World No.8 Jack Sock has returned to his winning ways after defeating John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4, in the first round of the Delray Beach Open.
Sock was yet to win a match on the tour this season after suffering back-to-back losses last month. At the ASB Classic he was knocked out by Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets followed by a second loss to Yuichi Sugita at the Australian Open.
He was able to turn his fortunes around against world No.225 Smith as he broke his opponent at the start of the match and towards to end of the second set to secure the win. Despite the tricky conditions.
“It seems like when (the wind) gets in the stadium, especially at night, it swirls more. It’s tricky conditions and he’s a tricky guy,” Sock said about Smith. “He’s a lefty, serves and volleys a lot, (has) some very unorthodox shots, some flat, some spin, some flat slice, kind of rushes the net a lot.”
It was only fitting that the American should end his losing streak at Delray Beach. It was at the tournament where he won his first ATP title of any kind in the doubles competition in 2013. At the same venue Sock has also won a series of USTA boys’ titles, including both singles and doubles trophies at the 2009 18s National Clay Court Championships.After his match against Smith, he was presented was a plaque to proclaim him ‘king of Delray Beach.’
Sock, who won his first Masters 1000 titles last November in Paris, will take on a fellow American in the second round. Awaiting him will be the winner of the match between Ryan Harrison and Reilly Opelka.
Another winner on day one of the tournament was eighth seed Hyeon Chung. Playing in his first tournament since reaching the last four of the Australian Open, the South Korean battled his way past Cameron Norrie. Fighting from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“It was a really tough match today because the wind was really strong,” Chung said. “However, I tried to stay calm. The guy played really well at the baseline so I was just trying to focus every point.”
Frances Tiafoe and Donald Young also booked their place in the second round. Tiafoe hit 12 aces during his 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, win over Matthew Ebden. Meanwhile, Young crushed Indian qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-1, 6-2.
