by Andy Schooler, at The O2
Having been woken by a hotel fire alarm at 4am, you could have forgiven Jack Sock had he lacked the energy for a strength-sapping fightback.
But the 25-year-old was up for the challenge of digging himself out of some pretty deep holes as he kept his ATP Finals hopes alive with a 5-7 6-2 7-6 (7/4) win over Marin Cilic on Tuesday.
Sock lost the first set, trailed by a break of serve in the final set and then found himself 4-2 down in the deciding tie-break but on each occasion he pulled himself out of trouble, despite his disrupted night which saw him out on the streets of London in the early hours.
“It was probably one of the most annoying noises I've ever heard in my entire life,” he explained after becoming the first American to win a singles match at the O2 Arena.
“I guess from what the workers at the hotel said, the location of your room is how loud the alarm is. We are right there, kind of right in the centre of it.
“Super loud, super annoying. It went on for a while.
“At first I didn't know if it was a test or whatever. Then I realised it was 4am, so I hoped it wasn't.
“I went outside, saw Rafa (Nadal), saw Dominic (Thiem). Everyone was all bundled up, freezing cold, just wanting to get back inside.
“It was pretty miserable, to be honest.”
Sock, whose girlfriend was also in the room, initially didn’t flee outside, something he admitted “probably wasn't the smartest thing to do”.
A thing of beauty from @JackSock 😮 #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/lsHazyQqlt
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 14, 2017
“But it was unbearable to stay in the room, it was that loud and annoying,” he continued. “That's more the reason why we left.
“I probably waited in the room for five, seven minutes, then probably outside for another five or seven. The whole thing was probably 15 minutes of freezing, miserableness.”
Sock will doubtless have been warmed by his never-say-die performance several hours later.
Cilic took the first set with a late break of serve but that prompted Sock’s initial comeback and he swept back into the contest by dominating the second set.
His Croatian foe responded by opening a 3-0 lead in the decider only for two untimely forehand errors to gift the advantage away.
Into a tie-break they went with Cilic changing ends with a 4-2. However, he would not win another point.
It was the second time in three days that Cilic had squandered what appeared to be a winning position - he had also led by a break in the final set of Sunday's clash with Alex Zverev.
A semi-final spot remains mathematically possible but he is very much up against it, especially with his final group match being against tournament favourite Roger Federer.
"It is frustrating, absolutely (to lose two matches in such fashion). Also today, just beginning of the third set I played well. On my service game where I lost my serve, I just missed couple of shots. I did good decisions. I just missed two forehands. He made one great passing shot off a run.
"These things can happen.
"That tie-break, it was quite a few close points. Him getting that unbelievable let cord, one backhand down the line that he hit on 5-4, he didn't hit many down-the-line winners during the match. That was a big shot to hit at that stage.
"It's definitely disappointing in both matches in that third set, being in a good position, putting myself in a good position. But, yeah, unfortunately I didn't close it."
Match stats: Cilic v Sock
Aces: 13 v 9
Double faults: 4 v 2
1st serves in %: 63 v 59
Points won on 1st serve %: 77 v 75
Points won on 2nd serve %: 49 v 53
Break points won: 3/7 v 4/10
Winners: 35 v 33
Unforced errors: 37 v 25
