COUNTRYWIDE CLASSIC NOTEBOOK: RODDICK PRAISES QUERREY.

Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer

Andy Roddick isn't ready to put Sam Querrey in the top 10, but the former world No. 1 sees potential in the recent Thousand Oaks High graduate to be the future of American tennis.

``He's not really fazed by anything,'' Roddick said of Querrey. ``He's kind of happy-go-lucky. I think he feels like he belongs a little bit, and is not just hoping to belong. He's extremely raw, which means he has a lot of upside. I think that's one of the most exciting things about him.''

Querrey, 18, will try to win his first second-round match in an ATP event today at UCLA when he takes on eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in the Countrywide Classic at 1:30 p.m.

Roddick brought Querrey to his house in Austin, Texas, earlier this year for a 10-day training session. Querrey also served as a training partner for Roddick and the U.S. Davis Cup team prior to the second-round match in Rancho Mirage. Roddick views their relationship as similar to his friendship with Andre Agassi when he was coming up.

``I didn't really want to offer too much,'' Roddick said. ``Sam said where he learned a lot, like I guess I did from Andre, was just the intensity of the workouts. We went out every day and just worked our butts off.''

Higher learning: Two years ago at this time, Paul Goldstein was fixing up his resume. He wasn't sure tennis was in his future.

An encouraging finish to the season kept him going, and he ended up having his best year on the tour in 2005. This season hasn't been as kind, since he peaked at No. 58 in the world in April. However, the American, who turns 30 next week, is showing signs of making another run late in his career.

Goldstein followed up Monday's upset of second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt by beating Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday.

``Fifteen years from now, the Hewitt match is what I will remember,'' Goldstein said of what he called one of the four-biggest victories of his eight-year career.

Goldstein began to send out resumes when he fell to No. 199 in the rankings. He's currently at No. 86 and rising.

``One of my greatest sources of pride is being the highest-ranked player with a college degree,'' said Goldstein, who went to Stanford.

Agassi prevails: Agassi, who has announced he will retire after the U.S. Open, rallied to beat George Bastl of Switzerland 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 in the last match Wednesday night.

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Photo:

Thousand Oaks' Sam Querrey, shown in his first-round win, has been mentored by Andy Roddick in training sessions.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer