This match was an enticing prospect as soon as it had been set up; Rafael Nadal had defeated Jack Sock’s doubles partner Vasek Pospisil in the previous round and Sock came into this match in fine form. The encounter did not fail to disappoint, and the tough three set victory for Nadal was well earned with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

First set: Confident performance from Sock

Sock elected to receive, but his hopes of going up an early break on Nadal were short lived as the Spaniard played a clean service game to kick off the match. Sock’s deep hitting proved problematic for Nadal as he held easily and set up two break points for himself, but wasted both with missed forehand shots. A scorching forehand down the line saw Sock have another break point chance, and the American took the lead following a double fault from the world number eight. Brimming with confidence from his break, Sock consolidated for 3-1.

Nadal played with fire as he went down 0-30 on his serve and risked being a double break down, but four consecutive points won saw him keep the margin between the players to a minimum. A cat and mouse-like encounter at the net won by Nadal started the sixth game of the set, and a series of unforced errors gave Nadal triple break back point; all of which were saved with some hard hitting from the underdog. After saving one more break point, Sock held for 4-2. Both players held again to reach 5-3. Scoreboard pressure appeared to hit Nadal hard as Sock gained two set points, and took the set on a Nadal double fault in just 38 minutes.

Second set: Nadal fights back

Rather surprisingly Nadal broke Sock’s serve to open the second set as he attempted to regroup after the first. The games were tight but both players held their own serves for 2-1. Nadal’s level was slightly improved from the first set as he hit some clean winners to win the fourth game of the set, and Sock found form to hold comfortably to love, 3-2. Both men held twice more for 5-3, leaving Sock in a similar position to Nadal in the first by having to serve to stay in the set – Sock withstood the pressure however, and held for 5-4 with a lucky ball that just dropped over the net. Sock pushed Nadal on serve for the first time of the set, but after saving one break point with a strong serve to force a return error from the American, Nadal took it 6-4 in 44 minutes.

Third set: Nadal maintains level

Sock managed to put the result of the second set from his mind as he held for 1-0 to start the third. Nadal was pushed slightly on his serve but sealed the game with an ace out wide. He put away a stunning backhand overhead to push the underdog, however Sock stood his ground to lead 2-1. The American kicked off Nadal’s service game with a forehand return winner, and although it was a close game the depth of Nadal’s shots and his strong serving helped him take it, 2 games all. Both players held easily again for 3-3. Nadal saw his chance and set up three break points for himself; he took the second with a shanked forehand from Sock.

Sock had a slight opening of 15-30 on the Nadal serve to break back but a stunning smash from Nadal aided him in charging to a 5-3 lead, just one game away from winning the match. Things looked ominous for the youngster as Nadal hit one of his famous forehand down the line passing shots and Sock hit several unforced errors; Nadal found himself with two match points. Another disappointing mishit was a let-down ending to an entertaining match, as Sock pushed his forehand long and Nadal sealed the victory in two hours exactly, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Up next for Nadal is the winner of the match between flamboyant Italian Fabio Fognini and Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay. Nadal leads the head-to-head with both players, although Fognini is the only one of the two to ever beat Nadal – all of his wins over the Spaniard have come this year and he was Nadal’s most recent conqueror at the US Open. With Cuevas in form it’s fair to say neither player will be a walk in the park for Nadal but based off of Fognini’s ability to raise his level when playing him, a Nadal/Fognini match would be one to watch.

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About the author
Joely Cook
Lover of tennis, in particular Rafael Nadal.