Querrey tops Colombian in Australian Open

SAM QUERREY
File photo by Paul Bauman

  Sam Querrey said his first-round victory in the Australian Open gave him a lot of confidence.
   He'll need it in his next match.
   Querrey, a San Francisco native and Sacramento Capitals veteran in World TeamTennis, held off Colombia's Santiago Giraldo, who won the 2009 Sacramento Challenger, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3) today in Melbourne.
   "To win this match, in a tiebreak in the fourth set, gives me a ton of confidence," the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Querrey, who's ranked 51st after reaching a career-high No. 17 in January 2011, told reporters.
   Querrey, who has never advanced past the third round of the Australian Open in seven attempts, will face Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, seeded 23rd and ranked 24th, on Wednesday in the second round.
   Gulbis, who reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2008 at 19 years old, defeated former top-10 player Juan Monaco of Argentina 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2. It was Gulbis' first singles victory in the Australian Open since 2009 and only his second ever.
   Querrey and Gulbis have split their four career meetings.
   No. 30 seed Dmitry Tursunov, a 31-year-old Moscow native based in the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay, leads 35-year-old Michael Russell of Houston 6-2, 6-2, 2-2 in the first round.