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Italy's Lorenzo Sonego admitted he was under pressure during the Borna Gojo match as he was playing for his country in his hometown. The Davis Cup Finals quarterfinal tie between Italy and Croatia took place in Turin, Sonego's hometown.
Gojo, ranked at No. 279, was the underdog against Sonego but he delivered maybe the best performance of his career as he stunned the Italian 7-6 (2) 2-6 6-2 in the opening rubber of the tie. The Italians expected Sonego to beat Gojo and give them an early lead the world No.
27 failed to deliver. "Pressure is part of the game. It’s not easy for me to play in Turin because it’s my city. I always want to play well because there are my friends, my family," Sonego said, as quoted on We Love Tennis.
Gojo was thrilled after stunning Sonego
Gojo is having a great run st the Davis Cup Finals as he also stunned Australian Alexei Popyrin during the group stage. "It feels always amazing,” said Gojo after the win. “We knew we had to get one point from our singles – we are confident in our doubles, and Jannik and Marin are both great players.
I hope Marin can bring us another win." The majority of the arena was rooting for Sonego but Gojo claimed he was able to hear the Croatian fans. "They are so loud – and it’s tough to be loud in an arena like this with the other team’s supporters,” Gojo said.
“There’s some of my best friends and family there, and I want to thank them with all my heart for coming." World No. 10 Jannik Sinner recovered from a set and a break down to beat Marin Cilic in the following rubber and force a decisive rubber.
In the decisive rubber, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic beat Fabio Fognini and Sinner to seal a semifinal ticket for Croatia.