Sam Querrey is maturing nicely into a top-ranked tennis player - and he's still only 20.  The young American surprised everyone last week with victory in a tournament in Las Vegas. 

Querrey hedged his bets in the gambling capital of the world to defeat top men's players such as Guillermo Canas, veteran duo Nicholas Kiefer and Sebastien Grosjean.

In 2008 Querrey has also reached the semi-finals at Delray Beach and had success in Australia reaching the third round for the second successive year, losing out to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. 

'The USA will have a great chance of Davis Cup success in the future with this duo combining with the likes of Andy Roddick, James Blake and doubles specialists the Bryan brothers'


Querrey's success has all been on the US hardcourt circuit in his short but eventful career.  His powerful serve and tall stature make the hard surface idea for Sam's game and in 2007 he had success in Cincinatti, Indianapolis and Memphis, reaching at least the quarter-finals in each tournament.

His career victories include players such as Ivo Karlovic, Mikail Youzhny, Juan Monaco and compatriot James Blake, showing the 6ft 6in player has a touch of class to game.  Querrey is still something of an unknown on the ATP circuit and we need to see how he fairs on the clay and grass surfaces before we can compare him to the very best in the game.

Donald Young is another talented youth from the USA camp. At only 18, he is one if the youngest professionals on the ATP tour and has risen up the rankings dramatically over the past year, moving form 495 in January 2007 up to a career high of 85 in last week's rankings. 

Like Querrey, Young has plied his trade on the US hardcourts and with fantastic success. Although playing in some lower-level events than Querrey, he reached five challenger finals in 2007 in Champaign, Louisville, Calabasas, Aptos and Tulsa.  He also had an impressive debut at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, reaching the third round. 

Playing more big ATP Tour tournaments in 2008 should enable Young to move further up the rankings and some experts believe he will be a challenger for No.1 in the world in a few years' time.  First he needs to develop his strength and play more against higher-ranked players before we can comment on his ability to scale the heights of the ATP tour.

One thing is for sure, though. The USA will have a great chance of Davis Cup success in the future with this duo combining with the likes of Andy Roddick, James Blake and doubles specialists the Bryan brothers.