Sam Querrey gets in third-round victory at Wimbledon just under the wire

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — 

That last forehand Sam Querrey hit, a winner from deep behind the baseline, the one that touched every line, it seemed, came just in time.

It was getting dark again at the All England Club, well past 9 p.m., and a tall, gangly American was deep into a fifth set with no tiebreaker to save him and Mohamed Lahyani in the chair, possibly crossing his legs uncomfortably.

Lahyani, after all, was the umpire who supervised the 11-hour, 5-minute, three-day marathon won, 70-68, in the fifth set by John Isner over Nicolas Mahut in the first round, and there he was again as Querrey and Xavier Malisse of Belgium stood tied, 7-7, in the fifth set.

But Querrey, the 22-year-old from Santa Monica who is seeded 18th, put on some blinders, kicked his game into a higher power mode and finished off Malisse before play was stopped Saturday, advancing to the fourth round of Wimbledon with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 9-7 win.

For his efforts Querrey earned himself a Monday match on Centre Court against Britain’s favorite, fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who easily beat France’s Gilles Simon, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Querrey said he knew that had he not won that final game of a 3-hour 47-minute match that finished at 9:24 p.m., he and Malisse would have been finishing their third round Monday.

“I think that was pretty much the last game,” Querrey said. “I think if he broke me then and it went to eight-all, I think we would have had to come back on Monday.”

Querrey said that even in the arriving darkness he closed his eyes when he hit the winning forehand. “I really didn’t see it too clearly. Luckily I caught the ball clean.”

The Court 1 crowd was favoring the 29-year-old Malisse, a fact Querrey called a little annoying. Querrey also understands that he will be cheered much less on Monday.

“Maybe my mom, dad and sister will be on my side,” he said.

This is Querrey’s first appearance in Wimbledon’s fourth round. He seems to have hit a grass-court stride after winning a warmup event at Queen’s Club two weeks ago. He said one key is better service returns.

“I’m hitting it on both sides,” he said. “On the second-serve returns I feel like I’m stepping up in the court and hitting a little bigger, and that’s something you have to do on grass.”

Short stay

Former Wimbledon singles champion Lindsay Davenport, who came out of a two-year retirement to play mixed doubles with fellow Southern California Bob Bryan, can take a breath. The mother of two and her partner lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4, 3-6, 11-9.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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