Sunday, July 31, 2011

Teenage American Tennis Phenom Jack Sock Turning Pro

There's another potential American star on the horizon that tennis fans can follow.  Jack Sock, 18, just announced he's forgoing a college tennis career to turn pro.

Sock won the Junior U.S. Open Title in 2010 defeating another American prospect, Daniel Kudla.  In 2010, he also won the U.S. National 18s championship, and will no doubt look to quickly improve his ATP singles ranking (549).


At 6'1" (and possibly still growing a little), Sock has enough size, speed and athleticism to compete with older players.  He is used to winning, going 80-0 with four state championships while in high school.

However, Sock won't be in Kansas anymore while on the ATP tour, and his mental toughness and willingness to work hard will be put to the test early.  Having never traveled outside of the U.S. to play a match, he will learn quickly what life is like on the pro tour grind.  For that reason, it was a sound decision to put off turning pro until this late in the year so that he can have a brief introduction to senior tennis before jumping in with both feet next season.

Sock is definitely another young prospect to keep under a watchful eye.

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