Sock Reaches Auckland Semis, Isner Falls Short
Jack Sock forged a valiant comeback against fourth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson at the ASB Classic on Thursday, fighting back from a set down to upend Anderson 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the semifinals in Auckland, New Zealand.
Anderson rolled in the first set, breaking Sock twice in the opener to win it easily 6-1. But Sock didn’t wither away, playing much more efficient tennis in the second set, and broke Anderson while up 5-4 to win the second set to force the match into a deciding third.
The third set went about the same as the second, as Sock, with a 5-4 advantage, broke Anderson to complete the comeback.
“It feels great,” said Sock. “He came out serving really well. He didn’t miss many first serves, didn’t let me get in the match. That’s why he’s 12th in the world. I knew it was going to be tough, but I was able to get in a little bit of a rhythm on returns and lucky enough to get a win.”
Sock will face off with top-seed David Ferrer, who dismissed Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-3 in his quarterfinal on Thursday.
“I played better than my first match,” said Ferrer. “With Lukas, I have to play well to beat him. I tried to serve good and be aggressive with my forehand. The important things is I am in the semifinals playing good tennis.”
While Sock prevailed, the top-ranked American, John Isner, did not. Isner took on eighth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut, a rematch of the 2014 semifinal in Auckland.
Isner went up a break in the opening set and was serving for the set up 5-4, but was broken by Bautista-Agut to even the set at 5-5. After consolidating the break with a hold, the Spaniard broke one more time to win the opener.
Isner responded nicely in the second set, breaking twice to win it 6-2 and force the match into a deciding third set.
But in the decider, Bautista-Agut broke for a 4-2 lead and never looked back, serving out the match for a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win.
“I had revenge today,” said Bautista-Agut. “I had to play well. I had to stay focused throughout the match. It wasn’t easy to play today. We had no rhythm, and John was serving really well. We had a lot of wind, I’m just happy to be in the semifinals.”
In the semifinals, Bautista-Agut will take on second-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who snuck past Italy’s Fabio Fognini 7-5, 7-6(4) on Thursday.
