Earlier on Friday, Sock overcame illness to beat top seed David Ferrer of Spain 3-6 6-1 6-2.
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After losing the first set, Sock required medical attention before fighting back with a performance reminiscent of the quarter-final when he came from behind to beat Kevin Anderson 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
A bitterly disappointed Jack Sock was forced to concede the ASB Classic to eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut after succumbing to flu symptoms in the second set of Saturday’s final.
While I usually tend to give the edge to good defense over good offense, these two players are simply in different phases of their careers.
A superb week has ended in a title for Roberto Bautista-Agut. My serve was really going to have to help me out.
Rain interrupted play at the Sydney International, forcing Taiwan’s Chan sisters’ semi-final against Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic to be rescheduled for this morning.
The Canadian s win sets up a second-round tie against his doubles partner Jack Sock of the United States who defeated Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos 6-0, 6-4.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play [the semifinal]”, said Sock. While talking to my buddy last night, I knew that we needed him to flip gears (pardon the spelling).
Sock had all the momentum, but still showed his sportsmanship when he overruled the umpire to call a Ferrer serve in during the third set.
The American started poorly against the fourth-seeded South African, who blasted seven aces in a dominant opening set in which he raced through his service games and broke the 26th-ranked Sock in the fourth and sixth games.
However, Bautista Agut realised that he just had to keep pushing the ball wide and Sock wouldn’t be able to get there in time.
But from the start of a final played in warm, sunny conditions, the world No. 26 was in obvious discomfort.
The 23-year-old, however, shrugged off his aches and pains to charge to a 5-0 lead in the second and evened up the contest with a sizzling ace after top seed Ferrer had managed to hold serve for the first time in the set.
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The 27-year-old Bautista Agut is chasing his third ATP World Tour title after lifting two trophies in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2014.
