ROLAND GARROS

September 28, 2020

Jack Sock

Press Conference

J. SOCK/R. Opelka

6-4, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. 2020 has been a crazy year. What has your year been like? You recently got engaged.

JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, I think obviously it's been a very funky year for everyone. Tennis-wise it's been kind of unfortunate just because I dealt with pretty much injury all of last year.

For me, I was really excited to come out and play a full season. I thought the beginning of the year I was playing some great tennis through the challenger and Indian Wells, had some wild card opportunities for Indian Wells and Miami. Unfortunately the pandemic happened, tennis was put on hold. It's kind of similar to last year for me, just a different circumstance.

On the flipside of that, having the time off, not being able to travel and compete gave us a lot of time for my fiancée and I to wedding plan and get everything ready for the end of the year in December. Obviously some good out of it off the court. For on-court stuff, unfortunately I had to take time off.

Q. Your next opponent is Dominic Thiem. Thoughts on that matchup?

JACK SOCK: I heard he's pretty good on clay. I heard he played all right a few weeks ago in New York. I think he's being called the new king of clay after Nadal.

He loves it here. Had some amazing results here. Probably playing the best tennis of his life or some of, winning his first Grand Slam a few weeks ago.

I also think I'm a good player. I'm going to stick to my patterns, stick to my games, hopefully try to dictate some points, control some of the match on my racquet. If he's doing that on his side of the court, moving you around, controlling points, it's not going to be a very good day against him. I'll have to do what I can to try to kind of stick to my play and see how it goes.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your work with Bogie. How did it start, what has it been like?

JACK SOCK: It's been a massive, massive blessing, I would say. My fiancée is from Charlotte or the Charlotte area, her and her family. It was kind of a crazy coincidence, timing, everything.

Obviously we were dating last year, got engaged at the end of the year. I was looking for a coach and kind of a team at the end of the year, as everyone knows, a pretty horrific two years in a row, then injuries last year. I was searching for some answers, some people to kind of back me, be in my corner.

A couple things fell through, which turned out to be an even bigger blessing I think because it -- Laura and I were in Charlotte, looking for some answers, like I said. I found out Bogie was in Charlotte. I played once on tour, a guy I respect a lot. Work ethic, anyone that's been around him or played him knows he's top of the world, always did what he could to get better and work harder, be fit, be mentally tough, everything.

I was excited for that challenge, I would say. He definitely pushes me and challenges me on court. He definitely instills that work ethic, that mental toughness. I think I'm showing it the weeks that I'm playing now, weeks we've been able to play.

I feel some of the best I felt on court in a long time. To have someone like that in your corner pushing you and having that positivity, someone having that confidence in you, obviously outside of your family and close and loved ones, a guy of that stature who played on tour, it only helps me out there for sure.

Q. You're a Babolat guy. How much of the conversation about these balls at the French Open is really about the balls themselves and how much is it about marketing and branding, all the rest of it? They've been likened to rocks, somebody saying they wouldn't give them to their dogs. Gives the impression you're playing with tools that aren't fit for purpose.

JACK SOCK: I'm honestly probably the last person to ask about that. I don't ever stress about equipment or balls or courts, unless it's an extremely fast court where I've commented before in my career.

Balls, for me, you can tell a bit of difference here, maybe they're a little heavier, some guys say. In general, if you gave me two different balls, I couldn't tell you which was lighter, heavier. I just go out and play.

I have my style. I love playing on clay in general, so I don't really stress about the balls. I wasn't even here last year. I'm not sure about the crazy difference that guys are talking about.

I'm sorry, I'm probably the worst person to ask about that. I guess they may be a little heavier. They fluff up pretty quick, I can tell. I feel like that happens in general on clay. Guys are hitting a lot of spin, points are longer. I'm honestly not sure. They feel all right to me.

Q. They're still round, they still bounce?

JACK SOCK: Yeah. It's also different, we usually play the tournament in May. It's usually warmer, not raining, 50 degrees, overcast. I think the weather probably plays a little bit of part into maybe not being as lively, bouncy, hoppy.

What percentage of that is due to the ball, I'm not sure. What percentage that's due to the weather. For me personally, a large part would be more in the weather than anything. It makes it feel a little more dead out there.

Q. You used the word 'horrific' to describe what you went through. Was there a point where you worried you would not be at the level of winning Grand Slam matches?

JACK SOCK: Yeah, for sure. I mean, when you go from top 10 to not winning any matches to first time in your life really on a tennis court not having much confidence in yourself, I think it's a massive eye opener.

I would say I've always been a confident player out there. I feel like if I'm playing good tennis, I can compete against anybody in the world. To go out and play matches, not have belief in your shots, think that you can lose to anybody at any time, is quite a different feeling.

Chris asked about Bogie. That's been a big part. He's instilled that confidence in me again through practices, hitting with him, practice matches against people. He keeps pounding in your head that you have been at that level, you are that player, you are that player, it doesn't just go away.

Getting the reps in, getting fit in the head, mentally, everything together has given me the confidence on the court again. Like I said, I feel as good as maybe I ever have out there.

Q. You joked about Thiem having a good couple of weeks recently, getting his first Grand Slam title. I wanted to get your thoughts on Rafael Nadal. If he wins this tournament again, he will have 20 Grand Slam titles, equal Roger Federer. Can you fathom that idea? Does that number seem ridiculous to you? Would getting to that number change anything about the way he's perceived or how his career ought to be perceived? At this point have all three done so much that whatever the final numbers are don't really matter?

JACK SOCK: I mean, I think your latter point there is probably in my head the most accurate. It's kind of hard to count the amount of slams they've won at this point. If you would have told me that Rafa could tie Roger here, I didn't know that. I don't know how many Novak has, he's behind.

I don't know. I think it's tough. You see maybe Roger win so many different ones so many different times, only the French once, but he gets labeled the G.O.A.T. because of that, plus all the tournaments outside of that.

They've all won so many Masters Series, so many slams, I think you could say that Rafa is the G.O.A.T. of the clay court, especially if he wins here again.

It's tough to say. They all play different. They all love their different surfaces, different conditions. Novak is still obviously in reach for the slam count as well. You can't really put your finger on one guy, especially if Rafa ties here. It's tough to say.

They're all G.O.A.T.s in their own way in different areas of the sport, for sure.

Q. How big was the win over Cuevas for you in New York, enforce all the things you have been doing are the right things?

JACK SOCK: I think that was my kind of sigh of relief. It wasn't necessarily winning. Obviously winning the match felt great. Even if I lost that 6 in the fifth, just kind of put myself in that position again to be there physically, where probably a lot of people would doubt me, I'm sure they were after some results I had there before, issues on the court there with the heat and cramping and stuff.

I think I hopefully silenced a lot of people there, hopefully silenced some people here. I'm not opposed to silencing some haters after the last couple years I've gone through. I've read and seen enough of it, heard enough of it.

I'm kind of ready to reestablish myself out there, let people know that I'm back, I'm feeling good. Again, if I'm playing well and doing the right things, I think I can compete with anyone.

Q. What is it like for you flying? Are you taking any sort of special precautions when you go on a plane? HAZMAT suit with a bucket over your head?

JACK SOCK: I thought about getting a beekeeper's suit for the plane (smiling).

Same as everyone else, I guess. I definitely travel with a little thing of hand sanitizer with me, mask at all times. Obviously it's required on planes now, most in all airports. Yeah, I mean, I kind of get there when I need to to check my bags as quick as possible, have my mask on, get through security, kind of try to get in and out as quick as possible, stay away from people from a certain distance.

They're doing an all right job on planes with having seats away from each other. Obviously you're in an enclosed space. Could be tough if someone in there is infected or something.

Knock on wood, everything has been great. Tested negative 95,000 times the last few months. Hopefully keep that streak going.

Q. Is it kind of one of those moments where you realize how much our lives have changed?

JACK SOCK: The first one or two was very eerie, I would say. I think for somebody in Charlotte, that airport, seems there's a good amount of people through there. Recently the New York, flying in and out of New York through JFK was shocking. There wasn't one place open inside. There were maybe 20 people in the airport. It was weird. That was a weird sight, one of the biggest cities in the world.

But, yeah, in general I think the first few was different. Quite shocking. After that, kind of used to it now. It's the year of 2020.

Q. Best-of-three versus best-of-five. That topic bubbles up. At the US Open we had the fifth-set tiebreaker in the final. Did you watch the match, if so all of it? One of the things people who don't like best-of-five say is it's too long for fans. Do you think that is a reason to get rid of best-of-five, the larger topic of whether you like having best-of-five at the slams or switching to best-of-three?

JACK SOCK: The first part, I watched the last maybe 10 minutes. I had heard it was in a fifth and close. Was it a breaker in the fifth? A couple service games in the breaker.

Part B, I don't know, I feel like I've been asked that before. It's tough to say. Obviously on one side you have the tradition, history of the sport, which a lot of people love, a lot of people want to continue. That's why you have some tournaments fighting for doing the 10-point breaker at Australia. Here you play it out.

Some want to keep the tradition. Some are looking at the viewer side, if there are some either complaints on suggestions to shorten it a little bit if that's skewing viewers away from watching.

It's tough. Tradition, history, you have the business side of it where tournaments are trying to get viewership up, ratings up. Personally if it's five sets, great. I'm still going to do what I do out there. If it's three sets, still going to do the same.

Ultimately I would hope the players would have a say in that, if that ever is the case. As of now, everything feels pretty smooth. I guess we'll see. It will be interesting to see what most guys would say.