Sam Querrey cruises past Vincent Millot in Los Cabos quarterfinals

After needing a tie-break in the third set of his second-round match against Evan King, American Sam Querrey said he needed to elevate his game and improve his attitude in the rest of the Los Cabos Open to make an impact. He did just that, defeating Frenchman Vincent Millot 6-1 and 6-3 in the quarterfinals, in just one hour.

"It feels good, but the tournament keeps getting tougher, but if I play like I did, I have a chance to reach the final," said the winner.

This time, the American left no room for doubt. He regained his serve, was more aggressive, and despite playing once again in the first match of the central court, he had more mobility, suffocating his European opponent, especially in the first set.

The 31-year-old Frenchman, who eliminated sixth seed Fernando Verdasco in the second round, did not show up on the court in Baja California Sur until 17 minutes into the match, already trailing 5-0.

The Acapulco champion held his serve, and then his opponent gifted him two break point opportunities with a double fault. Sam patiently waited from the baseline and it was Millot who made the mistake, hitting the ball into the net. At the first break, the score was 3-0.

But Querrey maintained his aggression, hitting deeper shots and occasionally approaching the net. He earned another double break point opportunity, and Millot committed another double fault. In just 13 minutes, the Californian was already ahead 4-0.

The 165th-ranked player in the world made his appearance in the sixth game, the longest of the set (10 minutes). Despite facing three break points against him and then one more, he resisted and won his first game after 27 minutes. However, Sam wasted no time and closed out the set with a resounding 6-1 in under half an hour.

That strong finish to the set restored confidence to the Frenchman, who managed to hold his serve and for the first time in the match was ahead on the scoreboard. But this time, the American did not give him a chance with his serve and quickly equalized the score.

However, the match changed, Querrey was no longer as comfortable on the court and had to make an effort once again to resolve the situation. The opportunity came in the fifth game, when he earned two break points and converted the first by going for the point.

After 4-2, Millot protested an ace that the umpire would not review, but by holding his serve, he won his last game of the match. Sam made an effort to secure his spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament in one hour and took the set 6-3.

"I think I played well, the only thing I need to improve for future matches is getting my first serve in, but I was aggressive, did everything right, so it was a good victory," concluded Querrey.

Having learned his lesson after a tough match against Brown in the opening round, the American is now just a couple of victories away from winning both Mexican ATP tournaments.