Jack Sock has been eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters after an exciting match against compatriot John Isner that ended 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 to Isner. Sock may not have been one of the best players on tour this year but he has put in quite a few performances that are enough to suggest that he will surely be a player to watch out for.
After finishing 2015 ranked 26th, Sock could not display his best performances this year due to struggles with health and fitness but provided he is fully fit during the entirety of 2017, he might even break into the Top 10. Here are 5 reasons why he could be a sensation in the near future.
#5 Impressive performances in Doubles
A number of top tennis players began to perform well in the Doubles before displaying the same amount of consistency in Singles and Jack Sock could well fall under that category. Having already won the Mixed Doubles title at the US Open in 2011 and the Men’s Doubles title in 2014 alongside a gold and a bronze in the Mixed Doubles and Men’s Doubles respectively at the Rio Olympics, Sock has quite an impressive resume in Doubles.Sock has recently been showing sparks of potential in Singles as well and given his versatility, he will well improve time and again in Singles tournaments. Looking at the amount of pace with which Doubles matches are played these days, Sock would adapt quite well to Singles. Having had a much fruitful year in Doubles compared to Singles, Sock would be hoping to utilize his Doubles experience in improving his Singles performances next year.
#4 Sportsman Spirit
There’s a lot of difference in being a successful sportsman and a good sportsman. It takes a lot more than skill and talent to be a good sportsman. It also takes a lot of sportsman spirit to be considered as a good sportsperson and Jack Sock seems to have that spirit in abundance and he has proved this quite a few times this year.The first such instance was shown at the start of the year during the Hopman Cup when Sock was playing former World No.1 Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt was serving to stay in the first set and his first serve was called out by the umpire only for Sock to tell Hewitt to go for the challenge as it was in. Hewitt took the challenge and Sock was right. Hewitt eventually won the match in straight sets.
The most recent instance of Sock’s sportsmanship was shown this year at the Paris Masters during Sock’s third round match against Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Serving at 1-5 in the opening set, Gasquet’s serve was called out by a line judge but Sock awarded the point to Gasquet by acknowledging that the ball was in. His act of sportsmanship was very well appreciated by the Paris crowd. A true sportsman indeed.
#3 Fitting well within the “next generation” of players
In the last few years, we had the likes of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray dominating the sport with the four of them being dubbed as the “Big Four”. However, then the likes of Wawrinka, Berdych, Nishikori, Cilic, etc came in and began to give these players a run for their money which caused the dominance of the Big Four to dip.
In recent times, the likes of Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, and Alexander Zverev have been maturing as players and they are gradually taking their scales to the next level. These players have shown at times that they have a lot of potential in them and we can also refer them as the “next generation” of players.
Sock also falls under this category as he is an integration of the qualities these players possess that include an accurate serve, aggressive playing styles and surprising the top players once in a while. While the likes of Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios have beaten many of the top players quite a number of times, Sock has also made his mark this year, having beaten four Top 10 players this year, with the most recent one coming a few days back when Sock shocked World No.8 Dominic Thiem in the second round of the Paris Masters.
If Sock continues his good run, then he has a bright future ahead of him.
#2 Decent results against higher ranked players
Sock has put in a number of bright performances in the last couple of years which has led to his rise through the rankings. Every time some unheard or unheralded player’s course to becoming a household name begins when he gets the better of top-ranked players. So far, Sock has recorded 5 victories over Top 10 players, out of which four came this year.His first win over a Top 10 player came in 2014 against then US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori who was ranked a then career-best 6th. He would not win against a Top 10 player until this January when he defeated David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the Auckland Open.
He then defeated 9th ranked Marin Cilic in the third round of the US Open in three sets which was followed by a win against Wimbledon runner-up at the third round of the Shanghai Masters despite losing the opening set 0-6.
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Sock’s most recent win over a Top 10 ranked player came recently in the Paris Masters when he beat eighth ranked Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the second round of the tournament. Besides his wins, he has put up a tough fight over many top ranked players in recent times. Provided he can maintain his recent run of form, Sock could well be one of the most dangerous competitors during next year’s Tour.
#1 Balanced playing style
Playing style personifies a player and courtesy of his height and build, Jack Sock has developed a very strong playing style. Primarily an aggressive baseliner, Sock has been regarded as a complete baseliner who has the ability to deploy a good blend of offence and defence while playing.
Having a height of 6ft 3in, Sock has a very powerful serve and can serve at speeds of up to 227 km/h. He has an equally impressive second serve. His baseline play has seldom been able to baffle his opponents as deploying that strategy helps him to both overpower his opponents and move all around the court to come up with a winner.
Sock’s forehand is another very powerful weapon he possesses in his armory. He seldom uses whiplash forehands where he uses his body-rotation and elbow to generate immense pace and topspin with minimal take-back. Sock’s net play has also been well received and can comfortably hit volley winners.
Although many critics are of the opinion that Sock’s forehand techniques deters his ability to return shots with his coach Jim Courier mentioning that any success he achieves in the future will come in spite of his technique and not because of it, Sock’s attack oriented playing style will surely be a deciding factor in his tennis career.
