Is ‘Sascha’ on his way to a second Grand Slam title?
Following Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal, the German is seeded No. 1 in New York and aims to claim the second Grand Slam title of his career.
However, his form leading up to the tournament at Flushing Meadows still leaves room for improvement. At the Masters in Montreal, the Hamburg native was knocked out in his very first match, and at the tournament in Cincinnati, he only made it to the round of 16.
His opponent, however, has also had a mediocre hard-court season in recent weeks. In his three tournament appearances, he achieved a mere 50 percent win rate across six matches. Even at the comparatively weak field at the Winston-Salem tournament—which he won two years ago—his run ended after just three rounds.
On top of that, the Hamburg native is a nemesis for him: In six head-to-head matches, the Italian has always come up short! Given this situation, our prediction for the match between Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego is a 3-1 victory for this year’s French Open champion.
Alexander Zverev – Lorenzo Sonego Head-to-Head Record
As described at the beginning, the German is, to put it mildly, not a favorite opponent for the pro from Turin. They’ve faced each other six times, and the world No. 2 has come out on top every time.
In their three meetings on hard courts, Zverev also won two of those matches without dropping a set—including their most recent clash just under a year ago in Beijing. For the upcoming match between Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego, the odds also point toward a victory for the Hamburg native.
Alexander Zverev – Lorenzo Sonego Prediction
It’s showtime: Alexander Zverev kicks off the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and for the first time in his career, he’s the No. 1 seed! The omens are excellent for his second Grand Slam title following his triumph at the French Open this past spring. Jannik Sinner has withdrawn, former champion Novak Djokovic is already out in his 20th appearance, and Carlos Alcaraz is coming off a very long injury layoff, leaving him lacking match practice.
The Spaniard hasn’t held a racket since April of this year. Furthermore, Zverev has traditionally performed well at the tournament in New York: in 2020, he reached the final, and in four of his past five appearances, the German has reached at least the semifinals.
Admittedly, his form has been shaky lately, but his upcoming opponent seems like the right match to help him regain his rhythm. Sonego has never beaten “Sascha” and has an especially poor record at the US Open.
The world No. 89 has competed in the tournament eight times and has never made it past the second round.
Worse still: In the majority (5) of his appearances, the 31-year-old was knocked out immediately in the first round! On top of that, he hasn’t played convincingly on hard courts recently. In light of this, for the match between Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego, we’re picking the betting odds for a German victory in four sets.
