Jack Sock reaches the knockout stages at the ATP Finals with an exciting win over Sascha Zverev. He is the first American to reach the semifinals since fellow Nebraskan Andy Roddick.
LONDON – Once upon a time the United States were the biggest tennis country in the world, but in the past ten years the only state of Nebraska has lived up to that reputation. For the first time since Andy Roddick reached the semis at the ATP Finals ten years ago, the United States have a player in the final four thanks to Jack Sock – another Nebraska native. Sock arrived in London after capping off a dream week in Paris, where the American unexpectedly captured his first Masters 1000 title. Despite being the underdog in the upcoming semifinal clash against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Jack’s chances shouldn’t be underestimated. Last night the American was also the underdog against Sascha Zverev in the deciding round-robin match of their group, but Sock perfectly matched the young German’s powerful game and capitalized on his opponent’s inconsistency.
In his post-match press conference, Zverev said that this will be a very tough loss to come to terms with: “Today’s (Thursday’s) match and the one against Coric at the US Open have been my worst and most painful matches of the year. Today I didn’t play as bad as in New York, but the nerves got the best of me and affected my performance.” Zverev was trying to become to first German to reach the semifinals since Rainer Schuettler in 2003.
When the United Kingdom stopped producing great champions after Fred Perry and Bunny Austin in 1936-37, the United States and Australia “monopolized” and dominated the sport of tennis for decades until a few European players such as Ilie Nastase and Bjorn Borg started to emerge.
The U.S. and Australia won almost every major tournament and put a stronghold on the Davis Cup competition that at the time measured the real power and strength of all tennis countries. At the end of the 1970s, 42 of the top 100 players in the world were American.
Much to our sport’s entertainment, it is fair to say that most of the American players have always had a charismatic personality along with a great sense of humor. Andy Roddick is one of the most hilarious tennis players that I have ever interviewed in post-match press conferences. Sock is extremely funny and entertaining too, probably since he was always a top doubles player and is now starting to become a top singles player. Great doubles players are often more genuine and less egocentric than singles players. They are certainly less arrogant and self-absorbed.
In his post-match press conference, Sock didn’t fail to entertain. Someone asked him about the penalty point that he received after furiously sending a ball in the upper stands of the arena: “That penalty point was a stupid mistake from my side, but… it worked! I won 17 of the next 22 points,” Jack said with a smile.
At some point another reported asked him if he felt that Zverev was chocking at the end of the third set. At that very moment, Zverev was leaving the other press room nearby, perfectly heard the question, walked inside the Players’ Lounge and slammed the door. “Not the greatest moment to ask,” Sock exclaimed to everyone’s amusement.
Federer’s No.1 quest
In the other match on Thursday, Roger Federer scored his 13th consecutive win, after capturing the titles in Shanghai and Basel. Federer’s resilience in a hard-fought three set victory was quite surprising, since the outcome of the match was irrelevant for the tournament with Roger having already booked his semifinal spot and his opponent Marin Cilic having been eliminated after the first two round-robin matches. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget that Roger Federer is a super-champion and Marin Cilic has a US Open title and a Wimbledon final in his resume: If they decide to take the court, they will battle to win in every circumstance. We should also consider that the match itself was worth $191,000 and 200 ATP ranking points, which can prove vital for Roger in his quest for the number one spot next year.
If Federer wins the ATP Finals, he will finish the year with 10,505. The gap between him and Nadal could potentially be reduced to 140 points come the end of the Australian Open if Federer win both in London and Melbourne. With Nadal missing Melbourne due to his knee, which remains a strong possibility.
When asked about the opportunity to overthrow Rafa early next year, Federer said: “I have to defend 2,000 points in Australia, while Rafa doesn’t have to defend that many. The No. 1 ranking is not a realistic goal for me in the next few months.” Federer will also have to defend the Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami, as a result Nadal will most likely stay at No. 1 until the Monte-Carlo Masters in the spring.
“Being No. 1 has always been one of my main goals throughout my career, but now at 36 years of age it isn’t anymore. I would make a mistake if I started chasing such a goal again, my body – and my back in particular – would probably not allow me to do it. Rafa was the best this year and he deserves to be where he is. I am very happy for him, because he had a very difficult year in 2016, just like I did. Hopefully I will be healthy in Australia and give myself a chance to defend my title.”
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
