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U.S. OPEN

September 4, 2016

Jack Sock

New York, NY, USA

J. TSONGA/J. Sock

6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tough match. Talk about how you felt out there today.
JACK SOCK: I mean, physically felt good. I had a break in the first two sets that could have gone my way as well. I think I was probably up in both games. You know, let them slip.

Against a guy like that, that's all he needs. I thought he served well at times when he needed to. I thought he served well, you know, get in some games. He would come up with some big ones and some second serves. Come up with some big seconds.

Yeah, just felt like I could have done a little more with some second-serve returns. But, you know, he's in the top 10 for a reason. Yeah, he played well when he needed to. It's a matter of a few points. Could still be out there playing.

Q. It was a strange match that both of you prefer the forehand. I think there was a total of only four backhand winners in the entire match. Did you sense it was a forehand-to-forehand battle from the beginning?
JACK SOCK: Yeah, as I said yesterday and after my other match, we play pretty similar. We're both trying to serve fairly big and then dictate with the forehand. Probably showed out there. Whoever was doing that in the point, whoever was dictating with the forehand, was winning most of those points.

Yeah, I felt like he was too aggressive on his serve. I wasn't able to push him back, get neutral a lot. He was able to move me around a lot with the forehand.

Yeah, I mean, it's tough conditions out there. Fairly windy. Armstrong is a pretty fast court.

Yeah, I just needed to catch up with the ball a little bit better and try to get neutral on his serve.

Q. You talked about cleaning up things in your game, which you have. What do you have to do specifically to get to the next level, to beat that guy today?
JACK SOCK: I mean, piece a few more things together on the court. As you guys can see, I'm right there. My last match was a straight-set win over a past champion here.

Today, hold a few more times in the first two sets, you never know.

I felt obviously right there with him. Had chances to make it a different match. These matches later in these tournaments, against higher-ranked guys, it comes down to a few points.

The experience obviously helps. He's been around for a while. Been in those positions. Each of these matches I played help me more in the next one.

Q. We have to ask the basic question. You're the last American standing in the men's game. How do you feel now to be something of a standard bearer?
JACK SOCK: I mean, I think the future looks good. Promising players coming up playing very good tennis.

Yeah, I mean, I take pride in being the last one here. Obviously wanted to go out there and keep it going for not only myself but for the U.S. as a whole. Unfortunately couldn't do that today.

But I think as everyone knows, I love everything in this country and playing for them. Hopefully in the future I can keep playing these second weeks, you know, representing the best I can.

Q. What are those moments like when you're out there and you can feel the crowd trying to lift you?
JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, it's an incredible feeling. You have your box obviously that's usually pretty hyped up and positive and cheering you on. I could tell when I walked out, the first applause I had was electric. Then throughout the match, you know, it was a really good feeling.

It definitely helps you out there. Yeah, the support was unreal. So, yeah, you know, I look forward to playing this tournament every year because of that.

Q. You're just off the court. I know it's a tough moment. Do you reflect on the week and see a lot of positives that you'll take with you?
JACK SOCK: Yeah, I mean, it's still fresh right now so pretty upset. But, yeah, you know, once I have a little time to myself, with my team, we'll definitely look back and take away all the positives from it. Keep your head up and move forward.

In the grand scheme of things, it's a tennis match. Obviously I wanted to win and keep playing, but there's going to be another one in a few weeks, another tournament, another match. I can improve and keep going. That's a positive thing about tennis.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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