Monte Carlo Masters 2021: Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (5) Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego

Date: 14 April 2021

Tournament: Rolex Monte Carlo Masters 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 32)

Venue: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Claycourt

Prize money: €2,082,960

Match timing: Approx. 5 pm local time, 8.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego preview

Lorenzo Sonego won his second career ATP title at the 2021 Sardegna Open

World No. 7 Alexander Zverev will take on World No. 28 Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

Zverev began his year in respectable fashion, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2021 Australian Open - where he lost to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets. The 23-year-old then played some solid tennis in Acapulco, taking home his first 500-level title in more than a year by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

While Zverev did suffer an early-round exit at the Miami Masters (losing to Emil Ruusuvuori), that gave him plenty of time to rest for the claycourt swing.

Seeded fifth at Monte Carlo, the German is one of the best claycourters on tour right now. Two of Zverev's three Masters titles have come on clay, at the expense of Novak Djokovic (Rome 2017) and Dominic Thiem (Madrid 2018).

Lorenzo Sonego, meanwhile, started the new year in disappointing fashion, losing seven of his first 13 matches. But the Italian has turned his fortunes around this month, putting together a title-winning run at the Sardegna Open.

Sonego was tested thoroughly in Cagliari, going to three sets in each of his last three matches at the tournament. But the 25-year-old refused to buckle, and instead outlasted Laslo Djere, Taylor Fritz and Yannick Hanfmann to lift the trophy.

Sonego then proceeded to beat Marton Fucsovics in the first round at Monte Carlo on Tuesday, to book his meeting with Zverev.

Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head

The second-round match in Monte Carlo is the first professional meeting between Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction

Alexander Zverev prepares for a forehand

Although Alexander Zverev proved his claycourt credentials at the onset of his young career, he has not had great results on the surface since 2018. He would be looking to change that at Monte Carlo, especially since he is one of the form players coming into the clay season.

Blessed with a large wingspan, Zverev can effortlessly hammer high and deep groundstrokes off both wings. And while the German does struggle to grab the initiative in the rallies at times, his defense and counterpunching skills often bail him out of trouble on clay.

Lorenzo Sonego, on his part, has a strong forehand that gives him a lot of attacking options. The Italian can strike with incredible precision and pace off that wing, while his two-handed backhand isn't bad either.

Sonego also has the court coverage and shot selection to succeed on clay, a surface he grew up on. He could make it a tough outing for Zverev if the latter doesn't look to hit through the court consistently.

That said, Sonego has much less experience of winning matches at the highest level than Zverev. And that might just might give the German a slight edge in this match-up.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.