Jack Sock has gotten a lot of attention lately. And deservingly so.

The young Nebraska native made a big splash at the 2011 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) US Open, which came to a close a mere few weeks ago. The youngster, at the time only 18-years-old, handily advanced through the first round of the Major, then ran into trouble in the second round, where he faced Andy Roddick.

Roddick ended Sock’s 2011 US Open in a quick three sets, but the match itself revealed much more the scoreboard could tell alone.

As Sock squared off against his American idol and former hitting partner Roddick, the world glimpsed the powerful Sock to come. The blistering serves, a whopping 42 winners, and a positive mentality that rallied the crowd behind the youngster, Sock made a statement that he knows how to compete, and there are surely years of fight ahead for him.

Furthermore, the American teen carried himself with the air of a true professional, allowing himself to have fun and unleash his best tennis while remaining humble and positive.

As a testament to this greatness-to-come, Sock quickly rebounded from his loss to Roddick with Melanie Oudin, also an 18-year-old American, who together won the mixed doubles title at the US Open. While mixed doubles is not the most publicized professional tennis venue, a Major title is a Major title after all. And with that first career title out of the way, Sock can focus on his tennis with the comfort of professional experience.

While it should come as a surprise that a recently-graduated high school senior can compete with tennis veterans, Sock’s success at Flushing Meadows is by now becoming routine.

In 2010, Sock won the Boy’s Junior National Tennis Championship. In 2011, he repeated this feat. Both of these championship wins were after entry as a wild card both years.

Uprising young American players have had considerable pro circuit success in the recent past, namely Donald Young, Ryan Harrison, and Melanie Oudin, but Sock’s uncanny ability to place the ball, his explosive rackethead speed, and his demeanor set him apart.

Tennis fans in America, youth and seniors alike, have long waited for a promising fellow countryman they could root for.

The wait is over, as America may have finally found an uprising tennis star who can vault into the top ATP rankings. Sock certainly has the goods to do so.

(Photo: Garvey Scott/The Kansas City Star/MCT)