"A good reunion": Jack Sock excited to take the court with friend Nick Kyrgios in Atlanta 

A couple weeks ago, Jack Sock came up big on the pristine grass courts at the Hall of Fame Open. Partnering with countryman William Blumberg for the first time, the wildcards claimed the ATP 250 event's doubles over Austin Krajicek and Vasek Pospisil in the final. For Sock, it was his first ATP doubles victory on grass since winning Wimbledon alongside Mike Bryan in 2018.

"We started talking about it a few years ago playing Fortnite," Sock told Baseline. "He's a UNC Chapel Hill guy, and we live just outside Charlotte now. So, we just kept in touch. We play golf a lot and became close friends. I always told him once he finally leaves Chapel Hill and turns pro then we'll play doubles."

Video games have proven a reliable conduit for Sock to find doubles partners. This week in Atlanta, he will be joining forces with Nick Kyrgios. An equally avid gamer, Kyrgios, who formed a viral mixed doubles partnership with Venus Williams at Wimbledon, streams so often he could easily make it a profitable side hustle.

The last time he and Sock teamed up was back in 2018, when the two captured an ATP 250 event on clay in Lyon. The two have been close friends for years but haven't seen each other since the start of the pandemic, making Sock doubly excited to reunite with the Aussie at the Atlanta Open on Monday.

"I think every time we play together win or lose we have a good time. I think we are probably two of the bigger personalities in tennis on the court and we like to engage with the crowd and have fun and keep it light and loose out there. I'm assuming nothing will be different starting Monday night here when we play our first round.

The two might be friends, but Sock admitted he isn't sure he's learned too much on court from the world No. 58.

"I've gotten better at video games for sure,” he jokes. “[Nick] tried to help me with my backhand but we just have different grips, so that doesn't really go well. We send each other new music all the time. So, I get some good new tracks from him as well."

Sock’s go-to playlists depend on the mood he's in before taking the court.

"Either hip-hop or something up beat to get the vibes going or if I'm feeling a little calmer I'll throw some country on," Sock said.

Come Monday night under the Hot 'Lanta sky with bad boy Kyrgios, odds are Sock will be getting the vibes going with a little hype and up-beat tunes.

The American-Aussie duo are set to face No. 3 seeds Divij Sharan and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi.