4 unknown facts about Lorenzo Sonego, the Italian looking to end Ben Shelton's Australian Open run

Lorenzo Sonego will be Ben Shelton's quarterfinal opponent in Australian Open 2025. The two will lock horns for the third out, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. Ben Shelton won their first encounter in the opening round of the 2022 Cincinnati Open while Sonego won their second meeting, which came in the first round of the 2023 French Open.

Both players have looked in good touch so far at the Melbourne Major, with Sonego reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal after a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Learner Tien. Ben Shelton reached the last eight of the tournament for the second time after his fourth-round opponent Gael Monfils retired during the fourth set of their match.

Whoever out of Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Sonego wins, will face either top seed Jannik Sinner or eighth seed Alex de Minaur in the semifinals of the Melbourne Major. On that note, let us take a look at the some unknown facts about the Italian.

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#4. Partnering Jannik Sinner in doubles

Lorenzo Sonego has partnered Jannik Sinner in doubles, and the duo were successful during the 2023 Davis Cup Finals. Their first encounter during the tournament was Italy's quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

With the scores tied at 1-1, Sinner and Sonego played the decisive doubles clash against Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof, winning 6-3, 6-4 to help Italy reach the semifinals, where they faced Serbia.

The Serbs took the lead in the tie thanks to Miomir Kecmanovic's victory over Lorenzo Musetti. Jannik Sinner leveled things up with his 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic and teamed up with Sonego for another decisive doubles clash.

The duo registered another 6-3, 6-4 win, this time over Djokovic and Kecmanovic to propel Italy to the Davis Cup final, where they beat Australia 2-0.

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#3. Masters 1000 semifinal

Ben Shelton's Australian Open opponent Lorenzo Sonego has already reached a Masters 1000 semifinal so far in his career. This came at the Italian Open in 2021, where he was unseeded.

The Italian started his run in Rome that year with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over 14th seed Gael Monfils before defeating compatriot Gianluca Mager 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Masters 1000 event.

Here, Lorenzo Sonego edged out fourth seed Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) before defeating Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his maiden Masters 1000 semifinal. The Italian put in a tough fight against Novak Djokovic in the final four but could not prevent the Serb from winning 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 and reaching the final of the Rome Masters.

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#2. Victory over Novak Djokovic

Lorenzo Sonego has also registered a win over Novak Djokovic so far in his career. This came at the 2020 edition of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where the Italian entered the main draw as a lucky loser. He reached the quarterfinals following straight-set wins over Dusan Lajovic (6-4, 6-3) and Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(6), 7-6(2).

Sonego faced Novak Djokovic in the last eight and put in a dominant display to win 6-2, 6-1 and reach the semifinals. Here, he faced Dan Evans and registered another straight-set victory to triumph 6-3, 6-4 and reach his maiden ATP 500 final.

Lorenzo Sonego faced Andrey Rublev in the title clash in Vienna, and the Russian won 6-4, 6-4. This remains the Italian's last appearance at an ATP 500 final so far in his career.

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#1. 6 wins vs Top-10 players

Ben Shelton's Australian Open opponent Lorenzo Sonego has registered six wins against top-10 players so far during his career. The first of these came against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Erste Bank Open in Vienna. Sonego's next two wins came over Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev in the 2021 Italian Open.

In 2022, the Italian registered a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over then-World No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals of the Moselle Open to reach the final, where he defeated Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-2 to clinch his third singles title.

In 2023, Lorenzo Sonego beat then-World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(4), 6-4 in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships to reach the quarterfinals, where he would lose to Alexander Zverev. A few months later, the Italian beat the then-World No. 7 Andrey Rublev 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the third round of the French Open. This remains Sonego's last top-10 victory so far.