In an all-American final, Jack Sock beat the 8th-seeded Sam Querrey 7-6 (9), 7-6 (2) and won the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships on Sunday for his first ATP World Tour title.
The 22-year-old Sock managed to save 3 set points during the first tiebreaker in the rain-delayed match and quickly answered a break by Querrey in the 2nd set to get the match back on serve.
Sock became the 6th American to win the country’s only men’s clay-court tournament. What is more, he will climb to a career-high 36th in the ATP ranking.
”It’s never easy playing friends – (we) Americans are pretty close,” Sock said on the court after being presented with the trophy. ”It was a great match. I hope we play many more in the future. I’ve been through a lot … a rough few months.”
Sock, the Wimbledon doubles champion with Vasek Pospisil, was playing his first ATP singles final in only his 3rd tournament of the season. He had to undergo surgery in order to repair a torn muscle in his hip in December and did not return until Indian Wells last month.
In addition to rehabbing from the operation, older brother Eric suffered a potentially fatal lung infection. Eric Sock came to Houston with him for the tournament.
”I’ve been battling through it for him,” Sock said ”Thanks for being here, Eric.”
In the event in 2010, the 27-year-old Querrey also finished second. He served 7 love games, but played several loose points in the two breaks he suffered. Moreover, he lost focus at crucial positions in both tiebreakers, which cost him a 5-2 lead slip away in the 1st.
Unfortunately, the match was interrupted due to heavy thunderstorm which soaked the courts. Sock was leading 30-love, having just belted an ace, but trailing 4-5 in games when play got stopped. As the recovery required some major effort, it took 2 hours, 20 minutes to get back at the game. After the match resumed, Sock lost the first 2 points, the second on a double fault, but never seriously wobbled from there on.
Sam Querrey vs Jack Sock, 12/04/2015, 19:05 GMT, Match Center
Jack Scot won the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
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