Mom, dad and sis will be for American Querrey when he faces Briton Murray at Wimbledon

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Querrey can’t count on crowd against Murray

WIMBLEDON, England — American Sam Querrey will try not to take his Wimbledon match against Andy Murray personally.

Querrey faces Murray in the fourth round Monday and realizes Centre Court spectators will be firmly in the Scotsman’s corner.

“You hear them cheering for the other guy, and you assume they like the other guy,” Querrey said. “They don’t dislike you. They like both players. They just like him a little more.”

Murray is trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936. Querrey is trying to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event for the first time, but he doesn’t expect much crowd support.

“I think it’ll be 99 percent for Murray and, like, my mom and dad and sister cheering for me,” Querrey said.

Playing in the second week at Wimbledon for the first time, Querrey joins a schedule Monday that is star-studded, with all 32 remaining players in action.

There are two eye-catching matchups on the women’s side: three-time champion Serena Williams against 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, and an all-Belgian showdown between former No. 1s Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, both making Wimbledon comebacks after returning from retirement.

Six-time champion Roger Federer faces former junior doubles partner Jurgen Melzer for the first time in the opening Centre Court match. Rafael Nadal, got through the third round despite a worrisome knee injury, plays Paul-Henri Mathieu. After a 40-minute practice session Sunday, Nadal pronounced his knee “good, good; not bad.”

How full was the schedule? Five-time champion Venus Williams was consigned to Court 2 against Jarmila Groth.

Among the potential spoilers still in the draw, Querrey ranks as one of the most dangerous. Seeded 18th, he began the tournament with a 1-3 record at Wimbledon. But he’s 8-0 on grass this month and won his first grass-court title two weeks ago at Queen’s.

At 6-foot-6, the 22-year-old San Francisco native regularly hits serves above 130 mph, which makes him dangerous on the fast surface. He has improved his movement and showed a deft touch at the net when he edged Xavier Malisse on Saturday, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 9-7.

“I felt good on the grass last year,” Querrey said. “This year I’m feeling even better. After my first few rounds at the Queen’s Club, I felt great on the grass. I’m still feeling great on it.”

During the first week of the tournament, Querrey hung out a lot with his doubles partner, marathon man John Isner.

Isner, drained after winning a fifth set 70-68 in the longest match in tennis history, was eliminated in the second round. Querrey and three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick are the lone American men who reached the second week.

Murray, the only British player to survive the first round, has been in a slump since finishing as the runner-up to Federer at the Australian Open in January. But Murray is 12-2 at Wimbledon over the past three years, despite carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations.

He won every set in the opening week of this year’s tournament, and on Saturday beat talented Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

“The start has been very good, and something that I needed for the confidence,” Murray said. “I’m going to have to play better next week if I want to go all the way.”

Murray has a 3-0 record against Querrey, but their most recent meeting was in 2008. Querrey said he’s comfortable playing the role of spoiler.

“You want to go out there and give the crowd a show,” he said. “I want to play well, and hopefully I can challenge him.”

The U.S. soccer team’s elimination from the World Cup coincided with Querrey’s tense victory over Malisse, the last match of the third round. It ended at 9:23 p.m.

Querrey dismissed the suggestion his victory might have a healing effect for U.S. sports fans.

“No,” he said firmly. “I don’t think the match was televised. I mean, I know it wasn’t. So no one even knows what happened out there on Court 1 besides, like, my family.”

Then he thought about the potential impact of beating Murray and cracked a slight smile.

“Maybe on Monday. If I can get a win there,” Querrey said, “then maybe.”