Vienna 2020: Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview, head-to-head & prediction | Erste Bank Open

Match details

Fixture: Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego

Date: 29 October 2020

Tournament: Erste Bank Open 2020

Round: Second round (Round of 16)

Venue: Vienna, Austria

Category: ATP 500

Surface: Indoor hardcourt

Prize money: €1,409,510

Match timing: Not before 2 pm local time, 6.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony ESPN

Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview

World No. 31 Hubert Hurkacz continues his campaign at the 2020 Erste Bank Open in Vienna as he takes on lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

Hurkacz overcame the challenge of Attila Balazs in the first round with a fair bit of authority. The Pole won in straight sets, and looked comfortable in the indoor conditions for most of the match.

Hurkacz is blessed with a straightforward early draw compared to many of the higher-ranked players. That said, he is slated to face one of Novak Djokovic or Borna Coric should he get past Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16.

The 23-year-old has been touted as a future star by many, but he hasn’t done enough to justify those claims yet. Hurkacz has been in topsy-turvy form all year, and comes into this match with a 15-11 W-L record.

The Pole did make the quarterfinals of the Cologne 1 event though, before bowing out to Roberto Bautista Agut.

Lorenzo Sonego

Lorenzo Sonego meanwhile has made the most of his fortunate entry into the main draw. The Italian came in after Diego Schwartzman withdrew from the tournament at the last minute.

Sonego hadn’t been in the best of form on hardcourts since the resumption of the tour, but in the Vienna first round he brought out some of his best tennis to brush aside Dusan Lajovic.

The Italian won by a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday, and would be particularly pleased with how well he served. Sonego didn't lose his serve all match and won an impressive 82% of his first serve points.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head

The head-to-head between Hubert Hurkacz and Lorenzo Sonego on the ATP tour is currently tied at 1-1. They have faced off once each on clay and hardcourt, with Hurkacz winning the encounter on the harder surface.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction

Hubert Hurkacz

Hubert Hurkacz is a very solid player off both wings, and relies on his accurate groundstrokes to stay in the rallies. But the Pole can also finish points early by using his height to hit with flat power from the baseline.

Lorenzo Sonego on the other hand moves well across the court, and should be able to retrieve most of Hurkacz's missiles. The key for Sonego would be to serve well throughout the match, and not give his 23-year-old opponent too many chances to tee off on the return.

Hurkacz will likely face a tough time against Sonego, but should eventually wear down the Italian with his weight of shot.

Prediction: Hubert Hurkacz to win in three sets.