Jack Sock celebrating his men's singles victory at the PPA Masters in Rancho Mirage, CA.
Jack Sock will look to secure his first career PPA Tour men's singles title on Championship Sunday in Palm Springs. PPA Tour

Sock battles past Bellamy to make men’s singles final

Jack Sock closed out singles action on Semifinal Saturday with a 14-12, 11-1 victory over No. 9 seed Roscoe Bellamy in front of a full crowd at Mission Hills Country Club.

Bellamy got off to a strong start with a combination of big serves and heavy drives that helped him earn game point at 10-6 in the opening game, but Sock worked his way all the way back to steal Game 1 after saving two game points.

Sock went on to dominate the second game to close out the contest and advance to his third career PPA Tour singles final.                

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One of the keys for Sock, especially in turning the tide of the first game, was using a slice serve to keep the ball out of Bellamy’s strike zone on the return.

“[Roscoe] is such a good ball striker, I think one of the best out here—kind of like Chris [Haworth], who I’ll play tomorrow. If it’s in the slot for either of them, they’re just gonna nuke the ball. They keep it very linear and very flat, which makes it hard to attack balls and come in and play my style. For me, I knew that if I threw those serves in, he’d have to lift the ball a little bit and maybe I’d get a chance to come in off of it and not just give him a normal serve that he can tee off on.”     

This week’s tournament marks the beginning of Sock’s third year competing on the PPA Tour, and he certainly got off to a strong start by making it to the quarterfinals in singles, mixed doubles, and men’s doubles at the same tournament for the first time in his career.

“Last year, I just wanted to move my way up, establish myself, train a lot more, and get more reps in practice. This year, I’m most excited to showcase what I’ve been working on,” the four-time Grand Slam tennis champion explained. "I think the last six to eight months for me has seen a ton of improvement, and I’m really excited for this year.”

Sock will take on No. 6 seed Chris Haworth in the final as he pursues his first career PPA Tour singles title.