Rafael Nadal beats Jack Sock in Washington debut

The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, world number 3, won this Wednesday 6-2, 4-6 and 7-6 against American Jack Sock in his debut at the Citi Open in Washington, which has marked his return to the circuit after giving up Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Nadal, seeded number 1 of the tournament and who needed this victory to maintain his place in the ranking, He will face this Thursday in the round of 16 of this ATP 500 the South African Lloyd Harris, number 50 in the world.

The manacorí started the game with a winning serve and a blank game in what augured a military walk against the 192 of the world, but Sock responded with a powerful serve that exceeded 225 kilometers per hour, ensuring his game.

That the American was going to offer an initial resistance greater than expected due to his position in the ATP ranks It became apparent in the third game, when Nadal had to save up to three break balls.

Nadal seemed to be accusing the lack of competitive rhythm, almost two months away from the slopes having given up Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics after his defeat in the Roland Garros semifinals against Serbian Novak Djokovic.

But the Mallorcan did manage to break Sock’s serve in the sixth game to reach 4-2 and thus put the first set on track (6-2) boosted by an audience that did not hide that they preferred him over the local tennis player.

The nearly 7,500 spectators who packed the center court of the Rock Creek Park tennis complex as if the pandemic were a thing of the past they gave themselves up to Nadal, who in his Washington debut has confessed a love at first sight with the city.

Equality dominated the start of the second set, with Nadal and Sock defending their serve until reaching 3-3, when the American managed to break the manacorí in the seventh game.

In the ninth and with a 3-5 against, Nadal saved three set balls. In the tenth, Sock got strong with his powerful serve and took the second set 4-6, thus tying the duel.

The third set began on the edge of two hours of play and, with a visibly tired Nadal, the American broke the first game of the Spanish. 0-1.

With the abyss on the horizon, the manacorí broke the sixth game to equal the set 3-3 with a series of house-brand winners that drove the home crowd crazy and took a toll on Sock’s morale.

The two tennis players maintained their service until reaching 6-6, leaving the game to be decided in sudden death.

The Mallorcan’s trade was then imposed on the pressure that Sock felt. Nadal swept this final game 7-1 with an ease not seen in the 3 hours and 4 minutes that the game lasted.

Nadal passed the round in a day in which the seeds number 3 and 4 of the tournament fell, the Australian Álex de Miñaur and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, respectively.

De Miñaur lost his match against the American Steve Johnson 6-7, 6-4 and 6-2; while Dimitrov did it against the Belarusian Iliá Ivashka in two sets (6-2 and 7-6).

Who did go to the round of 16 was the young Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, number 15 in the world and seed number 2 of the tournament, after beating Italian Andreas Seppi in three sets (6-2, 2-6 and 2-6) on Tuesday.

Harris, for his part, Nadal’s rival tomorrow, beat American tennis player Tennys Sandgren, who retired when he was losing the second set 1-0 after falling in the first 6-4.

SFRM