LORENZO Sonego has played the role of party pooper for the Australian fans, overcoming a plucky Max Purcell in three sets to book his spot in the Viking International Eastbourne final. The Italian third seed now has a date with second seed Australian Alex de Minaur, following de Minaur’s straight sets win over Soonwoo Kwon.

Remarkably, both Purcell and Kwon lost in qualifying, but earned replacement spots in the Eastbourne tournament, making it all the way to the penultimate round. The lowly ranked Purcell almost made it an all-Aussie final before Sonego stopped him in his tracks. Sonego won 6-1 3-6 6-1 against the 283rd ranked Purcell, booking his spot in the final which will be his second of the year after winning the Sardegna Open, and gunning for his second overall grass title after winning the Antalya Open back in 2019.

“I am really happy because this is my second final on grass and I like the conditions here because I can go to the net,” Sonego said post-match. “I am serving well, I am more offensive, and I want to do the same tomorrow.”

“With only three tournaments on grass, it is not easy to adapt. But my tennis is good for this surface because I serve well and if I return better, I can have a great tournament each week.”

Now the world number 27 will have the toughest match of his tournament thus far, locking horns with de Minaur, who disposed of Kwon in 81 minutes, 6-3 7-6. The Australian world number 18 has never reached a grass court final, having won all of his four previous titles on hard court. He is yet to drop a set in the tournament and will be favourite in the match.

“I am very happy to be playing in another final,” de Minaur said. “I am playing some great tennis on the grass. “I am really enjoying myself out there and hopefully I can play well tomorrow and take it home.

“I think for me, the clay season is a long stint, so I was looking forward to the grass season. I have gained confidence from every match I have won, and I have had a lot of matches under my belt. All these things help each other.”

Meanwhile in Mallorca, top seed Daniil Medvedev gave his Wimbledon preparations the best possible chance with a hard-fought come-from-behind win over fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta. Medvedev won 3-6 6-3 6-2 to overcome the Spaniard and book his place in the final, set to take on the big-serving Sam Querrey following the unseeded American’s 6-4 6-3 triumph over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

“I know that I can play good on grass,” Medvedev said post-match. “Unfortunately we don’t have that many tournaments, only one ATP 500 and one Grand Slam. “It’s going to be a special feeling [if I] win my first title on grass. “I still don’t have one on clay, even if I have one final. “Adding these titles, especially on different surfaces, can help your confidence and it’s just a great thing for your career.”

In order to do so, Medvedev will need to weather the red-hot Querrey who slammed home 18 aces against Mannarino and only dropped one point on his first serve, to win in just 70 minutes, He is gunning for his eleventh ATP Tour title – the same as Medvedev – but first since 2017.

MALLORCA CHAMPIONSHIPS SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) defeated [4] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 3-6 6-3 6-2
Sam Querrey (USA) defeated Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-4 6-3

VIKING INTERNATIONAL EASTBOURNE SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

[2] Alex de Minaur (AUS) defeated [LL] Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) 6-3 7-6
[3] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) defeated [LL] Max Purcell (AUS) 6-1 3-6 6-1

Picture credit: ATP Tour