Jack Sock: My Brother

The stars of our sport shared stories about their heroes, both in life and on the court, and how these idols shaped who they are today. For more "My Hero" submissions, click here.

He’s always believed in me and been a positive influence. With what he went through—as the doctors said, he was one day away from not making it through the illness—watching him have the courage and strength to get through what he did has really helped me on the court a lot.

We first picked up racquets when I was eight and he was 10. I think I took tennis a little more seriously at the beginning, and then he really fell in love with it in his teens, and saw an opportunity to play college tennis. He was able to play four years of Division I tennis at the University of Nebraska, and I know he had an unbelievable time doing that. He was a part of the team that, in his freshman year, went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. They were able to do that twice in his four years—he helped the team out a lot.

It started out as a sore throat. Then it turned into bilateral pneumonia in both of his lungs. The infection he had spread—it attacked his liver, his lungs, his kidney and his heart all in one day. When he went into the hospital, he was having a very hard time breathing and had an immense amount of pain throughout his ribs and sides. He was in the hospital for three weeks in a bed; the last week and a half he was on a ventilator, helping him breathe, because he wasn’t able to on his own.

The doctors were then able to perform a surgery where they pried apart each rib and pulled out all of the infection, and also removed fluid in and around the lungs. After all was said and done, they pulled out about eight ounces of fluid. His lung wasn’t able to expand and contract as it should. Now he's basically back to 100 percent, getting his strength back. It’s been a pretty remarkable recovery.

His game is somewhat similar to mine. Has a good serve, good forehand, good hands at the net. He’s the loving brother, the supporting brother—that comes first. But he’ll give his two cents on whatever it is in my game. If I’m not serving well or not feeling a certain shot, he will chime in and help out. I take it to heart, because he’s been around the game a long time and around me a long time. He’s definitely one of the guys that knows my game best.

Photo courtesy of Jack Sock