Another year, another massive upset at Wimbledon for Sam Querrey. A year after stunning world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round at the All England Club, the No. 24 seed defeated world No. 1 and defending champion Andy Murray, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.

It's taken the 29-year-old 42 major appearances to break through, and he becomes the first American man to advance that far at a major since Andy Roddick made the final at Wimbledon in 2009.

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“I’m still in a little bit of shock myself,” Querrey said after the match. “It was just, that last point I was so happy to hit the serve and I’m just thrilled right now.”

No other man has taken more Slams to reach their first semifinal, as Querrey’s 42 tops Mark Woodforde’s previous record of 38. But for Querrey, that doesn’t matter.

“It feels great,” Querrey said. “This is a dream come true and to be in the semifinals and to have it be at Wimbledon makes it even a little more special.”

To call Querrey a dark horse in London is arguably an understatement, with the Californian eliminating the defending champion two Wimbledon championships in a row.

Last year, Djokovic came to the grass-court Slam as the undeniable favorite, only losing two completed matches all year. He came into Wimbledon holding all four Grand Slam titles, and on the hunt for a calendar-year Slam.

But Querrey played lights-out tennis in the third round to defeat the Serbian in four sets after being down a break in the fourth. He would go on to lose in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Milos Raonic.

This time around, Querrey’s upset pust him through to the semifinals, after already defeating No. 12-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kevin Anderson to reach his second major quarterfinal. Querrey’s two Wimbledon victories (over Djokovic and Murray) are undeniably the best of his career.

So what makes the world No. 28 such a threat to the sport’s giants, especially at Wimbledon? Querrey has two of the biggest weapons in tennis in his serve and forehand. There is no defense for perfect offense, especially on quick grass courts.

The American played pretty close to perfect in the final two sets against Murray and in most of the match against Djokovic. While it appeared that the Scot was physically-impaired toward the end of the match, a healthy Murray still may not have had a chance against Querrey’s aggression.

Fellow Americans certainly noticed their compatriot’s efforts.

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Querrey will face 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic for a spot in the final, five years after the Croatian beat him 17-15 in the fifth set at Wimbledon. While his tournament is not over yet, Querrey has a lot to celebrate.

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