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31st seed Jack Sock’s first game on grass in the 2015 season will be his first round match up at Wimbledon against the big serving Australian Sam Groth in what is sure to be an interesting encounter. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from around 10:00pm (AEST) following the Paszek versus Dellacqua match up.
Sock, as stated above, has not played a game on grass in the lead up to Wimbledon, meaning his last match was a fourth round exit at the French Open against Rafael Nadal. In fact Sock has only played 13 games on grass in his career with a record of seven wins and six losses.
Interestingly for the 22-year-old American this will only be his second attempt at Wimbledon having been knocked out in the second round in his first crack at the event last year. His fourth round exit at the French Open earlier this year is his best performance in a Grand Slam.
Groth has been in some good form in the lead up to Wimbledon, winning eight from 10 games on grass he has played since the French Open. This includes wins against the likes of James Ward and Luke Saville on his way to winning in Manchester at the start of June. Winning plenty of games means his serve is working for him and he should be fairly confident coming into today’s match against the 31st seed of the tournament.
Groth only made his Wimbledon debut last year and suffered a disappointing first round exit. His best performance at any Grand Slam was at this year’s Australian Open when he made it to the third round. In terms of winning percentages Groth on grass is rather high. He was won 64 from 90 games at just over 70 per cent, in contrast to his career average of just under 60 per cent.
Groth will be looking to use his serve to overpower Sock. He currently holds the record for the fast serve ever recorded and this will be a punishing weapon for Sock to try and overcome.
The pair have never matched up before, however the odds have Sock as a narrow favourite considering he has earned a seeding for the tournament. Still it is going to be a cracker of a match.
Despite Sock being seeded there is a massive gap in experience between the pair. Not necessarily at Grand Slam level, but on the professional circuit Groth has played over 300 more games than Sock.
Prediction: This is going to be an epic first round encounter. Sock will be keen to consolidate his seeding and move into the second round but will have to fend off the biggest serve in tennis. Without any real form to call on himself, I am going for a five set boil-over.
Groth in five sets.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of what should be a fascinating match from around 10:00pm (AEST) and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re following along.