Sonego once conquered Alcaraz: 'He's different now'

Not many players can say they have a winning Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Carlos Alcaraz. Lorenzo Sonego can, and he will hope to use his 1-0 mark against the Spaniard to his advantage when they meet in the second round of the Australian Open.

Their first encounter came at the Cincinnati Open in 2021, when Alcaraz had just turned 18.

“He was really young. He's different now,” Sonego told ATPTour.com. “He was [outside the Top] 50 in the world. Now he is No. 2. Yeah, he improved a lot in tennis, and I need to do my best to beat him.

“I want to do my best for sure because every time is an opportunity to improve something in my tennis. I want to just enjoy the moment.”

Sonego did that when the pair clashed in Cincinnati. The Italian ousted the then-No. 55 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings 6-3, 7-6(6) in a gruelling two hours and 11 minutes.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Sonego’s success behind his second serve was the difference. The victor claimed 57 per cent of second-serve points compared to 37 per cent for Alcaraz.

The Italian believes that Alcaraz, who has since reached World No. 1, is a much different player today.

“He changed a lot [in his] game. He's another player,” Sonego said. “He's aggressive on court. He stays near to the baseline, and he wants to be aggressive. He has a good touch, good volley, good return.”

No matter how tough the challenge will be, Sonego is looking forward to the opportunity to face Alcaraz on one of the biggest stages of the sport. With a win, the 28-year-old will reach the third round of the Australian Open for the second time (also 2022).

“I think it's really nice to be here and to play on centre,” Sonego said of competing inside Rod Laver Arena. “This is my first time on the court, and I want to really enjoy and have fun.”