Every week, LastWordOnTennis will highlight a player to keep an eye on as tournaments are played around the world. This week’s selection is Lorenzo Sonego.
As one Masters finishes, another begins.
With the Miami Masters behind us, fans are being spoilt to more fantastic tennis at the Monte Carlo Masters this week. There are plenty of mouth-watering opening matches to choose from, with many players in top form. There is one player that might slip under your radar, however.
Lorenzo Sonego should bring plenty of entertainment to the court. Here are a few reasons to tune in to the Italian’s tennis this week.
Title-winning mental strength
Sonego arrives in Monte Carlo in red-hot form after winning his second career title at the Sardegna Open, his first on clay.
Sonego battled past ever-dangerous opponents in Gilles Simon and Taylor Fritz in the second round and semifinals, respectively. His most impressive feats, however, came when he dug deep to beat Yannick Hanfmann in the quarterfinals and defending champion, Laslo Djere, in the final. Against both players he battled from a set down – Hanfmann failed to serve out the match, with Sonego making a clutch pass to go up 0-30, and Djere had two break points at 5-5 in the second set, with Sonego playing a pinpoint drop shot and huge to serve to save both.
Lorenzo Sonego is proving himself a strong player under pressure. His next opponent, Alexander Zverev, would do well not to underestimate him.
In the ascension
Sonego has been rising through the rankings since the start of his career.
Since getting his first ranking points in 2014, the 25-year-old has been making a slow but steady ascension up the rankings. Here is how his year-end ranking has changed since then.
- 2014: #812
- 2015: #370
- 2016: #300
- 2017: #212
- 2018: #107
- 2019: #52
- 2020: #33
- Now: #28.
Sonego might not be as quick to the party as his countryman, Jannik Sinner, but his consistent progress through the rankings suggests he is not ready to settle with a top-30 position. If Sonego continues at this rate, he could be in the top-20 by the end of the year.
His biggest wins are significant
Sonego will have to change his fortunes against top-20 players should he wish to make the next step, having gone 2-9 against top 20 players so far. This may not sound too convincing but the two wins are fairly significant.
His first came against Karen Khachanov in Monte Carlo two years ago, suggesting the Italian is confident in the principality. His second came as a lucky loser in Vienna last year, against World #1 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic may have been a little distracted given he had secured the year-end #1 spot, however, all credit has to go to Sonego, who handed Djokovic the most one-sided defeat of his career.
Sonego seems more poised than ever to start beating the best players in the world in Monte Carlo.
This Week’s Player To Watch
It is difficult to bet against the unpredictable tennis of Alexander Zverev. Sonego, however, is starting to establish himself as a dangerous player. Defeating the world #1 last year has likely given a lot of confidence and may even have been the catalyst to him being able to dig so deep in Cagliari last week. If Zverev is feeling it on serve, Sonego could respond with his own booming serve, as he won 77% of his first-serve points against Marton Fuscovics in his first round. From the baseline, we have seen that Sonego has the peak to beat anyone in the world.
Sonego is brimming with confidence so whatever happens, it should be a fun match to watch. Plus, it’s on after Nadal’s match. Be sure to catch this week’s player to watch on Wednesday as he tries to advance.
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