fellow American, Sock never made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam but did enjoy success at the Masters 1000 level, taking home the title in Paris, eight years ago.
Sock’s Parisian exploits saw him reach a career-high ranking of eighth in the world, while Querrey was unable to crack the top ten during his career, peaking at 11th.
Following his 2022 retirement, Querrey has now revealed where he thinks he would be ranked if he played in today’s ‘era’.
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, American star Querrey gave his thoughts on where he would be ranked today.
“I do feel like I would have been higher than 11th in the world in this current era,” he said.
“I might have got to ten and had more success.
“Not to say these guys aren’t good but I feel like eight to 12 years ago was a little bit stronger from top to bottom.
“From the 1-50 range, it was probably stronger in 2015 than it was in 2025.”
Querrey’s co-host John Isner agreed but suggested that as a taller player, he may have struggled.
“The way these guys move now, I think the answer for you guys is probably yes but maybe not for me because everyone moves so well now,” he said.
Former world number 21, Steve Johnson also gave his thoughts, as he suggested the level of competition is weaker now that it was during his playing days.
“I fully think that outside of the top three back in the day, the [David] Ferrers, [Tomas] Berdych, [Stan] Wawrinka were way better than the guys now from five to 15, week in and week out,” he said.
Sock agreed, arguing that he and his American co-hosts would have a better chance of competing at Major tournaments today.
“I completely agree,” he said.
“If you take out the top seeds each Slam and take seeds six-32, I would take my chances in our primes playing our best tennis against those guys trying to get through a Slam draw than the guys six-32 in our day.”
The quartet may think they’d have fared better in today’s game, but that’s not to say that they didn’t produce some strong performances at the Major tournaments during their time on tour.
Querrey’s semi-final berth in 2017 was one of their best efforts, but did the others get any closer to Grand Slam success?
Name | Tournament | Round lost in | Opponent | Score |
John Isner | 2018 Wimbledon | SF | Kevin Anderson [8] | 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4, 26-24 |
Sam Querrey | 2017 Wimbledon | SF | Marin Cilic [7] | 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 5-7 |
Jack Sock | 2016 US Open | 4R | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [9] | 3-6, 3-6, 7-6, 2-6 |
Steve Johnson | 2016 Wimbledon | 4R | Roger Federer [3] | 2-6, 3-6, 5-7 |
Isner came the closest to a Major final, narrowly losing out in a marathon semi-final clash with fellow big-man Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon seven years ago.
The American heartbreakingly lost a 50-game fifth set, 26-24, as his South African opponent edged things on Centre Court.
Both Sock and Johnson enjoyed career-best results in 2016, as they lost in the fourth round, to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer respectively.
It’s impossible to say whether they would’ve gone further, if they played in a different era, but they certainly made their mark during their time on the ATP Tour.
Grand Slam tennis will return at the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 25.
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