Wimbledon: Jack Sock set to squeeze into seeds

Jack Sock is set to squeeze into the Wimbledon seeds, narrowly edging his way into the top 32 players on the men’s entry list. The American is currently at a career high ranking of world number 30 and is set to benefit from this when the Wimbledon draw is made.

Whilst the unique Wimbledon seeding formula that we have talked about in the past would initially seem to go against Sock, the system is only in place for the top 32 players, any player below this cut off will not benefit from previous success on the grass.

As a result, Sock must find himself in the top 32 in the world to be guaranteed a seeding. The issue is slightly complicated by three players who have fallen outside of the top 32, but have protected rankings that will ensure they are seeded at Wimbledon.

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These three players are Juan Martin del Potro (PR=8), Tommy Haas (PR=27) and Nicolas Almagro (PR=30). Fortunately, for Sock at least, del Potro has undergone further wrist surgery and therefore will not be playing at Wimbledon in 2015.

However, a protected ranking only ensure entry to the event and does not impact the seeding procedure. This means that Sock, currently at world number 30, will be seeded number 30 for Wimbledon. There are only a small handful of players still active in this weeks ATP 500 events in London and Halle that could ruin Sock’s chances.

Garcia Lopez may pass Sock in the rankings, but that shouldn’t be an undue drama as the Spaniard is already due to be seeded himself. It will be Seppi , Kukushkin and Janowicz in Halle and Muller in London who the American will have his eyes on.

All four men essentially need to win the event the take over Sock and threaten to push him out of a seeding position. If this were to happen, it would be a significant shock but would be a lessen to the American when it comes to choosing his schedule.

Should Sock be within the top 32 on the final entry list, he is guaranteed a seeding. Whilst the Wimbledon grass court formula could put him at the 32nd and final seed, after Kohlschreiber’s grass court achievements from last year are taken into account, but the nature of the draw means this won’t be a concern.

When the draw is done, seeds can be considered in groups of four. It is simply luck and chance for the seeds from 29th to 32nd as to where they are placed compared to each other. The one guarantee is that in the first and second round they will certainly avoid any other seeds.

This would be a huge carrot for Sock, who would be looking at a career best run in the singles at Wimbledon. Of course he is no stranger to success on the courts of SW19, having lifting the men’s doubles title alongside Vasek Pospisil last year.

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