Jack Sock wins first singles title in four years at Little Rock Open: how he did it

Sunday has been a long time coming for Jack Sock.

The reigning Olympic champion in mixed doubles who spent his best years training out of Kansas City won his first singles tennis title in four years with a straight-set 7-5, 6-4 victory against Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez in the final of the Little Rock Open.

The tournament — which was contested on the ATP Challenger Tour, a step below the top-tier ATP Tour — saw the unranked Sock beat the Nos. 4, 6, 5 and 3 players over four successive days at the Rebsamen Tennis Center.

It’s Sock’s first singles championship since he won the 2017 Paris Masters, a victory that vaulted him into the top 10 in the worldwide rankings — the highest-ranked American man in tennis at the time.

Sock is best known for his doubles and mixed-doubles success. He won gold in mixed doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He has three Grand Slam doubles titles on his resume, winning Wimbledon twice (2014, 2018) and the U.S. Open once (2018).

Injuries to his back and thumb helped sidetrack Sock’s career ever since. He fell to No. 135 in the world in doubles and No. 248 in singles. Having moved from Kansas City to Charlotte last year, it’s unlikely — due to his low ranking — that he will be attempting to defend his gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Sock was a prep phenom at Blue Valley North, going 80-0 and winning four straight KSHSAA Class 6A singles titles from 2008-11. He turned pro at age 18 and has since won more than $10 million in prize money in his tennis career.