Rafael Nadal seeks sixth consecutive win over Jack Sock in Washington

The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal will make his debut at the City Open in Washington on Wednesday night against Jack Sock. The Spaniard will play his first match since that tough Roland Garros semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic almost two months ago, struggling with a foot injury for three weeks and returning to the practice court in July. Changing his schedule to shape his game ahead of the US Open, Nadal decided to travel to Washington for the first time and compete for the season's third trophy and 500 ATP points. Rafa had to skip Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in the previous weeks, feeling good on the practice court and hoping for a deep run in the American capital. Nadal and Sock had played five times between 2015-2017, with the more experienced player scoring all five wins for a perfect start of their rivalry.

Rafa lost a set to Jack in their first encounter at the Roland Garros 2015 before scoring a 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory that sent him into the quarters. A few months later in Beijing, the American kept the Spaniard on the court for two hours and claimed the opening set before Rafa prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 with three breaks on his tally.

Rafael Nadal will meet Jack Sock in the Washington debut.

Nadal was more dominant in Miami 2017, beating Sock 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 23 minutes after playing well on both serve and return. A month and a half later in Rome, Nadal grabbed a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 80 minutes, seizing all three break chances to race past the American and reach the last eight.

In their third match of the season, Nadal prevailed over Sock at the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague 6-3, 3-6, 11-9. In the closing stages, the Spaniard remained calm and moved over the top with a forehand winner in the 20th point for his first Laver Cup win and a 7-1 lead for Team Europe over Team World. A former top-10 player, Jack is currently ranked just inside the top-200, playing mainly on the Challenger Tour this season and winning one title. The American scored one win in Atlanta last week before losing to John Isner in two tight sets, hoping for another good performance against the rival who hasn't played for almost two months. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TQZFph