Cecchinato to face Djere in Sardegna Open final

Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato routed Serbian qualifier Danilo Petrović 6-1, 6-0 Saturday in the Sardegna Open to reach his first final in 20 months. Cecchinato's opponent in Sunday's final will be Laslo Djere, a Serbian who won his semifinal when Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti retired with an arm injury. Djere was leading 2-6, 6-2, 4-1.

Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato routed Serbian qualifier Danilo Petrović 6-1, 6-0 Saturday in the Sardegna Open to reach his first final in 20 months. Cecchinato, a French Open semifinalist in 2018, last played for a title when he lost to Diego Schwartzman in Buenos Aires in February 2019.

Petrović was playing like a lucky loser in place of top-seeded Fabio Fognini, who withdrew before his opening match after testing positive for the coronavirus. Cecchinato's opponent in Sunday's final will be Laslo Djere, a Serbian who won his semifinal when Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti retired with an arm injury.

Djere was leading 2-6, 6-2, 4-1. Musetti was playing in his first semifinal on tour. The clay-court tournament was installed in the ATP calendar as a one-time-only event amid the pandemic.