Sonego stops in the round of 16, beaten in comeback by Cerundolo

No quarterfinals for Lorenzo Sonego in the ATP 1000 in Miami. There will therefore not be two Azzurri among the magnificent eight in Florida, the “fault” of that Francisco Cerundolo (n. 31 in the world) who for unknown reasons becomes another player in this tournament. Cold, ruthless, very difficult to meet.

The match

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Last year the Argentine reached the semifinals taking advantage of Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal in the quarterfinals, this year in the second round he got the better of Sonego, if not almost surprisingly, in three sets, 3-6 6-3 6-2 the final score for a game that started hours late due to the rain, which made the afternoon hellish for the waiting players. It’s a pity, this defeat for “Sonny”, above all because after the first set things seemed to have gone well, for the Turinese, who, like the previous games, held the pitch very well, moving his opponent here and there with his forehand, weapon that had worked very well. Yet Cerundolo, despite the difficulties, gradually managed to better study Sonego’s game plots, which gradually became less and less effective as the points passed.

The key

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Until the match completely changed, with the Argentine who immediately went ahead with a peremptory 4-0 in the second set, playing really great tennis, surprising Sonego with some truly incredible and unexpected angles. Lorenzo found himself faced, and almost suddenly, with a different player, and if it is true that his level of play in general was not that against Tiafoe (especially when serving), there was also merit from his opponent . Same situation in the third set, with the Argentinian immediately ahead by a break, with Sonego still in trouble, until the 3-1 double break for the Argentinian, with the match over at that moment. However, for Sonego the satisfaction of having played in a great tournament remains, but certainly the goal of the quarter-finals in a 1000m, so close, can only leave a bad taste in the mouth. This evening Jannik Sinner will try to fly to the semifinals by challenging the Finnish Ruusuvuori, in a match where he is the clear favorite.