Davis Cup, Lorenzo Sonego extraordinary: Italy-United States 1-0

A wonderful Sonego puts Italy ahead.

In the first match of the Davis Cup quarterfinal match against the United States in Malaga, Lorenzo Sonego overcame U.S. tennis player Francis Tiafoe in two sets with a score of 6-3 7-6.

Sonego got off to a hot start immediately, netting two aces in the opening game. Tiafoe is not to be outdone, but at 3-2 for Lorenzo the balance is broken: the Italian, thanks to two free errors by the American and two winners, gets the break even to zero and keeps it until the final 6-3, cashing the first set.

The second set begins with the services dominating even if on 3-3 Sonego is forced to cancel a dangerous break ball to Tiafoe thanks to an ace. The next game the break chance has Sonego but Tiafoe cancels it with a winning serve. So it comes to the tie-break but not before Lorenzo, at 5-6, has canceled two set points, first with a service winner and then with serve and forehand. In the tie-break the Italian went down 3-1 but then strung together five of the next six points, earning two match points. Here Tiafoe is phenomenal at cancelling them but the third is the good one: Sonego closes 9-7 at the end of a long exchange in which he forces the American into an error.

Truly a phenomenal performance by Lorenzo Sonego who puts on Lorenzo Musetti’s racquet the match point for the passage of the round to the semifinals.