Jack Sock vs Filip Krajinovic (5-7, 6-4, 6-1)
American star Jack Sock didn’t only win his first Masters 1000 title in Paris, but he also secured a ticket to his first-ever ATP Finals in London after beating Filip Krajinovic in a thrilling live betting final in Bercy.
Indeed, it was an unforgettable week for the Nebraska native who started the tournament at 24th in the ATP Race to London. Betting odds were slim on his chances of making it to The O2, but everything fell his way as he also became the first American to qualify in the season-ending battle since Mardy Fish in 2011.
It wasn’t easy for Sock, of course, as Krajinovic appeared poised to surprise the online gambling community. However, he fought back from a set down to get the job done in what could be described as the most important game of his career.
With his biggest title yet at stake, Krajinovic played with grit and motivation. He stayed composed despite an up-and-down opening set and managed to jump into a 4-2 lead. A slew of errors from Krajinovic—including a pair of double faults—kept the game close, but the Serb held his nerve to take the advantage.
Sock, nonetheless, immediately turned the tides in the second set and stopped the momentum from swinging towards Krajinovic. The American then found his rhythm and exploited his opponent’s misfiring forehand to set the decider.
It was all Sock in the final canto as the World No.77 lost energy and eventually struggled with his serve. Sock pulled away with a 3-1 lead and held on take the championship point after almost two hours.
Post-match statistics also showed that Sock dominated, hitting nine service aces compared to Krajinovic’s five. There’s also a huge disparity in their return game, with Sock winning 47 percent of his return points while Krajinovic won only 29 percent.
Besides getting a lot of career firsts, Sock will break into the Top 10 of the rankings with the victory. He’s also set to finish the year as the No.1 American for the first time in his career.
Krajinovic, meanwhile, will still hold his head high after writing one of the most feel-good stories of the year. After making his way to the finals from the qualifiers, he will move to No.33 when the rankings are updated.
Next up for men’s tennis is the Nitto ATP Finals with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin and now Jack Sock slated to compete.
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