At this time last week, Jack Sock was ranked No. 768 in the world. Now, he's at No. 384, moving up 384 spots in the ATP rankings after reaching his first final since 2017 at last week's Oracle Challenger Series $125K event in Indian Wells, Calif.
Sock, who is on the comeback trail after suffering injuries and disappointing results over the last two years, had a breakthrough week in Indian Wells. Until last week, the former world No. 8 hadn’t posted consecutive victories since he won his first two matches at the ATP Masters 1000 Paris in November 2018.
But the American won five straight matches in Indian Wells, upsetting top-seeded Ugo Humbert, 7-6, 6-4, in the second round, knocking off No. 13 Evgeny Donskoy in a third-set tiebreak in the Round of 16, and then winning two all-American battles against No. 11 Denis Kudla in the quarterfinals and 18-year-old rising star Brandon Nakashima in the semifinals. In the final, he fell to long-time friend and former Olympic doubles partner Steve Johnson, 6-4, 6-4.
Here's more on the 27-year-old Nebraska native, who appears to be returning to the form that once had him ranked in the world's Top 10.
The Jack Sock File
Age: 27
Birthplace: Lincoln, Neb.
Residence: Kansas City, Kan.
Current Rank: 384
Career-High Rank: 8 (Nov. 20, 2017)
Best US Open Finish: Fourth Round (2016)
The Baseline
- Last week's Challenger finalists Sock and Johnson have a long history between them. The two teamed together to win the bronze medal in men's doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics—Sock also won the mixed doubles gold medal in Rio with Bethanie Mattek-Sands—and they have played each other 11 times in their careers, with Johnson leading their head-to-head matchups 6-5 after his win at Indian Wells.
- A lingering hip injury troubled Sock during most of the 2018 season and contributed to a drop of his ranking outside the Top 100 for the first time since March 2014. He sustained a thumb injury at the 2019 Australian Open, which required surgery and forced him to miss six months on tour. He returned to action last July but didn't win a match for two months, when he defeated Fabio Fognini in September at the Laver Cup. He struggled to stay healthy and retired in his last two matches of the year.
- Sock has won 18 career ATP titles to date. In singles, he has taken home four trophies, claiming his first in Houston in 2015 and winning three in 2017, at Auckland, Delray Beach and the Paris Masters. He won six of his 14 career doubles titles in 2018, when he captured Wimbledon, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals, all with partner Mike Bryan. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 8 in November 2017 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 2 in September 2018.
- Among his other career highlights, Sock teamed with Vasek Pospisil to win the men’s doubles championship at 2014 Wimbledon, becoming the first duo to capture a major title in their debut since Lleyton Hewitt-Max Mirnyi won the US Open in 2000. He is also the first American since Andy Roddick in 2007 to reach the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals (2017).
- In addition to winning the 2018 US Open men's doubles crown, Sock has won two other titles in New York—the mixed doubles championship, with Melanie Oudin, in 2011, and the boys' singles title in 2010, when he defeated Kudla in the final to become the first American to win the junior title since Andy Roddick in 2000.
THEY SAID IT!
“He’s playing great. I think from where he started in New York (a first-round loss at the New York Open in February) to where he is now, he’s playing much better tennis. If that continues, I think he’ll be back to where he belongs in no time.” — Steve Johnson said of Sock on ATPTennis.com following his win at the Indian Wells Challenger.
