Montpellier 2021: Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Sonego preview, head-to-head & prediction | Open Sud de France

Match details

Fixture: Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Sonego

Date: 24 February 2021

Tournament: Open Sud de France 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Montpellier, France

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Indoor hardcourt

Prize money: €262,170

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | India - Discovery

Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Sonego preview

After a resounding win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round of the Open Sud de France on Monday, Sebastian Korda will face Lorenzo Sonego in the second round on Wednesday.

Korda took little more than an hour to knock out Tsonga on the latter’s home turf, winning 6-4, 6-2. Lorenzo Sonego, on the other hand, needed 140 minutes to outlast another Frenchman in Hugo Gaston, ultimately prevailing 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-1.

Sebastian Korda came into the 2021 Open Sud de France on the back of a disappointing show in the Biella 2 challenger event. The American was ousted in the opening round by Dmitry Popko in straight sets.

But Korda has visibly upped his game at Montpellier and was particularly strong on his serve against Tsonga, conceding a mere eight points on it. The Frenchman failed to break serve even once, and allowed Korda to win more than 80% of the points on both his first and his second serve.

Korda’s return game improved too as the match progressed, helping him win five games in a row to clinch the second set and the match.

Lorenzo Sonego, meanwhile, sent shockwaves on the tour last year when he crushed Novak Djokovic in Vienna. However, the Italian has had a dismal start to his 2021 campaign.

Lorenzo Sonego

Sonego suffered an early exit at the Melbourne 2 event, losing in the first round to Jason Kubler. At the Australian Open, Sonego led by two sets to love against Feliciano Lopez in the second round but ended up losing the match.

The Italian’s start in Montpellier was scratchy too. Sonego lost his serve thrice and often failed to assert his aggressive game against Gaston’s versatility.

Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head

The head-to-head between Sebastian Korda and Lorenzo Sonego is 0-0 as they have never played each other on tour before.

Sebastian Korda vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction

Sebastian Korda's powerful baseline artillery will be a big test for Lorenzo Sonego, who is known for being erratic at times. Armed with a big serve and bigger groundstrokes, Korda can take the racket out of Sonego’s hand if he's on his game.

Hugo Gaston failed to put pressure on the Italian with his underpowered serve and inability to hit through the court with consistency. But Korda can do both of those things with ease, and will thus be a far bigger threat to Sonego.

The Italian himself has a fair bit of firepower, which can cause problems to even the best in business. Given Sonego’s big-hitting ability, it won’t be easy for Korda to dominate the baseline rallies throughout the match. The American might have to mix things up to keep Sonego on his toes.

Prediction: Sebastian Korda to win in three sets.