Jack Sock rode a rollercoaster into the second round at the Dallas Open ATP 250 tennis event, getting the better of Ilyas Ivashka of Belarus in a first-round clash.
For the American, the up-and-down ride took him into the second round on Monday evening as the former World No. 8 in the ATP Rankings battled past Ivashka 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4 after three hours and four minutes of topsy-turvy tennis.
Sock saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced to move on and earn a clash with top seed Taylor Fritz."That's why I put in the work right there the past few months," Sock said.
"For anybody that follows [me] obviously I didn't go down to Australia, so I did about a three-month offseason to get my body right, get everything dialled in and give this sport another good run," Sock was quoted as saying by ATP in a report on its website.
"I've had a tough couple of years and it's been fun grinding my way back. These matches are what make it worth it to keep going and this one feels great. I'm excited to move on."
It will be a Dallas Open rematch for Fritz and Sock, who also met in the second round in Texas one year ago. On that occasion, Fritz triumphed 6-1, 6-4 to take a 3-2 lead in the pair's ATP Head2Head series.