In his ATP Finals debut, Jack Sock joined Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
Sock, the first American to reach the final weekend at the tournament since Andy Roddick in 2007, on Thursday beat Alexander Zverev 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to advance from his round-robin group.
“I didn’t expect to be in London in the first place,” said Sock, who qualified only this month after winning the Paris Masters. “Paris was a big step for me. Now to put myself in the position to play on the weekend is another big step forward, another confidence booster.”
Photo: AFP
Sock again played an entertaining match at the O2 Arena, complete with another ’tweener and even a point penalty for smashing a ball into the crowd.
However, it was a pair of errors from Zverev in the final game that gave Sock the match. Trailing 5-4 and at 30-all, Zverev double-faulted for the eighth time to hand Sock a match point. The 20-year-old German then put a forehand wide to end it.
“Yeah, I choked,” Zverev said. “It’s quite easy. Won the second set 6-1. I was 1-0 with a break. He got a point penalty. I was down 1-4 within 10 minutes where I didn’t put many balls in the court.”
Sock finished the group stage with a 2-1 record and is next to face Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals today. His only loss came against Federer in his opening match.
Federer ended up 3-0 and won the group. He is to face Dominic Thiem or David Goffin today.
In a rematch of the Wimbledon final against Marin Cilic, Federer came out on top again. The second-ranked Swiss lost the first set, but still won 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-1.
“It wasn’t easy,” Federer said. “I mean, look, it’s a fast court. It’s indoors. We’ve seen it now: When you miss a few too many opportunities you can really pay the price at this tournament.”
However, the outcome did not really matter. Federer had already advanced, while Cilic had already been eliminated.
Federer, who beat Cilic in straight sets in the Wimbledon final in July, had four break points in the first set on Thursday, but he could not convert any of them. Cilic closed it out in a tiebreaker.
Federer had another break point early in the second set, but he again failed to convert. However, his sixth attempt was different, and winning it gave Federer the second set.
In the third set, Federer broke early and jumped out to 3-0, and then broke again to lead 5-1.
Cilic is ranked No. 5 in the world — achieving a goal he set for himself at the end of last season.
However, at the ATP Finals the Croat has won only once in nine matches over three appearances at the round-robin tournament.
“Overall, I felt that my level has come to a new level,” the 2014 US Open champion said of his season this year. “So hopefully even more next year, I can aim a little bit higher. Hopefully I’m going to be in a position to challenge the top guys and to be in contention for Grand Slams.”
Federer, a 19-time Grand Slam champion who won his record eighth Wimbledon title, is looking to extend another record for titles at the ATP Finals. The 36-year-old Swiss has won it six times — twice in Houston, Texas, twice in Shanghai and twice in London.
Federer has reached the semi-finals at the ATP Finals 14 times and has finished the round-robin stage unbeaten 10 times.
Regardless of the outcome in London, Federer is to finish the year ranked No. 2 — behind Rafael Nadal.
“I’m so happy that I was able to reach this level of play and still be able to play also at the end of the year,” said Federer, who also won the Australian Open this season. “I have no regrets because I totally over-exceeded my expectations. Just happy I’m injury-free and healthy right now, enjoying myself still.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS