Tennis Briefs: Sock Wins Indian Wells Doubles; Liu 1st Pro Circuit

American Sock, Pospisil Team for Indian Wells Men’s Doubles Crown

Americans didn’t come away empty handed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as American Jack Sock teamed with Canadian Vasek Pospisil to win the men’s doubles title over one of the hottest teams in tennis, defeating Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-7.

The Australian Open champion Italians were on an 11-match winning streak entering the tournament.

Sock saw his serve broken in the second set, which the Italians eventually won in a tiebreak, but the North American tandem were able to squeak-out a final set superbreaker.

“We came out on fire,” Sock said. “I was seeing the ball big and was able to dictate play. Then (losing) my service game in the second set was definitely my fault. I played a very sloppy game and then things started going their way and they started playing better. We hit some big shots at the end and were fortunate to get the win.”

The pair split $295,000 for the win, their third career title as a team.

Last year Pospisil-Sock set a record for a winning streak by a first-time team. They paired in their debut at Wimbledon, their first title as a team that began a 14-match winning streak that ended with a loss in the 2014 Cincinnati final to the Bryan brothers, who they had bested in the Wimbledon final.

Liu Youngest Winner Since Kournikova at Pro Circuit Gainesville

Fourteen-year-old Claire Liu of California became the youngest player in 18 years to claim a USTA Pro Circuit title, on Sunday winning the $10,000 women’s tournament at the Orlando Tennis Centre in Orlando, Fla., with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Hungarian qualifier Fanni Stollar in the final.

Liu, at No. 1,215 on the WTA Rankings, trains with personal coach Mike Gennette and USTA National Coaches Leo Azevedo and Adam Peterson out of the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif.

Her first-round victory was her first win at the pro level.

Liu has represented the U.S. in international junior play, winning gold at the 14-and-under World Junior Tennis competition in 2013.

She became the youngest women’s Pro Circuit winner at 14 years and 10 months since Anna Kournikova in 1996.