Jack Sock left standing outside a London hotel at 4am, but wakes up to beat Marin Cilic
"I went outside, saw Rafa, saw Dominic, everyone was all bundled up, freezing cold, just wanting to get back inside"
Tuesday 14 November 2017 20:35, UK
Jack Sock has told how three of the world's finest tennis players were left standing outside a London hotel at 4am after a fire alarm went off on Tuesday morning.
Sock, world No 1 Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem were all made to exit the building in the middle of a week when they are competing at the end-of-season ATP Finals.
Nadal had withdrawn due to injury late on Monday night and Thiem's next match is not until Wednesday, but America's Sock had to overcome the disruption before beating Marin Cilic later in the afternoon.
"It was probably one of the most annoying noises I've ever heard in my entire life," Sock said.
"At first I didn't know if it was a test or whatever. Then I realised it was 4am so I hoped it wasn't just a test from the hotel.
"I went outside, saw Rafa, saw Dominic, everyone was all bundled up, freezing cold, just wanting to get back inside.
"Everyone obviously put on clothes - it was pretty cold outside - some more than others.
"I probably waited in the room for five to seven minutes, then was probably outside for another five to seven. The whole thing was probably 15 minutes of freezing, miserableness."
Sock showed little sign of fatigue against Cilic and, as well as claiming his own debut victory at London's O2 Arena, he became the first American to triumph at the ATP Finals since Andy Roddick in 2007.
Cilic had thrown away a break in the decider to lose against Alexander Zverev on Sunday and he managed the same again as Sock fought back to win 5-7 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
Cilic will play his last round-robin match against Federer, to whom he lost in the Wimbledon final earlier this year. The Croatian, who led Sock 3-0 in the decider, now stands on the brink of elimination.
"It is frustrating, absolutely, at the beginning of the third set I played well," Cilic said.
"It's definitely disappointing in both matches in that third set after being in a good position and putting myself in a good position. But unfortunately I didn't close it."
The season-ending extravaganza ATP Finals ends another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs, reports, reaction and expert analysis as the season reaches its climax.
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