[18] Jack Sock (USA) vs. [135] Elias Ymer (SWE)
This was their first meeting and things could have gotten away from the American; however, he dug in and managed to get by the Swede. It has been an abysmal year for the American in singles; he has lost in the first round thirteen times this season. He made a charge late last season; can he do the same thing again this year? He and his team have got to be concerned because he has a lot of points to defend at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he is the defending champion.
While Sock has been struggling in singles, he has been collecting major titles in doubles. Sock has won the US Open and Wimbledon titles this year along with the Indian Wells Masters 1000 title and two other doubles titles. Can the American regain his winning singles form?
With Sock, his poor results in singles are clearly the result of his mental attitude; he gets so easily frustrated, which negatively impacts his game. Although he defeated Ymer today, the young Swede pushed him and if he was not injured, he could have walked away with the victory.
Perhaps this difficult 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory is just what Sock needs to regain his mojo on the singles court; however, only time will tell. If he is not ready to mentally commit to his singles game then he will continue to struggle, it is sad to see though especially when you know how talented he is.
Next up for Sock will be either Ernests Gulbis or Denis Shapovalov. Sock won his only encounter with Gulbis; however, that was over two years ago and he has never played Shapovalov. Both opponents will test him and if he is not at his best it may have an unhappy ending for the American.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: serveandrally original
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