Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish will meet in an eagerly anticipated quarter-final showdown in this week’s ATP Memphis Open

Sam Querrey might just have put his January jitters well and truly behind him, as he finally produced his first solid victory of the season in round two against Brian Dabul. Querrey wrapped the match up in straight sets to claim a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory, and will now face No. 4 seed Mardy Fish in the quarter-finals.

If Fish wants to end Querrey’s chances of retaining the title here, he’ll need to be strong on his returns. Querrey won 89 percent of the points played on his first serve against Dabul, though he’s still struggling to get a high percentage of his first serves within the lines.

Intriguingly, the same could be said of Fish, who needed three sets to defeat Lukas Lacko in round two, and only put 56 percent of his first serves in the service box. Fish is considered to be an outsider this week, but could be the man to derail Querrey’s title campaign if he can find the right strategy. This is the kind of match that could go either way, and both players will be aware that a big performance is a necessity.

Fish and Querrey have a 1-1 head to head record, with Fish beating Querrey on a hard court in 2007, and Querrey beating Fish at Queen’s (grass) in 2010. Neither of these results suggest that either opponent will be a clear favourite to win this match, and it seems likely that this will be one of the closest contests of the tournament so far.