It couldn't have been especially fun for the London crowd to see two Yanks playing for their country's second biggest outdoor title given what happened Saturday in South Africa, but that's just what the crowd was treated to in the finals of the AEGON Championships Queen's Club event Sunday, which saw Sam Querrey defeat friend and countryman Mardy Fish 7-6(3), 7-5.

It was Querrey's third title of the year on his third different surface, a decidedly rare feat for a player of his age and (relative) inexperience.  Even more surprisingly, none of the three titles came on outdoor hard courts, which are generally considered his forte.

Querrey, the #7 seed of the tournament, didn't have to play against a seed on his way to the Queen's Club title, which is pretty surprising given that it was a fifty-six player draw with sixteen seeds.  But he beat players who beat the other seeds, and that was enough.

Fish won't be expected to do much of anything at Wimbledon, but Querrey has to be high on the list of darkhorses for the tournament at this point.  No one with his serve and forehand can ever be counted out of any match on grass, and now he has a title on grass to boot. 

The last three Queen's Club champions (Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Roddick), made the semifinals, won, and made the quarterfinals, respectively.  Querrey isn't expected to do that well as of now, but with the right draw there's no reason he can't hammer his way into the second week.

Sam Querrey blasted his way into the semifinals of Queen's Club Friday with a dominant win over Xavier Malisse, beating the veteran Belgian 6-3, 7-5.

Querrey is two wins away from his third title of 2010, with previous titles on indoor hard (Memphis) and clay (Belgrade).  Not only would he become the first player this year to win titles on three surfaces, a title in London would put Querrey alone in second place for ATP singles titles in 2010 with three (behind only Rafael Nadal's four), and in a tie at five for second place in terms of singles, doubles, and mixed titles among ATPers (behind only Nenad Zimonjic's six).

This immediate success on grass for Querrey isn't entirely unsurprising.   Querrey had, by just about every measure, a totally disastrous Roland Garros.  He lost in the first round of the singles, then became so burnt out and sulky that he immediately pulled out of the doubles draw, leaving his friend John Isner.  He went straight back home to California and deactivating his Twitter account, clearly trying to disconnect himself from the pressures of his life as much as possible.

Whatever rebooting he did seems to have paid off, since he now finds himself the highest seed remaining in London.  He's the favorite in his semifinal against Rainier Schuettler, and will be the favorite against Feliciano Lopez or Mardy Fish in the final as well if he makes it there.

His first grass court title would be a nice high on what has been a roller coaster season.  But if he wins this title, will his Twitter account ever come back?

Andy Roddick's preparations to defend his run to the finals of Wimbledon 2009 were cut short Thursday by Israel's Dudi Sela, who knocked Roddick out in the third Queen's Club tournament in London 6-4, 7-6(8).

Sela made the second week of Wimbledon in 2009, and is a totally capable player.  He moves extremely well, takes the ball early, and has more of an eye for finishing points at the net than do most. 

But he's still a player who Roddick should be able to blast off the grass if playing anywhere near his best.

The sudden, abbreviated grass court season tends to breed head turning results.  Already in London we've seen Xavier Malisse def. Novak Djokovic, Michael Llodra def. Marin Cilic, Rainier Schuettler def. Gael Monfils, and Nicolas Mahut d. Anybody, all of which are unlikely on any other surface.

There are players, like Schuettler, Mahut and (on the WTA side) Tamarine Tanasugarn who only ever have results to speak of during this short grass swing.  And then there are elite players like Nikolay Davydenko and Gael Monfils who can barely muster a win on the living surface. 

The grass court season is as short as the blades themselves, so it's up to these players to most of their quick time on the turf. 

And now another strong fast court player, Andy Roddick, is just hoping the grass is greener at Wimbledon.