Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships

That’s the only explanation for [CR23] Alexandr Dolgopolov’s (UKR) performance today against [CR70] Jack Sock (USA).

He lost the match fairly easily 6-4, 6-1.  Sock was all power, he hit every ball as hard as he possibly could and kept Dolgopolov on his heels the entire match. There was no wiggling out of this match for Dolgopolov, his unorthodox serve and his whippy forehand deserted him in crucial moments and he would be left frustrated, watching his balls either flying long or landing in the net.

Sock took advantage of the sloppy play and made no mistake in punishing the short balls with his forehand.  Dolgopolov never got a chance to exhibit his creative arsenal of shots and before he had blinked twice, the match was over.

Sock does not play percentage tennis, that is what makes his game exciting to watch; however, when he is off, that is what causes him to lose.  He still needs to mature as a tennis player and with time he will be wiser in his shot selection.