Tsitsipas holds off Sonego in delayed victory

2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas returned on Tuesday after rain interruption the night before and just managed to get past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (3) to reach the Rome Masters fourth round.

The Greek fifth seed needed to get through a marathon 84-minute second set where he saved two set points for his opponent over two games.

The match ended on a confusing note, with the chair umpire forced to go down and check a mark on Sonego’s side on match point after a linesman called the Tsitsipas ball good but someone in the crowd yelled “out.”

Tsitsipas will have a few hours before returning to the clay in the evening for another match as the schedule gets caught up.

The winner benefitted from 31 unforced errors off the Italian’s racquet but was only able to convert on one of seven break points in a contest which went for just over two hours.

 The match was stopped on Monday evening after the first set due to rain which lasted all night.