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Croatian world No. 278 Borna Gojo said it felt "amazing" bringing a big point to Croatia in the quarterfinal at the Davis Cup Finals. Croatia and Italy kicked off their quarterfinal tie on Monday and Gojo produced a big upset in the opening rubber of the tie.
Gojo, 23, stunned world No. 27 Sonego 7-6 (2) 2-6 6-2 to give Croatia an early lead. Croatia has the best doubles duo in the world -- Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic -- so Gojo badly wanted to beat Sonego and give Croatia a chance to seal victory in the doubles rubber.
"It feels always amazing,” said Gojo, per the Davis Cup Finals website. “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”.
Gojo stuns home favorite
Sonego was born in Turin but he failed to deliver in front of his home fans and family against Gojo. The majority of the crowd in Turin was on Sonego's side but Gojo insisted he heard 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”.
Two years ago, Gojo competed well against 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup Finals. Gojo lost to Nadal in straight sets but it was a major boost of confidence for the Croatian. "I played a match against Rafa where it was one break per set,” Gojo recalled before the start of the Davis Cup Finals.
“At 4-4 I got nervous. But that gives you a lot of confidence: if you can hang in a match with Rafa, you can probably hang in with everyone else, almost."