Jack Sock is in a rare position. Sunday marks his first fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, matching his deepest run in any Grand Slam tennis tournament.
This is Sock's chance to establish himself as the best player in a shallow pool of elite American players. It won't be easy to advance. Sock, seeded 26th, faces No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Winning would be an upset.
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Tsonga disposed of No. 23 Kevin Anderson in the straight sets, although the finale went to a tiebreaker.
Sock made the 1 p.m. ET match in an impressive victory over No. 7 Marin Cilic. It was the kind of upset and performance that can take Sock to another level. He must now eliminate Tsonga for the next big set.
With his booming serve, improving game and growing confidence, Sock has the stage.
Tsonga, Sock said, "likes to lean on the ball,” Sock said of Tsonga. “Likes to be attacking and dictating. If I can throw some variety in there, serve well again, and get into some return games, the chances go up for me.”
The big test will be whether Sock has the return game to counter Tsonga's serve.
American men's tennis needs Sock to deliver. At 23, he is in position to leap John Isner as the best the U.S. has to offer. We haven't seen an American capable of playing for major championships since Andy Roddick in 200t and Andre Agassi in '05, or winning one since Roddick in '03.
Sunday's primetime special is No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic against unseeded Kyle Edmund. NOTE: The Djokovic-Edmund match will be played Sunday, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. There are four matches on Sunday, four on Monday.
Here is the U.S. Open schedule for men's matches.
NOTE: The Djokovic-Edmund match will begin about 9 p.m. ET. There are four matches on Sunday, four on Monday.