The world's 25th-ranked player said on Tuesday he narrowly avoided damaging the nerve in his serving arm that would have ended his tennis career.
Querrey hurt himself on Sept. 28 after practicing at the Thailand Open. He sat on a couch before going to take a shower. Afterward, he didn't want to sit back in the same sweaty spot on the couch to put on his socks and shoes.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad hereSo he fatefully plopped down on the glass table, and it shattered.
"I fell through it," he recalled. "When I got up, there was a piece of glass in my arm. Blood was gushing out. I ran down to the trainer. The doctor came and we got the ambulance and went to the hospital."
Querrey whipped out his cell phone to display a photo of the open wound before it was closed up with 25 stitches during an hourlong surgery in a Bangkok hospital. He cut 30 percent of two different muscles in his arm.
The evidence is a thin, red 3-inch (7 1/2-centimeter) scar on the inside of his arm.
"I was actually more nervous when I got home and I finally took the splint off after two weeks," he said. "If my wrist moved in the slightest way, it would send shooting pain down my arm. I didn't know if I was going to get better."
During his recovery to strengthen the muscles in his wrist and recover his range of motion, Querrey was forced to do everything with his left hand, including brushing his teeth.
He says his arm feels good, although his serve isn't quite where it was before the accident.
"My shoulder, it takes a while to warm it up and get that motion going," he said. "Other than that I feel no difference in any part of my game."
The accident cut short his career-best season, forcing him to miss five tournaments. The 22-year-old Californian reached five ATP Tour finals this year, putting him in the elite company of No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Andy Murray as players who made at least that many finals.
Querrey won one of those finals, at Los Angeles, and he rose to a career-high 22nd in the rankings. He finished the year with a 41-23 win-loss mark.
No. 6 Andy Roddick is the highest-ranked American on the men's tour. After him and Querrey, only No. 44 James Blake is ranked among the top 50.
Querrey heard from Roddick and Blake after the accident, but he was most excited about an e-mail from Federer wishing him well.
"That was the greatest," he said, smiling. "I was so happy. It made my day. It was almost worth it."
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Pandiani reveals WC ambitionSerena breaks WTA season prize money mark
