Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, and looks to avoid his earliest exit in the United States in 11 years.<\/p>\nAlexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego match preview<\/p>\n
For the first time in his career, Zverev enters the US Open as a Grand Slam champion, having got the monkey off his back at this year’s French Open.<\/p>\n
The tournament in Queens was for years synonymous with the top seed’s gut-wrenching defeat in 2020 when he failed to serve out the title match against Dominic Thiem.<\/p>\n
It took about six more years, but the 25-time ATP champion finally got his hands on the victor’s trophy at the end of a Major, and now heads into his 11th main-draw appearance in New York playing the freest Slam tennis of his career.<\/p>\n
That much was evident en route to the Roland Garros crown and for much of the Wimbledon run two months ago before falling to his nemesis Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n
However, even that match showed Zverev’s newfound level, as he took a set off the eventual champion and seemed to be out-hitting the world No. 1 for a set and a half before Sinner raised his level and Zverev’s dropped.<\/p>\n
Heading into Tuesday’s match at 18-2 for the season in Grand Slams, the 29-year-old seeks his 19th triumph to see off the threat of Sonego.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lorenzo-sonego-2-6a14df3bb119e.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Imago \/ LaPresse<\/p>\n
Indeed, the big-hitting Italian is the undeniable underdog, especially considering his opponent’s run in Slams this year, as well as the German not suffering a first-round loss in New York since his debut appearance in 2015.<\/p>\n
It also does not help his prospects that New York has statistically brought out his worst performance levels, with the second round representing his ceiling.<\/p>\n
Sonego’s previous visits to Flushing have been marked by five round-one exits and three second-round eliminations, a record that underlines his paucity of match wins in Queens: three.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old’s 27% win rate is significantly below his Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon records \u2014 59%, 56% and 56% \u2014 highlighting how it has not been a happy hunting ground.<\/p>\n
As such, the four-time titleholder faces an uphill challenge against a player he has never defeated, especially at a tournament where he has scarcely thrived throughout his career.<\/p>\n
Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head
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\n
<\/p>\n
China Open (2025)\u00a0– Round of 32: Zverev 6-4 6-3<\/p>\n
Halle Open (2025)\u00a0– Round of 16: Zverev 3-6 6-4 7-6(2)<\/p>\n
Halle Open (2024)\u00a0– Round of 16: Zverev 6-4 7-6(5)<\/p>\n
United Cup (2024)\u00a0– Group Stage: Zverev 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4<\/p>\n
Dubai (2023)\u00a0– Quarter-final: Zverev 7-5 6-4<\/p>\n
Monte-Carlo Masters (2021)\u00a0– Round of 32: Zverev 6-3 6-3<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While Zverev and Sonego’s seventh meeting will mark their first at a Grand Slam, the German has dominated this match-up, holding a 6-0 advantage.<\/p>\n
Of the 14 sets played, the world No. 2 has won 12, further highlighting the 29-year-old’s superiority against the four-time titlist.<\/p>\n
The top seed carries a 17-3 record against players outside the top 50 in 2026, with a defeat to Tallon Griekspoor in Canada ending his 16-match winning streak against such opponents.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Sonego has fallen to defeat in all three meetings with top-10 players in 2026, further stressing his uphill challenge.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/20\/33\/sm-words-green-background.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We say: Zverev to win in four sets<\/p>\n
Zverev may have lacked the necessary momentum and match-winning rhythm since his Wimbledon run, but the top seed’s strong run at Majors this year and nine-match winning streak in first rounds stand him in great stead before facing Sonego for the seventh time.<\/p>\n
Even though the German may drop a third set to the world No. 91, this one should be done and dusted in four as the 2020 finalist advances in New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Seye Omidiora | 31 Aug 2026 01:21, Last updated: 31 Aug 2026 01:21 Aiming to find some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[243,2102,2104,575,2099,2101,1834,1046,2103,2100,113,2106,2105,28],"class_list":["post-61746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alexander-zverev","tag-alexander-zverev","tag-cycling","tag-epl","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-golf","tag-nfl","tag-olympics","tag-premier-league","tag-rugby","tag-sport","tag-sports-mole","tag-teams","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}