Doubles stars, Sock put on a hot shot show in London

Tuesday in London was a milestone for U.S. tennis with Jack Sock pulling out a thriller over Marin Cilic. It was the first win in a decade for an American at the year-end tournament. Along with the epic between Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer and all of the doubles action, a handful of extraordinary shots livened up the O2 Arena.

1

Backhand bash saves matchpoint

It’s always fun to watch the serving team employ strategic shifts. Henri Kontinen and John Peers are a formidable duo but this time their serve and switch plan was blown off the court at match point. They still went on to win, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6).

2

Botched net cord winner

Sometimes it works out anyway. Pierre-Hugues Herbert nearly crashed his overhead into the net but this time Lady Luck pushed it across for an unconventional winner. The Frenchman and Nicolas Mahut would drop the match, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-5.

3

Shoestring Sock

Sock’s power and athleticism can be downright soft and graceful on occasions at the net. This was one of those times:

4

Tiebreak turning point

Trailing 4-3 in the third-set tiebreaker, Sock clawed his way back with the point of the match. Cilic could only stand bewildered and the American sealed the last three points for the 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4) upset.

5

Federer’s first-set backbreaker

As great as Zverev might one day become, he got a firsthand lesson from the Swiss. One brilliant point featured a drop shot, baseline volley and forehand to the corner pocket. The young German hoped in vain that a challenge would reverse the result, but it was not to be. Neither was the final result with Federer winning 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-1.