Paris-Bercy qualifiers: Lorenzo Sonego hits main draw, Fabio Fognini does not

Half-smiles for Italians in Paris-Bercy qualifiers

In the last qualifying round of the Paris Bercy Masters 1000, half-hearted joy for Italian tennis: Lorenzo Sonego wins in a comeback against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands with a score of 3-6 6-4 7-6, Fabio Fognini succumbs to French wildcard Arthur Fils 3-6 6-3 4-6.

The Piedmontese tennis player got off to a bad start immediately, suffering a break in the opening game, which was then repeated by the Dutchman in the last game of the first partial, which closed 6-3 in his favor. In the second set came Sonego’s reaction as he ramped up taking a 4-0 lead before closing 6-4 in his favor. The third and decisive partial is full of emotions: Lorenzo goes down 5-3, recovers his opponent in the final and forces him into a tie-break that he dominates, winning 7 points to 3.

Fognini starts as badly as Sonego by suffering the break on the second serve. The Frenchman retains it until the end of the set, which he makes his own 6-3. The second set has the same trend as the first but on opposite sides: it is Fabio who gets the decisive break in the fourth game leading him to close the partial set 6-3. Arriving at the decisive set, the tiredness of the two players takes over and after an initial exchange of breaks, Fils gets the break on 4-3 in his favor leading him to serve for the match. Here Fabio’s pride comes out and he recovers the break but melts at the most beautiful moment surrendering 4-6.

Sonego thus advances to the main draw while Fognini must leave the Paris Masters.