Even as he rises up ranks, Jack Sock finds way to stay close to home

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Kansas City’s Jack Sock has been visibly hitting his stride on tour, and he’s doing so by finding ways to stay close to home, even when he’s on the road.

This week, the 24-year-old American is in Delray Beach seeking his second title of 2017 (after winning Auckland). He got off to the right start Tuesday with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Radu Albot.

While he’s still working with his coach, Troy Hahn, Sock also has Mike Wolf in his corner, who he’s worked with since his early days commuting to Kansas City from Nebraska as a young junior.

“I think, together, we all make a great team,” Sock said on Tuesday. “Coach Wolf knows me as well—and better—than my family sometimes. We spent so much time together growing up since I was 10 years old, hours and hours on court and off court.”

The world No. 21 isn’t shy about his desires to keep family and home close by, even training during the offseason in Kansas City when warmer and more popular training cities were readily available.

“At the end of the day I'm around my family, and my family's there,” Sock said earlier this month when visiting New York. “…When I'm not playing tournaments, I'm able to go home and be with family, be in my own bed and my own house. It's simple living. You've got everything you need within 15-20 minutes. Not much traffic. It's nice.”

It makes sense that a player who’s got such a strong hold on family would also embrace team tennis wholeheartedly.

Sock actually went to a normal high school and played high school tennis all four years (finishing his career undefeated). The closest he came to losing a match was against his older brother, Eric, who he nearly followed to the University of Nebraska.

“I was planning on going for my whole life, even through my senior year of high school,” Sock said. “I was planning on probably going to Nebraska and playing on the team with my brother. I probably would have wanted to go for four years and complete it … It was better for me, at the time, to go pro.”

Earlier this month, Sock was part of the winning U.S. team that took out Switzerland in the first round of Davis Cup. He also played the Hopman Cup with CoCo Vandeweghe to start the season, finishing second.

“You only have Davis Cup and the Olympics once every four years, and Hopman Cup,” Sock said. “There's definitely not a lot of it. I think it's a blast, especially when you're playing with fellow countrymen and women.”

Sock has thrived in the team environment, winning two medals in Rio (gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and bronze with Steve Johnson).

“I love playing doubles,” he said. “I’ve had some success out there and I've always loved playing with friends. It’s good fun being out there, and maybe you can get a match under your belt before singles, as well.”

While some of his best career results have come in doubles—he has won eight doubles titles, including Wimbledon in 2014 with Vasek Pospisil—Sock has been clear that his focus is more on singles. You won’t see him in the doubles draws of ATP 250 events. He also doesn’t play doubles leading into Grand Slams, or at Grand Slams.

Despite winning two career singles titles and cracking the Top 20 earlier this month, Sock has only reached the fourth round of a major once (last year’s U.S. Open), and he’s admitted that Grand Slam success is in the back of his mind this season.

“Going into this year, I'm not playing doubles anymore at the Slams, which is big,” he said. “I'm able to save my energy. I started last year in New York with that. I’m able [to have] all my focus on my singles. When it's best-of-five sets and most of the Slams are hot, humid conditions, you need all the energy and rest you can get in the singles. I think it'll help me a lot.”