Indian Wells Challenger Final: Johnson vs. Sock, edition 11

Steve Johnson and Jack Sock are well acquainted by now, they meet in the Indian Wells final for the 11th time in their careers. Johnson won their last encounter with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 at the ATP Tour event in Delray Beach

2019 hasn't been great for either of the two finalists. Sock had an operation on his thumb, followed by a huge dip in form resulting in the loss of ten matches in a row. The former World No. 8 entered Delray Beach without a ranking, but a victory over Radu Albot would set the stage for a big week in California.

The second round shock upset win over Udo Humbert paved the way for his consequent wins over Evgeny Donskoy, Denis Kudla and Brandon Nakashima, to whom he had to come back from one set down. Regardless of the result in the final, it will be a positive week for Sock, who rises nearly 400 spots in the FedEx ATP Rankings to at least World No. 384.

Meanwhile Johnson is enjoying his 'home tournament' immensely. "I always enjoy being out in the desert and competing," said Johnson. "This is pretty much my home tournament. It's my favourite event and doing well here is always important."

His road to the final has been much smoother than Sock's, he dropped just one set in all matches. 30-year-old Johnson now goes into the Oracle Challenger Series - Indian Wells final a slight favourite. Currently the World No. 75 is projected to rise to at least No. 66 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday. Will it be 6-5 for Johnson after this Sunday?

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