Jack Sock was a disappointing 13-16 in his last 29 matches going into the Rolex Paris Masters. It seemed like a certainty that he would end the season with a 13-17 record in his last 30 matches when he trailed Kyle Edmund 5-1 in the third set of their second-round contest.
Fast forward four days and Sock is now in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career and on his way to the World Tour Finals–also for the first time.
The American, who kick-started his run by storming back to stun Edmund 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), capped off the week by getting the best of fellow surprise finalist Filip Krajinovic 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in Sunday afternoon’s title match. Sock fired nine aces and broke Krajinovic six times before prevailing in one hour and 58 minutes.
Highlights:
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet,” the 25-year-old noted. “I don’t know when it will. Right now I want to enjoy it with my team. They’ve been with me through everything. I’m excited to see my family and just enjoy it with everyone.
“I’d be lying if I said that 18 months ago I was mentally prepared to win matches like this. It’s something I’ve worked really hard towards. It’s something that…if you put your nose down and keep fighting, good things will happen. Crazy things can happen. That’s sports and that’s why we play.”
Sock’s berth in the year-end championship is nothing short of crazy. He was all the way down at No. 23 in the 2017 race prior to this week. Obviously needing to go all the way in Paris if he wanted to steal the final qualifying spot from Pablo Carreno Busta, Sock picked up victories over Edmund, Lucas Pouille, Fernando Verdasco, Julien Benneteau, and Krajinkovic. Thus it is Sock who will be at the O2 Arena and Carreno Busta who is out.
“There have been a lot of firsts,” the 16th seed said during the trophy ceremony. “It started at the French Open with my first fourth round of a slam, now I’ve won my first Masters 1000 in Paris. This will be my first time in the top 10 and this will be the first time making the year-end finals.”
Sock will be joined in London by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, and David Goffin.
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who ya got?
Just watch Sock make a run in London too. I would favor Sock in this form against Thiem and give him a solid shot at the likes of Zverev, Cilic, and Dimitrov.
In fact he has wins over everyone in the field besides Goffin, Nadal, and Federer. Also he owns winning records against Cilic and Dimitrov.
Wow!
I am happy for the guy.
J. Sock fought hard in Paris, he almost lost his 1st match but won the title.
Can you imagine it?
#Fighting
Will R. Nadal be ready for WTF or will he skip it?
Fedal!
J. Sock’s girlfriend is pretty!
Bad boy😎!
J. Sock made a lot of money in Paris.
Please give me some lol!
#💰💰💰
Reckon Nadal beats Federer or Zverev in the final and turns the h2h around once more
Not happening.
I like your optimism Olly. But it’s far from clear Nadal will even play in London (I’m guessing he won’t) and if he does he’s unlikely to be 100%. Based on recent form and the state of his knee, he’ll do well to make the semi-final if he plays.
C’mon olly please be realistic. He won’t beat anyone with a bum knew. The physical state of his body affects his entire play . If he plays I will at best give him chance of a semi.
I want Rafa to be healthy and ready, I wish him full recovery.
Rafas fans urging him not to play.
https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/875866/Rafael-Nadal-injury-ATP-World-Tour-finals/amp
Rafa should play, his injury is not that bad or too serious. Everyone at this stage of the tournament is fatigued & struggling with something, he missed Basel, withdrew from Paris and has more than a week to recover and prepare.
I wish him full recovery, but R. Federer might win the tournament, that guy is crazy.
Rafa wants to play, or not, it’s all up to him. After WTF, he still has a good six weeks to treat and rehab his knee. I guess that’s enough time for SCT.
He has to learn his lesson and cuts down on number of events played. Unless he’s expecting to lose early in tournaments (why then play to lose early, unless he wants to earn the appearance fees), he should concentrate his efforts on the more important events and those where he has better chances of winning.
Fed may have his back issue surfacing again, who knows. At their age, ie 30+, they have to be careful.
I do think if Rafa’s knee is feeling Ok, he will play to win some points. He may not win the title, I won’t say Fed is a sure win too. None of the others have shown that they’re playing so great that they will win. I’m disappointed with Cilic for playing so poorly against Benneteau, that tells me he’s not playing well and so he won’t have a chance. Neither the others like Zverev, Goffin, Thiem and Sock. I think the dark horse is Dimi, but he’s not good against Fed, zero win so far. Fed, unless he has a bad back, should take the title.
Rafa needs a very good draw for him to survive to reach SF; if no Fed and no Dimi in the SF, he may reach the final.
Sock knocked the socks of Filip. Happy for American tennis. Can he make some noise at the WTF? He has a great forehand and serve and he is pretty quick on the court too …… http://www.138mph.com/tennis-the-2017-paris-masters-1000-was-a-breakthrough-tournament-for-sock-and-krajinovic/
Amazing how Sock has turned his season around.I remember watching him during the US clay season,he was clearly in a bad place mentally ,and never recovered till now. It’s a breath of fresh air for the WTF.