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TENNIS
French Open Tennis Championships

USA's Jack Sock to face Rafael Nadal in fourth round at French Open

Nick McCarvel
Special for USA TODAY Sports
Jack Sock of the U.S. screams after scoring a point in the third round match of the French Open against Croatia's Borna Coric at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, May 30, 2015.

PARIS – Jack Sock is the last American man standing. For the first time in his career, the 22-year-old from Nebraska is into the fourth round of a Grand Slam, and for the first time he's Team USA's remaining hope on the men's side, a winner on Saturday at the French Open.

Here's how Sock, the world No. 37, took out fellow rising star Borna Coric.

Scoreline: Jack Sock (USA) def. Borna Coric (CRO) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

It was a no-frills contest no one saw coming, Sock was troubled little by the 18-year-old Croatian, the youngest player inside the top 100. Billed as a battle of two future stars, Sock's wheelhouse forehand could do no wrong, while Coric struggled to find his rhythm for much of the one hour, 45-minute encounter.

What it means: It means massive things for Sock, who earns a spot in the last 16 of a major for the first time, becoming the youngest American into the fourth round here since Pete Sampras in 1993. It also means he will face nine-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal. It will be their first meeting.

Sock was playing in the third round at a Grand Slam for the third time, his 10th major overall. He upset No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the first round before beating clay court specialist Pablo Correno Busta in round two. He won his first career title last month in Houston, the only red clay event to be held in the States.

How it happened: Sock came out firing and Coric was flat. The two had never met, but it was thought to be a match-up that could go either way, Coric being ranked No. 46. Sock didn't waste any time, however, blasting away at his forehand and skipping through the first two sets in just over an hour on Court 2.

Coric, who has career wins over Nadal and Andy Murray and was the 2014 "Star of Tomorrow" on the ATP Tour, was more competitive in the third set, but not enough for the American, who finished the match with 19 forehand winners.

Key stat: That fearless forehand. Can it compete with the best? Sock will find out when he faces Nadal on Monday. Overall, Sock won 88% of points on his first serve and never was broken, saving the only break point he faced all day. He also won 16 out of the 20 rallies that went longer than nine shots, a surprising stat against an agile, quick and court-smart Coric.

"It was a good day for me, for sure. I was fortunate enough to play great tennis," Sock said of the win. "I usually feel pretty good when I'm hitting a lot of forehands, especially from the left side of the court, and able to move the ball around and dictate play. I was able to do that today fortunately."

What they said: "That was rock solid," Sock's coach, Troy Hahn told USA TODAY Sports after the win. "He put everything together. The focus and him executing his shots all around, it was one of the better matches I've seen him play."

"Today basically I got killed, but those kind of things happen," added Coric, who is now working with former Grand Slam champ Thomas Johansson. "He just played way too good today. He was serving too big. His forehands were very heavy and I was struggling to cope with that."

On Nadal vs Sock: "He's decent in this tournament," Sock said, laughing. "Well, he's lost one match here. That will be a fun one. I said a few days ago, I'm not really one to get a whole lot of nerves before big matches. I more look forward to it and it should be hopefully an exciting match and hopefully I can play some good tennis and, you know, give him a good battle."

"He's a great player, no?" Nadal said when asked about Sock. "He's playing fantastic, winning very tough matches against very difficult opponents. He has an amazing forehand, good serve and then he's a player that can play very aggressive and is dangerous, no? I know I have to be very solid."

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