Popular Jo-Wilfried Tsonga upset at U.S. Open; Jack Sock wins

NEW YORK -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who a year ago reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals and charmed New York crowds with both his tantalizing and attacking tennis and his appreciative demeanor, was an upset loser Thursday in the second round. Tsonga fell to 23-year-old Martin Klizan of Slovakia, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Tsonga, who recently won an Olympic doubles silver medal for France with Michael Llodra, had been the first Frenchman to reach at least the quarterfinals of all four major tournament events last spring when he made the French Open quarters, lacked power on his serve Thursday and never seem able to fully tap his all-court power.

There was a much more lively performance from 19-year-old American Jack Sock, who beat Italian veteran Flavio Cipolla in a second-round match, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Just before Sock was to serve for the match, a fan on Court 17 fainted in the stands, causing a lengthy delay. Sock was unfazed and after he hit the winning point, the first thing Sock asked about was the fan, who, Sock was told, was fine.

Next up for Sock will be 11th-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain. Almagro outlasted Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a 3-hour, 19-minute match.

Before Tsonga’s loss, the top five seeds in both the men’s and women’s singles draw had won in straight sets. Tsonga had seemed an unlikely loser so early. He had been a Wimbledon semifinalist and had reached at least the third round in his last 18 straight Grand Slam-level events.

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