Guitario
Rookie
I've noticed recently that Sock is slowly but steadily rising through the rankings.. little by little.. almost sneaking up on the top 10 without many people noticing - similar to what Ferrer did at a similar age.
Looking at it a little more, I see a few players have done this, and the stats are often comparable. Nishikori is another rankings grinder - steadily progressing (albeit a bit younger). Goffin too is on a similar path to Sock.
Nishikori was 22 when breaking the top 20, and 24 when breaking the top 10.
Ferrer was 23 when breaking the top 20, and 25 when breaking the top 10.
Goffin was 24 when breaking the top 20, and 26 when reaching number 10. (not quite broken in yet)
Sock was 24 when breaking the top 10, and just a few months later, he's edging to 14 in the live rankings. So it seems like he's on a similar trajectory to Ferrer.
*By the way, I'm not counting those like Gasquet who hit heights at an early age, before dropping off and then moving back up again. Just those who improved slowly year after year and stayed there.
Both Ferrer and Nishikori did this without having any big weapons, just consistency.
So has Sock got enough about him to emulate those two and become a mainstay inside the top 10, maybe even going further and winning some important titles (Kei, I'm looking at you)? He has greater power and the physical attributes the others lacked.
Tagging on another question while I'm here.. could Sock actually have a better career than Dimitrov?
Looking at it a little more, I see a few players have done this, and the stats are often comparable. Nishikori is another rankings grinder - steadily progressing (albeit a bit younger). Goffin too is on a similar path to Sock.
Nishikori was 22 when breaking the top 20, and 24 when breaking the top 10.
Ferrer was 23 when breaking the top 20, and 25 when breaking the top 10.
Goffin was 24 when breaking the top 20, and 26 when reaching number 10. (not quite broken in yet)
Sock was 24 when breaking the top 10, and just a few months later, he's edging to 14 in the live rankings. So it seems like he's on a similar trajectory to Ferrer.
*By the way, I'm not counting those like Gasquet who hit heights at an early age, before dropping off and then moving back up again. Just those who improved slowly year after year and stayed there.
Both Ferrer and Nishikori did this without having any big weapons, just consistency.
So has Sock got enough about him to emulate those two and become a mainstay inside the top 10, maybe even going further and winning some important titles (Kei, I'm looking at you)? He has greater power and the physical attributes the others lacked.
Tagging on another question while I'm here.. could Sock actually have a better career than Dimitrov?