Tournament Feature Sock, Fratangelo Win Titles at The Beach by Peter Holehan, 31 July 2009
Delray Beach, Fla. -- As match point had been sealed, Jack Sock pumped his fist in a vociferous manner as he came to the net and shook hands with Sekou Bangoura.
Another gold ball for
Jack Sock © Julie Wrege, TennisRecruiting.net
He had good reason.
Sock successfully controlled the match with an overpowering serve and had used the lob shot and strong forearm to his advantage for a 6-3, 6-2 win in the U.S. Tennis Association Clay Court National Championship for the boys' 18s division at the Delray Beach Tennis Center Sunday.
Sock, the No. 2 seed who resides in Overland Park, Kan. (a suburb of Kansas City), also teamed with Frederick Saba, of Fort Lauderdale to defeat Zachary Leslie, of San Diego, Calif., and Anderson Reed, of Daphne, Ala., 6-2, 7-6 to win the boys' 18s doubles final. For Sock, it's his 17th gold ball and 21st overall.
The win in the boys' 18 singles final grants him a wild card qualifying bid to the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Feb. 20-28.
The ATP tour event has a purse of $500,000 and will feature many of the top-ranked players in the world.
Sock did not lose a game on his serve and relied on his forehand to hit angles and dictate tempo.
"It wasn't easy," said Sock, who turns 17 years old in September. "He [Bangoura] doesn't miss much and he makes you play everything so I had to be patient. I played in March against him and won so I knew I would have a game plan. My serve helped me today... definitely on big points trying to get back into games or on winning points."
Bangoura cut the lead to 3-2 in each set, but failed to muster much of a rally past those points.
The No. 4 seed from Bradenton, Fla., said he felt well initially and grew tired as the match wore on.
