Berrettini and Sonego Begin First-Round Matches in Cincinnati
Listen to the story
Italian tennis players Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego begin their matches at the Cincinnati tournament on Friday.
The event is part of the Masters 1000 series, which includes some of the most important tournaments in tennis.
Berrettini will play against Droguet in the first round, while Sonego will face Shang.
In total, four Italian players, often called azzurri, are competing today.
Fans can watch the matches live on Sky, a television broadcaster that shows tennis coverage.
The Cincinnati tournament takes place every year in the United States, usually in August.
It is considered an important event before the US Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Many players use Cincinnati as preparation for the bigger competition that follows.
Both Berrettini and Sonego will hope to win their opening matches and advance to the next round.
The results of today's matches will decide who continues in the tournament.
Vocabulary7 words
- Berrettini
- an Italian tennis player
- Sonego
- an Italian tennis player
- Masters 1000
- a group of very important tennis tournaments
- first round
- the earliest matches in a tournament
- azzurri
- a common word for Italian sports players, meaning 'blues'
- Sky
- a television company that broadcasts sports
- Grand Slam
- one of the four biggest tennis tournaments each year
Quiz
Answer key
1. Berrettini and Sonego 2. A Masters 1000 event 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Italian tennis players Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo _____ begin their matches at the Cincinnati tournament on Friday.
The event is part of the Masters _____ series, which includes some of the most important tournaments in tennis.
Berrettini will play against _____ in the first round, while Sonego will face Shang.
In total, four Italian players, often called _____, are competing today.
Fans can watch the matches live on _____, a television broadcaster that shows tennis coverage.
The Cincinnati tournament takes place every year in the United States, usually in _____.
It is considered an important event before the US Open, one of the four _____ tournaments.
Both Berrettini and Sonego will hope to win their opening matches and advance to the next _____.
Discussion questions
- Why do tennis players often compete in smaller tournaments before Grand Slams?
- Do you enjoy watching tennis? Why or why not?
- What do you think makes a tournament like Cincinnati important for players?
- Have you ever watched a live sports event on television? What was it like?