Stan Wawrinka and Lorenzo Sonego deliver a thrilling duel at eye level in the opening round of the Australian Open. At the end of the third set, the match is on a knife-edge when the Italian begins to work his magic.
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- Stan Wawrinka gets stuck in the starting round in Melbourne. The Swiss veteran was beaten in four sets by Lorenzo Sonego from Italy.
- The preliminary decision comes at the end of the third set, when Sonego comes out of nowhere with two break and set points - and then begins to work his magic.
The Australian Open is already over for Stan Wawrinka. The 39-year-old fails in the opening round in Melbourne after a tough battle in four sets against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego. However, the match could have gone very differently.
After equalizing the set, Wawrinka continued to stand up to the current world number 55 in the third set. On his own serve, the Swiss didn't let anything get in his way and conceded just two points up to 5:5. But because the three-time Grand Slam winner doesn't manage a service break either despite one opportunity, he has to serve for the set at 5:6.
Sonego threw everything into it, winning more points in the Swiss' last service game than he had previously in the entire set and thus coming out of nowhere with two break and set points. Then the Italian really starts to work his magic. He not only runs down a lob from his opponent, but also plays it - with his back to the net - past the stunned Wawrinka. "The point of the tournament," says SRF commentator Adrian Arnet. Shortly afterwards, Sonego won the third set perfectly.
The fourth set was similar. Wawrinka remains confident with his own service and has three set points in a row at 5:4. But unlike his opponent, the Swiss doesn't make a move. Sonego frees himself, breaks in the following game and then serves home the victory with aplomb.
