by Anand Mamidipudi
If you are the sort of person that is nostalgic about those epic matches between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, then we have good news for you. Yes, we managed to sneak in the word “epic” into the previous sentence because Federer merely led Roddick 21-3 in their rivalry! But there is hope for the A-Rod fans coming from the next generation.Yesterday Jack Sock, of Lincoln, Nebraska, born not far from the birthplace of the great Andy Roddick, defeated Grigor Dimitrov, the Roger clone also fondly known as “Baby Fed” to many fans who just can’t seem to have enough with one Federer in their universe.
Sock relies on a big serve, a whiplash forehand, a prayer of a backhand and oodles of gumption to compete against some of the top players in the world. If this all sounds very familiar to Roddick fans, then they would have been terrified by the sight of his opponent, Dimitrov, who plays with balletic grace, oozes creativity and flashes a single-hander like he was the second coming of Zorro. The difference, then, is that Grigor, while not quite an impostor, is not touched by genius like his idol, Roger. On the other hand, Sock is a reasonable facsimile of his Nebraskan predecessor, with a lesser serve, but a more devastating forehand.
Mentally, Sock and Dimitrov are poles apart. Sock is making a career out of nerveless comebacks (a case in point would be his win against Cilic in Davis Cup), while Dimitrov’s creativity extends to finding new ways to lose. This factor evens out an obvious gap in talent and Sock now leads their head-to-head 3-1, the last two on hard courts being epics (that word again) that would sit comfortably alongside the greatest hard court matches if these two ever progress to the next level and win a few slams.
Yesterday, they met for the fourth time in their budding rivalry and played their best match. Grigor made a statement with his pristine shot-making to take the first set 6-3. Sock was looking flat as a noodle. Then the young American pulled up his socks and began to show why his bazooka forehand is so feared in men’s tennis. Sock won the second set and seemingly had the momentum when Dimitrov stepped it up another notch to lead 3-0 in the third set.
In the past decade, Andy Roddick fans would be shaking their heads and heading for the exits when Roger found that imaginary sixth gear. Luckily, we’re talking Sock-Dimitrov here. Two simultaneous switches turned on and off as Sock hit his way back into the match while Dimitrov took a mid-deciding set siesta. Dimitrov woke up just in time to suddenly hold three match points on Sock’s serve at 5-4, 0-40. Surely there was no Houdini act coming from the young American this time. Wrong. Sock hit three of his specialty forehands to pull himself even at 5-5. Atlanta Falcons fans know the moment when the tide changes. This was that moment in the match. In the tie-break, Grigor fought hard and even held a match point at 7-6. But sport’s cruel karma always rewards the guy that really wants to win and not the one who is trying not to lose.
Roddick fans will remind you that Andy had the last laugh against Federer, defeating him in the Miami Masters in three sets. Yesterday, Sock beat Dimitrov, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Tennis with an Accent 