By Erik Gudris / Monday, January 6, 2014

 

Jack Sock made good use of his wildcard berth as he earned an opening round win at the Heineken Open in Auckland.

Photo Credit: Andy Kentla

Rising American star Jack Sock got off to a good start with an opening round win at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand.

Sock, taking advantage of a wildcard berth at the ATP 250 event, posted a routine straight sets result over France's Adrian Mannarino. Saving both break points against him, Sock went on to complete the 6-3, 6-4 victory in just over an hour.

With Sock currently inside the top 100 rankings, he is among a group of young American players who have high expectations placed on them for the new season. Speaking at a pre-event press conference, Sock talked about his goals for 2014.

"I am just trying to get better -- mentally and physically. Always keep progressing and improving, obviously would like the ranking to go up as well. I don’t do a lot of numbers but hoping to be well ahead of where I am now," Sock said.

Having reached the third round of last summer's US Open, the Lincoln, Neb., native continues to be touted as a player to watch. But with American men still struggling to win a major title since Andy Roddick and his US Open title run in 2003, the question remains as to who might be the next American player to do so.

"It’s a hot topic, a lot of people like to talk about it. It is what it is, like all Americans, we’re doing what we can, trying to get better. In the younger generation, around my age, there’s a lot of us making strides, and pushing each other, working off each other to hopefully bring American tennis back to what it was. Everyone’s looking for that next one – here’s hoping it will be me!"

But, unlike his peers, Sock has already tasted Grand Slam success. He won the 2011 US Open Mixed Doubles title with Melanie Oudin.

"It’s pretty cool! It was a very surreal moment for me," Sock said about the winning moment. "I was 18 when it happened so it was pretty unexpected – definitely an unreal feeling."

Next up for Sock in Auckland is a second round meeting with No. 2 seed Tommy Haas. Top seed David Ferrer and No. 3 seed John Isner both received byes into the next round.

(Source: New Zealand Festival of Tennis)