BV North grad Jack Sock advances at Australian Open

After a scorching second day at the Australian Open — the high was 108 and it may get hotter before the heat wave breaks later in the week — there were varying degrees of opinion over how hot is too hot to play tennis.

But at least one of Tuesday’s winners,

showed his cool on and off the court.

Sock, who played in high school at Blue Valley North, advanced to the second round by pounding 16 service aces on his way to a 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory over

It was the third Grand Slam event in which Sock, ranked No. 95, has won a match. He reached the third round of the U.S. Open the past two years and won his first-round match at the French Open last year.

After splitting the first two sets, Sock grabbed control of the match in the third set by breaking Kamke’s serve three times. Sock hit five aces and five winners in the fourth set against the No. 78 Kamke.

“There were guys playing at the same time I heard had cramped or were feeling it, and I felt great at the end of the match and throughout the fourth set,” Sock told ESPN.com. “And if I needed to go five, I was ready.”

Sock next faces No. 25 seed

6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in his first-round match Tuesday. Sock is one of only three American men left playing.

“He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure,” Sock said of Monfils. “He’s very exciting to watch, is spunky, has his own style and covers the court better than anyone, probably.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2014 at 9:15 PM with the headline "BV North grad Jack Sock advances at Australian Open."