TennisSection previews the 2022 Sydney Open as Hugo Gaston takes on Lorenzo Sonego in the first round on Monday, January 10th, 2022.
Both Hugo Gaston and Lorenzo Sonego begin their 2022 campaign at the Sydney Open. The fifth-seeded Italian went 9-11 on hard courts in 2021, winning back-to-back matches on three occasions. Can he avoid the upset against the drop shot machine Hugo Gaston?
Hugo Gaston sits at career-high ranking of World No. 67 ahead of his first match of the 2022 season at the Sydney Open. Gaston’s ranking is high enough to warrant automatic main draw entry at most ATP Tour events and the four Grand Slams. His scintillating year on tour earned a call up to France’s Davis Cup team for the first time last November. Gaston’s jump in the ATP rankings (by more than 30 spots) came on the back of reaching five finals across the ATP Challenger and tour level. Although the silver continues to elude him, it is a matter of time before he hoists an ATP title.
With Hugo Gaston falling at the final hurdle, Lorenzo Sonego had no such problem. The hard-hitting 26-year-old won his second career title in Cagliari. He became the first Italian in almost 15 years to win an ATP title on home soil. It is certainly a remarkable stat considering the emergence of players such as Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berrettini in the last few years. Sonego also finished runner-up at Eastbourne and memorably made the fourth round of Wimbledon losing to Roger Federer. Although he made respectable Round of 16 appearances in Cincinnati and the quarters in San Diego, he fell short to match the dizzying heights of his first half of the campaign.
Lorenzo Sonego leads Hugo Gaston 1-0 in their head-to-head. It was a first-round meeting in Montpellier last season where the Italian emerged triumphant in three sets. Their first-round showdown at the Sydney Open should take a similar itinerary. Gaston is a player with an array of trick shots that can disturb an opponent’s play pattern and rhythm. Sonego, for his part, will look to use his explosive power off the ground to put the Frenchman in uncomfortable positions. Nonetheless this should be a close one, and I am tipping the higher-ranked Sonego to have the edge.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Lorenzo Sonego in 3 sets.
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