Farmers Classic 2012: U.S. Open Series Continues In Southern California

Sam Querrey hasn’t been in an ATP Tour final since 2010. With many of the best tennis players in the world away at the 2012 Olympics, though, Querrey has made a run to the final of the 2012 Farmers Classic.

Querrey will meet Ricardas Berankis in the final of the Farmers on Sunday after defeating Rajeev Ram in the semifinals on Saturday, and will surely enjoy seeing the unseeded Berankis instead of sixth-seeded Marinko Matosevic, who fell to Berankis in semifinal play.

Though his countrymen John Isner and Andy Roddick are in London competing in the Olympics, Sam Querrey is doing his thing at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles. He’s the second seed and, after taking down Xavier Malisse in the quarterfinals, he’ll be facing fellow American Rajeev Ram, who is unseeded in the tournament, in the semifinals Saturday afternoon. Ram defeated third-seeded Argentinian Leonardo Mayer

On the other side of the draw, sixth seed Marinko Matosevic will face qualifier Richard Barankis, who upset No. 4 seed Nicolas Mahut — better known as John Isner’s partner in the longest match in tennis history — in the quarterfinals. Matosevic took down veteran American Michael Russell in the quarters, setting up a matchup with Barankis.

The 2012 Farmers Classic is under way at Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA. A host of ATP men’s singles players will compete for the bulk of the $700,000 prize money as part of the 2012 U.S. Open Series. The group of competitors will be led by two-time Farmers Classic champion Sam Querrey and Nicolas Mahut. Ernests Gulbis, the 2011 champion, will not be returning.

On Tuesday, the first round of play will continue. The No. 1-4 seeds will receive first-round byes in the tournament, so Benoit Paire, Querrey, Leonardo Mayer and Mahut will all be resting up and waiting to see who their second-round opponents will be.