Mike Cormack

Querrey is the third-highest ranked American in the world.

Sam Querrey is quickly becoming the hottest thing to come out of the U.S. in men's tennis.

With Andy Roddick's best days looking more and more behind him, Sam Querrey's red-hot summer is just what American tennis needs.

To be sure, Roddick's withdrawal Tuesday from the Rogers Cup was a blow to tournament organizers and tennis fans.

But the harsh reality is -- with the exception of his gritty performance in a losing effort in the 2009 Wimbledon final -- since his lone Grand Slam win at the 2003 U.S. Open, the past seven years of Mr. Brooklyn Decker's career have been marred with inconsistency and disappointment.

In many ways, Roddick's reputation as the best American tennis player was living off that U.S. Open win largely by default.

Enter Sam Querrey.

The San Francisco native is the third-highest ranked American in the world (at No. 21) and he enters the Rogers Cup having won two of his past five tournaments, including two weeks ago in Los Angeles where he defeated world No. 4 Andy Murray in the final.

At just 22-years old, there is hope south of the border that Querrey is ready to jump into the Top 10 and begin contending for Grand Slams, beginning with the U.S. Open later this month.

Fellow American, Michael Russell -- who fell to Querrey 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tuesday in Toronto -- says his 6-foot-6 opponent finally has a mental game to match his big serve and court coverage.

"He's matured a lot mentally," Russell explained. "He's done a great job maturing and imposing his game on opponents. His serve is incredible."

On Wednesday, Querrey will take on South Africa's Kevin Anderson, with a potential Round of 16 showdown with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal looming on Thursday.

For his part, the man John McEnroe once called America's next great talent says he's not feeling any extra pressure to perform given Roddick's recent struggles.

"I'm not feeling responsible," Querrey said. "I don't feel any extra pressure. I don't think any of the (Americans) do. We want to be in The 10. We can only do so much, and hopefully we'll get there soon."

In Querrey's case, soon might be just a few wins away.

Wednesday’s Match of the Day:

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Stanislas Wawrinka (7:30 p.m.)

Head-to-head: Nadal leads 5-0

Last meeting: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (clay). Nadal won 6-4, 6-1.

The Skinny: The world No. 1 has drawn a tough opening match. Although he’s yet to lose to Wawrinka in five career matches, the last time they met on a hard court (Miami, 2009) Nadal got all he could handle from the world No. 24—and Roger Federer’s Olympic doubles partner—squeaking past him 7-6, 7-6.