Tennis Atlantic

Jack Sock awarded Wild Card for Newport

The up and coming young American will make his Newport debut and join a strong player field for the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. Other players committed to compete include defending champion John Isner, The Bryan Brothers, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Sam Querrey, Lleyton Hewitt, Donald Young, and Nicolas Mahut.

Jack Sock, one of America’s most exciting rising tennis stars, has been awarded a wild card to play in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, to be hosted July 9 – 15, 2012 on the grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. At just 19 years old and having competed in only four prior ATP World Tour events, Sock has already caught the attention of the tennis world, and has a major title to his name. In 2011, Sock partnered with fellow American Melanie Oudin to win the US Open mixed doubles title, upsetting veterans and past Grand Slam champions along the way. That same year, he won the USTA Boys’ 18s title and was awarded a wild card into the US Open, where he defeated then No. 97 Marc Gicquel in the first round. Sock has already been awarded a Wild Card for the BB&T Atlanta Championships the following week.

“We have a very strong group of players headed for Newport in just a few short weeks – John Isner, Kei Nishikori, The Bryans, and many more, and it will be great to see one of America’s most exciting young talents in the mix with that field,” said Tournament Director Mark Stenning. “We look forward to welcoming Jack to Newport for his debut on the Hall of Fame grass courts.”

Sock had a strong start to this season, winning a Futures title in Florida in January, and following it up by advancing to the semifinals of another Futures event the following week. Since competing in his first ATP World Tour event at Miami in 2011, Sock has jumped more than 250 spots in the ATP World Tour South African Airways rankings. He is currently at #333.

A talented and successful junior player, Sock won the US Open boys’ singles title in 2010, and then captured 18 USTA National titles in 2010 and 2011. A Nebraska native, Sock graduated from Blue Valley North High School in Kansas in May 2011. He compiled an 80-0 recorded during his high school career and won four consecutive state championships.

This will be Sock’s first appearance in Newport, which is the only tournament on grass courts in North or South America, and offers the only opportunity to see men’s pro tennis in the Northeast before the US Open. In addition to Sock, players slated to compete in Newport include the tournament’s defending champion John Isner, currently ranked world No. 10; the record-setting doubles team of Bob & Mike Bryan, who have 11-time Grand Slam titles to their names; Japan’s No. 1 Kei Nishikori who is currently ranked world No. 20; and world No. 22 Milos Raonic, the No. 1 ranked Canadian player.

–Anne Marie McLaughlin, ITHoF