Lorenzo Sonego stunned World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-1 on Friday for the biggest win of his career, advancing to the Erste Bank Open semi-finals.
"For sure it's the best victory of my life. Novak is the best in the world. Today I played so, so good," Sonego said in his on-court interview. "It's unbelievable. It's amazing."
Five days ago, the Italian lost a three-setter in the final round of Vienna qualifying against Aljaz Bedene. The 25-year-old has not lost a set in three main draw matches, playing his top level to shock the 81-time tour-level titlist after 68 minutes.
"I played the best match in my life," Sonego said. "I'm so happy for this."
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Sonego had not won a set in three previous matches against Top 10 opponents. But the World No. 42 held his nerve to become the first lucky loser to defeat Djokovic (1-12). The top seed earned six break points in two games in the second set, but Sonego rose to the occasion to maintain his advantage. It seemed Djokovic needed one momentum-shifting point to dig his teeth into the match, but Sonego didn't allow that with his consistently high level.
Djokovic made an unusually high number of unforced errors, which gave Sonego confidence. The Serbian dumped a neutral forehand into the net to relinquish a service break in the first game of the match and that set the tone.
Sonego, who won his lone ATP Tour title in Antalya last year, began the week with a 6-16 tour-level record on hard courts. But the unseeded Italian looked comfortable playing aggressive tennis against one of the best defenders in history, showing no fear with his heavy forehand.
Djokovic got off to a slow start in the second set, once again missing a forehand into the net on break point in the first game. With Sonego serving at 2-1, the World No. 1 earned three break points to get back on serve and put pressure on the Turin-native. But after Djokovic let slip that opportunity, Sonego put his foot on the gas in the next game to take a double-break advantage with a curling forehand passing shot down the line on the dead run.
Sonego won 80 per cent of his first-serve points against one of the world's best returners and he earned 53 per cent of his return points.
Djokovic let slip a chance to guarantee his spot atop the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings this week. If the Serbian won the Vienna title, he would have ensured that he would tie Pete Sampras’ record with six year-end No. 1 finishes.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2TB7ZFY
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