NEW YORK — Jack Sock became the latest victim of the brutal heat and humidity at this US Open when he collapsed and fainted while receiving medical attention on Thursday afternoon.
The Lincoln, Nebraska native became the 11th man to retire at the Open when he suffered a massive bout of cramps while up on Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-1 on the Grandstand.
”Playing in the US Open is the biggest and most important moment of the season for me, so having to retire from my match today is extremely disappointing,” Sock said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone for their support and can’t wait to be back next year. I feel better already and look forward to playing Davis Cup.”
“The conditions today probably hurt him,” Eric Sock, his brother, told ESPN.
The No. 28 seed, Sock had high hopes for this Open and a win would have put him up against French Open champ Stan Wawrinka, who edged the young Korean Hyeon Chung, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).
Sock was one of five American men playing in the second round on Thursday, when temperatures were in the low 90s.
“Let’s see him make a run here at the US Open,” US Davis Cup captain Jim Courier had said on The Tennis Channel. “Let’s see him grab the baton here and run with it.
“He’s our best athlete of our established male pros in the Top 100. He’s the best mover out there. He has a lot of power for sure, and now he has a lot of fitness.
“This is a new Jack Sock compared to what we’ve seen this time last year.”
Even Sock didn’t have enough fitness for this heat, though.
Still, Courier said he planned to pick Sock to the Davis Cup team for the US match against Uzbekistan the weekend after the US Open.
“It’s pretty clear that Jack plays pretty well on red clay which is what we’re playing on,” Courier said.
Video- Andrew Jerrell Jones
