SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 01: Lorenzo Sonego of Italy plays a forehand during a quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud of Norway at the San Diego Open at Barnes Tennis Center on October 01, 2021 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
World No. 65 Lorenzo Sonego faces world No. 44 Alexander Bublik in the Metz Open final on Sunday in what promises to be a riveting encounter.
The Kazakhstani No. 1 has managed to reach the finals for the third time this year. He won the Open Sud de France tournament by defeating Alexander Zverev before losing to Maxime Cressy in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships final.
Bublik overcame stutters in his first couple of matches to take down Evan Furness and Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets each. In the quarter-finals, Bublik defeated Holger Rune in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka took on Bublik in the semifinal. The veteran was trailing 2-1 in the first set when he was forced to retire owing to injury.
The Italian tennis pro has managed to reach his first final in 2022. He was ousted in the semifinals in Argentina by home favorite Diego Schwartzman.
Sonego came into the tournament on the back of a first-round exit at the US Open. However, he has managed to turn things around in style and reached the finals without dropping a set. In the first match, he defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-3. The 27-year-old battled hard to win the first set against Gilles Simon in the round of 16 and came up trumps 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to enter the quarter-finals. Sebastian Korda couldn’t stop the marauding Sonego as the American suffered a loss in straight sets. In the semi-finals, Sonego had his work cut out as he took on the defending champion Hubert Hurkacz. The world No. 10 came close to winning the first set but Sonego managed to eke out a win and in the second set, Hurkacz seemed a bit rattled and couldn’t muster a comeback.
Lorenzo Sonego has a healthy 3-0 lead over Alexander Bublik in the head-to-head scoreline.
Prediction: Lorenzo Sonego to win in three sets.
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