Sock, who has also been playing well on the singles court, got right back in action last week on the Newport grass and upset Isner en route to the semifinals. So far this week at the BB&T Atlanta Open he has had no trouble reaching the quarters while rolling over Alejandro Gonzalez and Michael Venus. He and Pospisil, seeded first in Atlanta, also kept things going with a 6-4, 6-4 first-round doubles victory over Gonzalez and Juan-Carlos Spir.
Pospisil, on the other hand, is in need of some singles success. The 24-year-old Canadian is still a solid 39th in the world thanks to a breakout 2013 campaign that included a semifinal showing at the Rogers Cup, but a back problem plagued him throughout the entire first half of this season. His record stands at just 9-12, including a mere 5-11 since the Australian Open. But Popisil has reason–several reasons, in fact–to think his fortunes are soon to change.
“That and the combination of being healthy and playing on my favorite surface now,” the Bahamas resident said when asked if the Wimbledon doubles title could springboard him to a singles resurgence. “There’s a lot of things now that are in my favor compared to the first five months of the year when I was injured the whole time. But obviously winning Wimbledon doubles, if there’s any kind of confidence-boost I can get, that’s the best one.”
Early returns certainly aren’t discouraging. Pospisil pocketed one win last week on the hard courts of Bogota before running into a suddenly-inspired Bernard Tomic–the eventual champion–in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday, Pospisil opened in Atlanta against an opponent who had already adjusted to the conditions with three matches under his belt. No matter. Pospisil took care of Illya Marchenko 7-5, 6-3, firing 10 aces and holding all 11 of his service games while winning 29 of 34 first-serve points.
“There’s a lot of dangerous guys in the draw,” he noted. “I’d rather play Stepanek, who withdrew, in the quarters than some of these guys. So it doesn’t necessarily mean the draw is easier at all. There’s so many good players so just take it one match at a time and see how it goes.”
The best part of the weeks after Wimbledon is that guys keep their Wimbledon kits, but can’t keep wearing the grass-court shoes, so they go to the colorful ones they used in Miami. Two prime examples of this phenomenon in the pic above.