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ATP Finals: Sock upsets Zverev to enter last four
London, Nov 17 (IANS) Eighth seed Jack Sock has shocked world number 3 Alexander Zverev to enter the last four of the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena here.
Eighth seed Sock on Thursday won 6-4 1-6 6-4 to clinch second place in the Boris Becker Group ahead of Zverev, and set up a semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov, BBC reported.
The 25-year-old American was broken in the first game of the decider and received a point penalty for smashing a ball off the court, Xinhua news agency reported.
But Sock, the first American to reach the final weekend of the season since Andy Roddick in 2007, broke back and regained the momentum, sealing the victory 6-4 as Zverev made too many unforced errors.
“That was a roller coaster match, for sure,” said Sock, who finishes second in Group Boris Becker, behind group winner Roger Federer.
He will face Grigor Dimitrov, who won Group Pete Sampras, on Saturday.
Earlier, Federer won his third consecutive group match after fighting back from one set down to beat fifth seed Marin Cilic.
The second seed needed one hour and 54 minutes to win 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 to finish Group Boris Becker play 3-0. It’s the 10th time Federer has ended group play unbeaten.
The six-time ATP Finals champion thus extended his unbeaten run to 13 matches, including eight indoors, dating back to his Swiss Indoors Basel title run.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion will take on either David Goffin or Dominic Thiem from Group Pete Sampras, where Grigor Dimitrov has secured the first place.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.