Lorenzo Sonego toasted “the best match in my life” after shocking world number one Novak Djokovic to reach the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
Djokovic was comfortably out-played by his unseeded Italian opponent, who sealed a 6-2 6-1 win and will now meet British number one Dan Evans in the last four.
Sonego, 25, who owns a solitary tour win compared Djokovic’s haul of 81, had never beaten or taken a set from a top-10 opponent before. The Serbian, meanwhile, missed out on a chance to guarantee he would finish on top of the end-of-year rankings for a record-equalling sixth time by failing to win the tournament.
A 👏 for World No. 42 Lorenzo Sonego 🇮🇹
A special moment! pic.twitter.com/V0W10ppbRd— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2020
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“I played the best match in my life. For sure it’s the best victory of my life,” the world number 42 said in an on-court interview carried by the ATP website.
“Novak is the best in the world. Today I played so, so good. It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing.”
Evans was last on court and successfully negotiated a route past Grigor Dimitrov, claiming a 7-6 (3) 4-6 6-3 victory. The 30-year-old has never won a title on the tour but will be looking to go one better after losing two semi-finals earlier this year.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson will compete in the other semi-final.
Rublev ousted defending champion Dominic Thiem 7-6 (5) 6-2, while Anderson took a 6-4 7-6 (5) win over Daniil Medvedev.
In the Astana Open at Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan, third seed Adrian Mannarino leads the way. He won his quarter-final against Mackenzie McDonald 6-1 6-4 and will face Emil Ruusuvuori for a place in the final after the Finn saw off Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3 6-1.
Fourth seed John Millman takes on Frances Tiafoe in the other half of the draw, after the pair both came through tight three-setters.
Millman edged Tommy Paul 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (5), with Tiafoe a 7-6 (5) 5-7 7-5 winner over Egor Gerasimov.
