Jack Sock ousts Steve Johnson to reach quarters – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
In a match between two local wildcard entrants, Jack Sock tumbled his compatriot Steve Johnson in two sets’ tie-breaker at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Thursday. He summed up a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory against the world number 402 to secure a place in the
quarter-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Johns Creek, United States.
The 19-year-old stayed focused throughout the match and after prevailing in both Tie-breakers, he carved out the victory in just under two hours. Battling each other for the first time, Sock not only edged in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against
his fellow citizen but also secured a place in the final eight.
Sock enthusiastically entered the Atlantic Station and swiped his entire serves after displaying brilliant defensive skills. He brushed off both breakpoints he encountered but failed to seek any break chance, eventually prolonging the set to a tie-breaker.
The winning American jumped to a 4-2 lead in it before pulling out the opener with a 7-6(5) score line.
Ranked 326th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Sock improved his game in the follow-up set. He swiftly bagged his entire serves without facing any real challenge. Despite squandering all three break chances, the higher ranked
American dominated in the tie-breaker and sealed the set with a 7-6(5) win.
Summing up the teenager’s performance, Sock formulated a poor first serve share of 49 per cent in contrast with his compatriot’s 61 per cent but tremendously availed 33 out of 38 points on it. He also struck 11 aces and finished the match with 89 points.
Next challenge for Sock is his top seeded compatriot, John Isner, who bounced back to triumph over the Belgian qualifier, Ruben Bemelmans, in three sets to set up this battle.
Elsewhere, James Blake faced a bitter fate later that day. He suffered a 7-6(6), 4-6, 4-6 loss at the hands of the Australian competitor, Matthew Ebden, in two hours and five minutes. The 32-year-old cashed in both break chances but was broken four times,
eventually enduring this defeat.
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