Just months ago, Jack Sock was the sensation of the ATP Tour, winning Paris Masters and coming within one set of reaching the ATP World Tour Finals, where he barely lost a three setter to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov. But how things have changed for Sock in just a couple of months.
As Angelo Dundee famously said to Sugar Ray Leonard between rounds of his fight with Thomas Hearns, ‘You’re blowing it, son!’
Suddenly Sock looks like a veteran has-been. He can’t win matches anymore. He’s recorded one singles win all year, and now lost consecutive first round matches in Delray and Acupulco to young Americans Reilly Opelka and Ernesto Escobedo, both of whom were struggling entities themselves.
Sock has lost his winning touch in singles. Even winning doubles in Delray last week did not spark Sock with a confidence surge. Escobedo blasted Sock off the court.
Sock’s sudden freefall is not unusual in tennis. Remember, Evgeny Donskoy zapped Roger Federer a year ago in Dubai, coming back from 2-5 down in the final set tiebreaker to shockingly win 7-5. You would expect Donskoy to have received a surge of confidence after that win. He did not. The Russian went winless on the ATP main tour till September.
Sock has got to be scratching his head wondering how on earth this slump has happened. Has he been focusing too much of this energies on his blossoming romance with his new girlfriend? Has he grown complacent with his career and lost that fraction of desire and hunger to keep going up the rankings? Is he getting tired of the seriousness of the Tour and would prefer to play exhibitions and Harlem Globetrotter trick shot tennis?
We’re going to find out soon what Jack Sock is made of. All champions of all sports constantly have to prove themselves and then re-prove themselves again, week after week, month after month. And especially in tennis, each player has to prove that he can still win matches. Because if you stop winning matches, your ranking will fall like a sack of potatoes out of the Empire State Building window.
Just weeks ago Sock looked like a threat to enter the top five and conten
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Doogie · February 28, 2018 at 1:03 pm
As I wrote here a few times: ATP 1000 in Paris was just a fluke, a very lucky fluke against challenger players in semifinal and finals!
As I expected too that this success did not change Socks mentality to work more and to live like a pro!!
Chazz · February 28, 2018 at 2:04 pm
Doogie, his matchups may have been a fluke in Paris but he followed up his play there by showing he belonged in the ATP finals the following week. Took out A. Zverev and Cilic, while narrowly losing to Fed and Dimitrov.
scoopmalinowski · February 28, 2018 at 6:47 pm
These recent losses should humiliate and spark Sock. We will soon see the type of mettle hes made of. Blessings come in disguises.
Scoop Malinowski · February 28, 2018 at 8:04 pm
Wow. Suddenly a huge win for Kozlov, he beat ATP Istanbul winner Mirza Basic 64 75 in 1R of Indian Wells Challenger, next plays Peter Polansky who he beat at Sarasota Challenger last year. Much needed win by Kozlov. Fritz beat Rubin 63 63. Christian Harrison beat Hanfmann.
Duke Carnoustie · February 28, 2018 at 8:11 pm
God one in Mexico as Harry and Schwartzman are going to a third set.
Chung clobbers Escobedo, proving that Sock is a complete bum at the moment.
Donaldson pummels Ebden, proving the same about Isner. JD has a wide-open draw with Kokk or Lopez next up.
Dan Markowitz · February 28, 2018 at 9:08 pm
Beating Basic in a Challenger is a “huge win?” Scoop, God Bless You, your enthusiasm for your players is unmatched. Now Harry beating Schwartzman 7-5 in Acapulco, that’s a nice win.
scoopmalinowski · February 28, 2018 at 10:05 pm
Amazed by how many matches Donaldson wins. So consistent. Kozlov beats Basic who just won a title on main tour. Big win. Harrison back on track. Might be top American now w Sock Isner Johnson fading.
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 12:12 am
Beating Basic is a huge win. Basic has a title this year – not many players can say that. Look at the players Basic beat, some beat names. Koz got crushed by Polansky, though.
JD is proving me wrong. Lopez up next. Harry has a major showdown with Sascha Zverev.
How about Opelka getting drubbed by Krueger? More proof that Sock is in trouble.
My solutions? You have to shake things up. Dump Berger and Micaela. Promote Withrow as coach.
My most important idea is no more doubles. Top-10 players need to focus on singles. It’s OK for a guy like Sascha to do it since he’s young but guys like Dimitrov, Pouille, Thiem do not play doubles; they are all the same age as Sock. Sock is addicted to doubles because he knows he will win and can goof off with trick shots. He needs more pressure on him that if he loses in singles, it’s onto next week.
Scoop Malinowski · March 1, 2018 at 8:24 am
Beating Basic was a huge, much needed win but then losing to Polansky is another disastrous loss. Polansky is a journeyman who he beat last year on har-tru clay in Sarasota. It’s another stinging loss that makes you and Kozlov wonder, Do I really belong yet on the ATP Tour with the game I currently possess? Are the weapons there to contend with the ATP firepower? Maybe premium coaching from a former ATP star like Spadea or Dent are what is needed. Tiafoe has Ginepri, Donaldson had Dent and now uses Gambill. Kozlov’s best hope may be to use a former ATP player as coach, not these Diego Moyanos and Stan Bosters.
Scoop Malinowski · March 1, 2018 at 10:13 am
Opelka losing to Krueger is a disappointment. Must be hard going from ATP main courts to Indian Wells Challenger far outer courts. Friend in Indian Wells told me tickets for IW qualies cost $50 on Saturday. Youch.
catherine · March 1, 2018 at 10:35 am
Off-topic but nowhere else to put it – I’ve been watching some of Justine Henin’s matches on Yutube because I never saw her play live and she had retired when I started watching again. So I was curious – she is so highly praised it seems by everyone who saw her – and I was reminded of Federer’s comment: ‘why don’t the others play like me ?’
It’s not just the backhand – her whole game is full of variety and guile and speed and great coverage of all parts of the court. Henin v Dementieva at AO in 2010 – wonderful match. Makes so many of today’s players seem just unimaginative clunkers. Like they’re playing with only half the shots in the tennis repertoire.
Halep has said Justine was her idol when she was young but I can’t see anything of Henin in Simona’s style.
Why did Justine never win W’don ?
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 11:08 am
Huge news. Tiafoe just hired a new agent. He is rising up the charts and will be promoted heavily by the tennis establishment now that he won a title. It only increases the pressure on him and serves a warning to Fritz and JD that they better up their game.
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 1:43 pm
Great QF lineup in Mexico.
Thiem-DelPo US Open rematch is a thriller.
Harry-Zverev is a David v. Goliath but I think Harry has a shot.
JD-Lopez a major opportunity for the kid.
Chung-Ando is a boffo tussle.
90 points goes to Harry and JD if they can win these high-stakes showdowns.
IW has some huge ones as well: Pospisil v. Giron and C-Harry v. Novikov. Novikov is close to a IW 1000 wild card while Giron is trying to see if he has the ability to reach a main draw. Beating Pospisil would be a major shock for the UCLA product.
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 2:07 pm
I predict Sock proves us wrong by stunning Fed in the Bay Area exhibition! 🙂
JG · March 1, 2018 at 3:20 pm
I hope Tiafoe makes boatloads of money, apparently after DelRay he said he wanted to be in a position where he can financially help his family–how many pro tennis players have said this, its common for pro athletes especially those leaving school early out of necessity for financial reasons in football and basketball. I can’t think of any other tennis players saying this. Closest thing I read was the New Yorker story on Noah Rubin whose parents are in debt from his tennis training.
Hartt · March 1, 2018 at 4:02 pm
I suspect that many pro tennis players helped their families financially, but we did not hear about it. Especially if their families had modest means. The financial sacrifices many families make to further the tennis careers of a son or daughter can be enormous – hopefully the tennis players know and appreciate this.
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 4:31 pm
JG Is there a link to that Rubin story? Sounds fascinating.
Hartt · March 1, 2018 at 6:03 pm
Jared Donaldson is totally outplaying Feli Lopez in Acapulco. Won the first set 6-3, and leads 4-1 in the 2nd. Unless there is a dramatic change, Jared will win this with no problem. He has been playing well, very solid.
Doug Day · March 1, 2018 at 6:07 pm
Into Semis…Donaldson crushed Lopez 3 & 1. Its his time!
Hartt · March 1, 2018 at 6:53 pm
Jared won that match in about 55 minutes. He has moved to No. 48 in live rankings, a career high.
Duke Carnoustie · March 1, 2018 at 6:56 pm
JD has a real shot to win this tournament now, what a coup that would be,
Novikov loses so I think he will have to qualify for IW.
Chazz · March 1, 2018 at 6:57 pm
I don’t want to take anything away from Donaldson, he is playing well and it’s a huge accomplishment, but wtf was that from Lopez? Time to retire, he couldn’t even hit the ball over the net in the second set.
Scoop Malinowski · March 1, 2018 at 7:27 pm
Yes, Duke, Tiafoe is positioned to be a star. The USTA desperately wants a person of color to become a champion and now Tiafoe has stepped up and shown he’s the leader of the young American pack. Tiafoe is a good kid with star power and a love of the big stage. He could be built up into a transcending type star with crossover appeal because of his charisma and of course his intriguing, colorful back story.
Scoop Malinowski · March 1, 2018 at 7:30 pm
JG, a lot of players have the pressure of supporting their families who have sacrificed everything for the kid to make it big in tennis. Pierce, Seles, countless others. Even Kozlov has said he’s trying to help out his family, his dad has a small academy in south FL. Escobedo’s dad is a Fed Ex driver I believe. So Tiafoe is not the only tennis pro trying to support his family. But the fact that he has gotten to this point of success with that extra pressure on his back and in his mind makes his rise even more impressive and inspiring and touching.
Scoop Malinowski · March 1, 2018 at 7:33 pm
Two years ago in Miami, Donaldson looked dead and hopeless of being a top 50 player or even having a decent career in the big leagues. He lost in qualies then got a LL into main draw and lost badly again. There is something special in Donaldson that is not obvious on the surface. But Jim Courier should go with Donaldson, Tiafoe, Sandgren and Harrison for Davis Cup. Send a big message to the struggling vets.
Chazz · March 1, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Donaldson and Tiafoe are really good kids. USTA must be pretty happy they have up and comers that are easy to root for.
I remember a quote from Donaldson’s coach last year that there is no quit in him. He’s not the type to tank a match. The sport needs more guys like that.
‘Foe is an elite athlete. Let’s recall a year ago in the spring at the Sarasota Challenger. He was known for the “It can’t be that good!” quote, which is hilarious and showed his personality. But he wasn’t known for big results yet. Now he’s known for winning an ATP tournament title and he’s only 20 years and 1 month old.
catherine · March 2, 2018 at 3:00 am
On the other of the US players’ coin, Sloane Stephens lost in Acapulco to Voegele, who is 27 years old and ranked 183.
Bartoli returns next week and the puff up is beginning, including ‘exclusive’interview in DTel (can’t link – paywall). My guess is that Marion’s comeback is not going to work out because her motivation is wrong.
Hartt – yes, many players help their families financially, always have. I think it’s the rule rather than exception. But,as you say, they don’t always talk about it. I’d be extremely surprised to learn of a top earning player who didn’t give something back.
Wawrinka latest withdrawal from IW. I’d say his future is iffy as of now.
catherine · March 2, 2018 at 3:15 am
Stephen’s play at the end of her match was not exactly GS winning standard – also she needs to lose some weight. And her attitude seemed to be, ‘can’t be bothered with this. Much rather be posing for SI’.
I don’t seem to have much positive to say about women’s tennis at the moment – so maybe watching Henin play, as I commented above, just reminded me of how good some women were,and should be again.
Let’s hope for better at IW.
scoopmalinowski · March 2, 2018 at 4:24 am
Henin was a total tennis player machine. With those cold shark Rafa eyes. Undersized but a tremendous fighter. Everyone loved her Wawrinka backhand. She had no fear of the top players. Miss her presence.
Hartt · March 2, 2018 at 6:50 am
It’s great that 2 youngsters will be in the Acapulco SFs – Donaldson and Zverev. I would love to see those 2 in the finals, but am not optimistic.
In his match against Harrison Sascha was, for stretches of that match, simply at a higher level.
Hartt · March 2, 2018 at 8:42 am
Catherine, I agree that Bartoli’s reason for returning to tennis is not a good one. It sounds like she expects tennis to make her feel better about herself, rather than wanting to play tennis for its own sake.
It is an interesting contrast to Rebecca Marino, who said that after trying competitive rowing and coaching tennis, she realised that what she really loved was playing tennis and that she missed it.
Chazz · March 2, 2018 at 9:04 am
Stephens has some similarities to Sock and his situation. She was great in the US Open but hasn’t done much since then.
On Sock, I don’t think he should quit doubles to focus on singles. He’s so good at doubles that I don’t think he puts much effort or focus into it. He’s going deep in tournaments with different partners every time. Also it’s his meal ticket right now.
Scoop Malinowski · March 2, 2018 at 9:07 am
I think it’s become clear what direction Stephens career is going. She won a major title and the multi-millions and nobody can ever take that away from her. If she never wins another title it’s okay. She’s a US Open champion and that’s more than enough. Her fire is gone now and it probably won’t ever burn again like it did.
catherine · March 2, 2018 at 9:14 am
Hartt –
I agree and the difficulty with Marion’s motive is that if she blows it and is humiliated she’ll feel even worse about herself.
Don’t know if I believe that stuff about the abusive relationship either. A lot of self pity floating around in Marion’s world. Why does she think we all want to hear about her private life ?
Even in this twitterworld most players keep quiet about whatever personal problems they have.
Scoop Malinowski · March 2, 2018 at 11:45 am
Will be shocked if Bartoli can get back to the top 20 but curious to see what happens with her and will try to watch her play and practice in Miami if she attends.