The blow came a few hours after the draw of the scoreboards, on a Sunday destined for the finishing touches and the first training sessions of the protagonists: the start of the second edition of the Sardinia Open of the Tennis Club Cagliari, a premium event in the ATP Challenger 175 category with 205,000 euros of prize money, there will also be the American Frances Tiafoe, number 21 in the world but already top-10 less than a year ago.

A player with a high-sounding name and a strong personality on and off the pitch, who further ennobles a main draw worthy of higher category events, with fifteen top-100 players starting on the clay of Monte Urpinu.

Tiafoe, 26 years old, winner of three ATP titles in his career and Slam semifinalist in 2022 at the US Open, asked for and obtained a wild card and thus took the first seed away from Lorenzo Musetti, who arrived well in advance (he will debut on Thursday, as all the first 4 favourites) and immediately on the pitch to train on the Centrale in the late afternoon of Sunday.

In Sardinia, the player from Carrara will meet up with Lorenzo Sonego, his teammate in the Italian national team who was able to win the Davis Cup last year in Malaga. The legendary Salad Bowl is in Cagliari, on display for the entire week as part of the "Trophy Tour" promoted by FITP, which has already taken it to numerous cities in Italy.