American Taylor Fritz defeated Italian Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets, 7-6 (8) and 6-3, in the Davis Cup quarterfinals to restore parity in the tie, to be decided by doubles pairs Tommy Paul / Jack Sock and Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini.
Earlier, Lorenzo Sonego beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Fritz, in the role of the fittest player in Malaga, after playing in the semifinals of the masters tournament in Turin and losing to Novak Djokovic in two ‘tie-breaks’, went through some difficulties to settle the clash and win the set. initial, but in the second he played high-level tennis that gave a point to the team led by Mardy Fish.
On the contrary, one of the expectations of the Italian youth academy, a Sonego with a gentle touch and academic tennis, with a good one-handed backhand, was seen for the first time in these finals.
It was a game of quick points, in front of a raucous crowd, on a day of visiting schools at the Martín Carpena pavilion.
Fritz had a set point on the way back in the first set, but in the end he was unable to avoid the tie-break, the fourth in these finals. It was a long tiebreaker, 10-8, with the outcome reached after two set balls for each. No one stood until three straight points from the world number nine gave him the set.
Musetti, who started this year ranked 59th and is now 23rd, was unable to react in the next set. Fritz breaks 3-2 and consolidates the lead with no problem.
The winner of this tie will face the winner of the Canada-Germany match in the semifinals, which will also be played this Thursday.
On the other side of the table, the two semifinalists have already been decided: Australia, who eliminated the Netherlands, and Croatia, who beat Spain.
Source: La Verdad
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