Lorenzo Sonego replaced Jannik Sinner in the Davis Cup in his prime and won both singles matches against Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov. The Piedmontese player displayed all his professionalism and responded to the sudden call of captain Filippo Volandri, who was struggling with Sinner’s hand injury.
Sonego took to the court against the odds, but expressed tennis of the highest level. The essential contribution of the Italian, unfortunately, was not enough to take Italy to the final. The team led by Volandri stopped in the semifinals, losing the decisive doubles match against Canada.
“The best challenge was the one that pitted me against Shapovalov, despite the fact that I played with an annoying inflammation in the tibial muscle caused by forced training after returning from my vacation in the Maldives.
But the match of his life is still the 6-2 6-1 against Novak Djokovic a couple of years ago in Vienna. In an exclusive interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Sonego spoke of the incredible match he won against Shapovalov in the Davis Cup, but reiterated that the feat he achieved against the Serb in Vienna in 2020 remains the greatest success of his career.
The Italian stopped precisely in the personality of the great players. “Rafael Nadal is a crazy example, he puts all his effort into each ball of each training session. Off the court, he is very accessible without ceasing to be someone who gives little confidence.
Quite the opposite of Djokovic, that he is very open; who knows, maybe it will also help that he speaks Italian. Favorite tournament? I would say the Internazionali d’Italia, in Rome, because of the atmosphere in the stands.”
Djokovic is still the best
Kim Clijsters believes Novak Djokovic will be a force to reckon with at the 2023 Australian Open. “I love watching him play, I love the focus on wellness and longevity, the way he takes care of his body,” Clijsters further said during the chat with Craig Shapiro.
“I find it so intriguing and interesting, and I just would love to sit down with him and pick his brain about it all and ask a million questions. How he’s so into the recovery and it’s not just the basic things that we are used to in the physio room.
I was also, to a lot of people, probably out there when it comes to these things. That’s why it intrigues me so much the things that he does,” she added.
