Jack Sock crashed out of his opening round encounter in Beijing after slugging it out with an opponent who possesses a strikingly similar style of tennis to himself - Nikoloz Basilashvili. The Georgian probably wasn't Sock's ideal opponent to face in Beijing having gone out to the World Number 34 in the second round of the US Open 1-3 in sets. Today was Ground hog day again for Sock i'm afraid to say.
When facing an opponent with a similar style in tennis it can lead to some frustrating points and games where neither player can impose themselves on the game for a meaningful period - it tests your patience even more. For Sock today it was a case of forcing the issue too much at times and not playing strategically enough.
The question now is can Sock salvage anything at the end of this year on the hard courts and play catch up to what so far has been a polar opposite to 2017 for the American on the singles circuit.
Now at the age of 25 Sock should be looking to impose his domineering forehand and serve on to the game and claim more ATP titles to establish a rockbed of confidence in attempt to snatch a Grand Slam. He has plenty of talent yet this year he has exited three of the four Grand Slams in the first round with the US Open not proving much more fruitful with his second round defeat to Basilashvili. He is now 6 wins to 17 losses for his singles record.
Why Sock Should be Winning More Singles
Unconventional Devastating Forehand
When I first watched Jack Sock play 5 years ago, I was taken back by his unbelievable top spin forehand. It was a sight to behold, even surpassing Nadal's for a top spin forehand in terms of pure winners which is quiet the claim to make. He hits his forehand with so much spin yet it also possesses a level of flatness not seen in Nadal's firing through the court at an unstoppable speeds at times.
He manages to achieve his spin by use of his wrist and an incredible flex on his elbow that doesn't look so healthy when slowed down but it produces big results for him - it's very unconventional. If you watch his technique he rarely lifts his elbow further up than his shoulder, nor does he drop his racket very low either to brush up over the ball - it's the sudden bend in the elbow and snap of the wrist that creates the result. Nadal drops his racket much lower, brings his elbow virtually up to his forehead and most of his spin is generated more gradually through his arm rather than wrist. Socks technique allows him to keep his forehands flatter and drive through the court quicker whilst still generated big spin. Of course that means the error ratio climbs but when he's on song Sock has quiet the forehand to marvel at. Take a look at the video below compiled by a Youtuber:
Watch: Sock's Greatest Forehands
Graceful Volleys, Excellent Net Game
With Sock winning 13 doubles titles compared to 4 singles titles, isn't it about time he started to bring his volleying into his singles game more regularly and take advantage of closing out his big forehand?
I would love to see Sock start to change his strategy from baseline slugger to forecourt aggressor. Up until this point he has not started to take real advantage of the net skills he has developed from doubles in his singles matches. Rarely does he come forward during his singles matches, but when he does he rarely misses a volley - this was plain to see against Basilashvili where he won almost all his points at the net. The question is why does he sit at the back and allow his opponent to get back into a point off one of his big forehands all too often? This is surely a lack of confidence or conviction in bringing his doubles game to the singles court, knowing how and when to apply it.
Sock needs a coach who can take advantage of his numerous skills and honing them into a natural cohesive game plan. Right now he clearly is a man with many tricks but little plan.
So with one of the best forehands in the game, a decent backhand and an excellent net game that was on show for all to see last month at the Laver Cup he needs to start fulfilling his potential.
Let's take a look at both his Singles and Doubles title wins to date:
Singles:
Paris Masters (2017) (Indoor Hard)
Delray Beach (2017) (Outdoor Hard)
Auckland (2017) (Outdoor Hard)
Houston (2015) (Outdoor Clay)
Doubles:
US Open (2018) ( w/ Mike Bryan) (Outdoor/Hard)
Wimbledon (2018) ( w/ Mike Bryan) (Outdoor/Grass)
Lyon (2018) ( w/ Nick Kyrgios) (Outdoor/Clay)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (2018) ( w/ John Isner) (Outdoor/Hard)
Delray Beach (2018) ( w/ Jackson Withrow) (Outdoor/Hard)
2016 2 Basel (2016) ( w/ Marcel Granollers) (Indoor/Hard)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (2016) ( w/ John Isner) (Outdoor/Hard)
Stockholm (2015) ( w/ Nicholas Monroe) (Indoor/Hard)
Beijing (2015) ( w/ Vasek Pospisil) (Outdoor/Hard)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (2015) ( w/ Vasek Pospisil) (Outdoor/Hard)
Atlanta (2014) ( w/ Vasek Pospisil) (Outdoor/Hard)
Wimbledon (2014) ( w/ Vasek Pospisil) (Outdoor/Grass)
Delray Beach (2013) ( w/ James Blake) (Outdoor/Hard)
Doubles Success is his Silver Lining
We can see his success in doubles has far eclipsed that in singles including winning 3 Grand Slams. I wonder if Sock had the chance to change those 3 Grand Slams in doubles to singles, whether he would or not. He's 13-4 in total for doubles vs singles so there can be no doubt at the age of 25 Sock has already developed an enviable doubles game that can at least be tested as part of his strategy in singles matches.
Best Year by Far in 2017 for Singles
Though his singles tally is only 4 titles, he did have his best year yet last year where he won his first masters trophy in Paris defeating shock qualifier Filip Krajinovic in the final - that competition had some fairly tricky opponents to throw at him in the form of Kyle Edmund, Lucas Pouille and Fernando Verdasco. His other big title was won with a tinge of luck rather than a memorable victory as he got a walkover in the final to Milos Raonic who pulled out with an injury. Then when you think Auckland itself was hardly a tournament full of the highest calibre players you can see why he actually managed to grab 3 titles last year.
Watch: Sock Win in Paris Last Year
Mental Game Needs Work Too!
Sock has shown himself to get rather distracted and downbeat when dropping sets this year. During rests he seems distracted, lacking composure and a little all over the place - in his first round in tie in Beijing he was rather vocal and bemused at times when really he should have been keeping his eye on the score and focusing on winning. It's good to have a laugh but it feels a bit beyond that with him at times. Some basic mind coaching and sports psychology could really help Sock with his game, after all tennis is as much a mental game as physical, something you can say about nearly every sport out there so getting coaching to help stay focused is natural in professional sports.
Shot Selection...Strategy...None Existent in his Game!
The mental game in tennis doesn't stop with emotional control though, there's shot selection and patience within each point. Today Sock was found to be impatient at times when trying to hitting impossible winners from defensive positions. This usually happens when a player becomes frustrated at not winning quick enough. He needs to learn to build points more steadily, hang in points when he's under pressure and turn them around with a degree of calculation. If you watch the best players in the world, they all possess this subtle quality and rarely do you find any of them pulling the trigger from a defensive position, even Nadal who has plenty of Youtube moments you can look up hitting winners from ridiculous positions still opts for defensive shots 9 times out of 10 that allow him to reset. Djokovic and Murray are perhaps the masters of this. Sock could learn a lot from these guys.
I wish Sock the best of luck this week, I hope he can start showing some maturity and keep his head focused on the match at hand, he's a great talent who has the potential to win a Slam one day if he can fuse his many strengths together in a match winning strategy and learn some patience.
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