There’s no denying that 24-year-old Jack Sock is having his best season in the ATP Tour as we speak.
Two of Sock’s three career victories were won this 2017, with his latest coming in late February at the Delray Beach Open. Although the Lincoln, Nebraska native won that tournament because World No. 6 Milos Raonic withdrew from the match, he has still advanced to the semifinal round or better in four of the eight tournaments he’s played thus far.
Sock isn’t your typical hardcourt specialist like other players from the US, as he actually has a better lifetime record of 28-15 on clay (65.1 percent) compared to other turfs. This not only justifies him as a heavy favorite against Nicolas Mahut this Monday, but also as a solid sleeper candidate to actually win the Madrid Open and make a deep run at Roland Garros later on this month.
In his first test on clay prior to this week’s tournament, Sock made it all the way to the semis in Houston. He fell to fellow American Steve Johnson, who went on to win the entire tourmanent, but not before giving Johnson a scare by going the full three-set distance.
With a mere 7-8 record, you can’t help but be disappointed with Nicolas Mahut’s results this season.
The two-time Grand Slam men’s doubles winner has yet to find his stroke in singles competitions, having been eliminated in the very first round in five of the eight tournaments he’d partaken in this year. One of Mahut’s early exits came just this past April on the clay courts of Monte Carlo, where he was humbled by 56th-ranked Karen Khachanov.
Ironically, the 35-year-old Frenchman has a dismal lifetime record of 14-34 on clay (29.2 percent), and this is despite the fact that he’s had a wealth of experience playing on European soil. Mahut hasn’t had a head-to-head encounter with Sock yet, but the disparity of their records on terre battue speaks volumes of his long odds to beat the American this Monday.
Writer’s Prediction
Sock (-500) cruises to a quick straight-sets victory.
