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Lorenzo Sonego Roland Garros 2020

Five things to know about Lorenzo Sonego ahead of first Masters 1000 semi-final


Lorenzo Sonego stunned Andrey Rublev to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final in front of his home crowd, where he will face World No 1 Novak Djokovic.

The 26-year-old Italian has enjoyed a dream week in the Italian capital, beating two top 10 stars in Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev to set up the Djokovic clash.

Tennishead looks at five things you should know about the Italian.

1) Already beaten Novak Djokovic

The Italian has only ever faced Novak Djokovic once on the ATP circuit and defeated the Serbian handsomely.

Sonego thrashed the World No 1 6-2 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open in October last year, taking just 70 minutes to oust the World No 1.

2) Tennis over football

Alongside tennis, Sonego was also a talented footballer and admitted he would have tried to become professional if he were to choose a path away from tennis.

The Italian star supports Torino FC.

3) Who are Sonego’s idols?

Sonego’s biggest idol on the tennis circuit is Roger Federer. In their only meeting, the Italian was beaten convincingly by the Swiss 6-2 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the French Open.

Following the match, Sonego took to social media to say it was a ‘great honour’ to face the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

The Italian also idolises football legend Ronaldinho.

4) What is Sonego’s best performance at a Major?

Sonego’s best result at a Grand Slam was a fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros last year. The Italian battled past Emilio Gomez in 5 sets before beating both Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz in straight sets. The 26-year-old eventually went down to 12th seed Diego Schwartzman in the round of 16.

5) Has Sonego won any titles?

Lorenzo Sonego has won one ATP singles title in his career to date. The Italian saved a championship point against Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic to win the Antalya Open on grass in 2019. He broke into the top 50 for the first time after lifting the title.


Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.