PARIS -- When Jack Sock leans into a forehand, it makes a formidable popping noise off the racket and almost buzzes over the net. Then, just when it appears to be headed long, it usually ducks down sharply inside the baseline.
And in the sixth game of the 22-year-old American's fourth-round match against Rafael Nadal on Monday, Sock hit a laser for a winner to prevent a love service game. On the very next point, the Spaniard crushed a forehand of his own and released an emphatic grunt to go with it. He gazed defiantly across the net at Sock, searching for eye contact that never came.
But Sock never stopped coming at the nine-time French Open champion, forcing a fourth set before losing to the No. 6 seed, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
"Yeah, he's pretty good out there," Sock said after the match. "I guess his patterns and everything -- I have seen him play a lot -- but to actually be out there and physically see it and handle the ball and everything took a little bit of getting used to.
"I finally got into a little bit of rhythm. ... Obviously, I had a good comeback in the third and had chances in the fourth, and he came up with great shots and took it."
That Nadal was on the court for 2 hours, 52 minutes was a tribute to Sock's persistence and tenacity; those 13 games were three more than anyone managed in the three previous rounds. Sock also broke Nadal's serve no fewer than four times.
Oh, and the native Nebraskan finished with 15 forehand winners, one more than "The King of Clay."
"It was a very good first two sets for me," Nadal said. "In the third, I lost a little bit of intensity. I think my serve today was the worst thing. Didn't start enough points with advantage. He's a very dangerous player, a great player. The real thing is, I opened the door for him to go for the shots, and he did very well."
When the match was over, Nadal trotted stoically to shake his hand. But later, when they announced his name to the Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd, the Spaniard threw a big uppercut with a fist, revealing perhaps a trace of relief at advancing to the most-anticipated match of the tournament.
Nadal moves rather uneasily onto the quarterfinals, where he'll face No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic, a match that will demand the attention of the tennis world for the next two days.
And Sock?
There are no moral victories in professional sports but, hey, he's the first player to take a set from Nadal this year at the French Open. His down-the-line forehand to break Nadal and win that third set left him screaming and clenching his fists as he watched the ball land safely. To put that set in context, Nadal has won 33 of the past 36 sets he's played here in the French Open.
Sock, the only male player under 25 to reach the round of 16, was still enormously engaged in the fourth set, berating himself when he didn't take advantage of openings created by Nadal, regardless of how narrow. Losing to Nadal at Roland Garros is no shame. Sock received a rousing ovation as he left the court.
He'll be back in action here Tuesday with doubles partner Vasek Pospisil; the No. 2-seeded pair face the No. 5 team of Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Tecau.
Not that Sock's singles game is suffering. He beat No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the first round and Pablo Busta Carreno, a well-regarded clay-court specialist, in the second. In the third, Sock annihilated 18-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, who has been compared to a young Djokovic.
Sock, who was playing for the seventh day in a row, was bidding to reach his first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal and ran into the player with the best record (now 70-1) at any single Grand Slam event. Moreover, Sock's ATP ranking is projected to be around No. 31, which means there is a good chance he will be a seeded player at Wimbledon.
Afterward, Sock said Nadal's shots were the heaviest he has ever faced. He then answered the critics' complaint about his lack of conditioning and weak backhand.
"Overall, I mean, I think the biggest thing for me is the physical side of it," Sock said. "A lot of people [have liked] to question that the last few years. Obviously, I think I have proven now that I'm ready to go and can play as long as I need to.
"For me, that's big confidence," Sock added. "And in my tennis game itself, you know, I feel very good. I feel like I have improved in a lot of ways. A lot of people like to say I don't have a backhand, but I think I kind of proved that otherwise today. I think my game is improved a lot even the last six months."