'Fitter' & 'leaner' Jack Sock comes through 3-hour Dallas Open marathon for 1st win of 2023, sets up clash with American No. 1 Taylor Fritz
American player Jack Sock is in the midst of another comeback. On Monday, he won a three-hour marathon match against Belarusia's Ilya Ivashka at the ongoing Dallas Open.
Sock took down Ivashka 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 in the thriller, which marks his first win of the year. Sock will now face America's No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the round of 16 on Wednesday (February 8).
Sock, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 8 in 2017, has been dealing with injuries for a few years now. He sustained a thumb injury in 2019 and a back injury in 2022.
In an interview with D Magazine, the American, who is a wild-card entrant at the Dallas Open, revealed that he had been working on his body and had also changed his game to work around his injuries.
"I had some things body-wise that I needed to do to get right for this year," he said. "I’ve lost some weight. I’ve leaned out a bit. I’m fitter, and I’ve changed some things around in my game to hopefully help with the injuries.”
Sock went on to state that he felt great about his body and was in a good place physically at the beginning of the year.
"Honestly, my body is feeling great, I’m feeling as good as I have since I was in the top 10, and that’s a good place to be at the beginning of the year," he added.
The improvement in Sock's fitness has not gone unnoticed. Writer Blair Henley and journalist Jose Morgado both tweeted about the current World No. 141's impressive transformation.
Jack Sock outlasted Illya Ivashka tonight in three hours and three minutes. Said his fitness was a factor (he’s lost about 20lbs).
His secret? Not eating after 6pm.
#DalOpen
Impressive physical transformation from Jack Sock during the off season. Lost 8-10kg surely. https://t.co/XkOTbGydk6
Jack Sock reacts to his Dallas Open win against Ilya Ivashka
Jack Sock appeared in good spirits after his win over Ilya Ivashka. The American took to his Instagram stories to share snippets of his match.
Sock also reposted various stories from people congratulating him on his win, including one from his wife Laura Little Sock.
"Thank you, Jesus," Laura Little Sock captioned her story.
Sock also shared a story posted by his sister-in-law and influencer Courtney Little.
"That's a WIN for the fam!!!" Little captioned her story.
The Dallas Open is an ATP 250 tournament, with $700,000 prize money up for grabs.