SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!
 
 
Facebook Social Button Twitter Social Button Follow Us on InstagramYouTube Social Button
NewsScoresRankingsLucky Letcord PodcastShopPro GearPickleballGear Sale


By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, March 18, 2015

 
Roger Federer Indian Wells

Roger Federer rolled past Jack Sock and into the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-2.

Photo Source: Matthew Stockman/Getty

There were some interesting moments in the early going, but once Roger Federer found his range he moved easily past 22-year-old American Jack Sock and into the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-2.

More: Nadal Eases Past Simon to Set Raonic Clash

Federer kept his bid for a fifth title at Indian Wells alive by striking 27 winners against 22 unforced errors to tame Sock’s high octane game and secure his 50th career win at the BNP Paribas Open.


Sock did his best to hold his own at the onset of his first career match against Federer. He threw a barrage of booming forehands at the Swiss and actually had him on the run quite a bit in an entertaining fourth game, as he finally held serve in just under 14 minutes to draw level at 2-all.

“I thought the first set was actually very good tennis,” Federer said. “Then I was able to pull away with a quick break in the second set.”

The Swiss maestro would actually begin to pull away earlier than that. Once his backhand pass sailed past Sock for a clean winner on break point in the sixth game of the opener, the floodgates were open. Sock would hold for 5-3, but Federer would force an error with a nifty backhand volley to secure the set with a love hold in the next game.

“The first few games, yeah, I felt like I was in control of a decent amount of points,” Sock, who was playing his first event of 2015 after a long rehab from an off-season pelvic surgery, said. “I was moving my forehand around well.”

He later added: “But, yeah, overall, he dictated more than I would like.”

Federer would rush out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Sock would save three break points to get on the board, but Federer’s crisp, efficient service games overwhelmed Sock and the Swiss maestro raced quickly to the victory, closing the affair in 69 minutes.

Despite the routine win, Federer had praise for the young American, particularly his forehand. “Yeah, it's definitely got a lot of spin on it,” he said of Sock’s forehand. “Gotta get used to it a little bit, because the majority of the players don't play with that much topspin. Going in you know that he has that wicked forehand, so it's also a bit of a different mindset about it. And he disguises it well. You don't really see where he's going because his action is very quick.”

Federer will move on to face a familiar foe in Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals. Berdych eased past his compatriot Lukas Rosol in three sets.

It ought to be a big challenge for Federer. The Swiss owns a 12-6 career advantage over Berdych, but they have split their last 10 matches.


 

Latest News