Madrid Open 2023: Sonego vs Struff Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Madrid Open first-round match featuring Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jan-Lennard Struff Preview

Two big servers will go head-to-head when Lorenzo Sonego plays lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff at the Madrid Open. Who will prevail?

Lorenzo Sonego is 10-11 for the season, but it has to be said that over half of his defeats have come against the top 20 players. He’s been extremely unlucky with some of the draws he’s been getting. But he does seem to have a couple of winnable rounds at the Madrid Open beginning his first-round match against lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff.

Jan-Lennard Struff got a lucky loser spot. He lost the second round of qualifying on Tuesday in straight sets against Russia’s forgotten man Aslan Karatsev. Struff’s form has dipped massively. Less than three weeks ago he was contesting a rare quarterfinal in Monte Carlo, but it’s now one win in four matches coming to Thursday’s match.

Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jan-Lennard Struff Prediction and Pick

Lorenzo Sonego leads Jan-Lennard Struff 1-0 in their head-to-head. He won that match on the lawns of Stuttgart last season in two tiebreak sets. I can see this match taking a similar route, which means break points will be few and far between. But Sonego can be trusted to win the pressure points in this match. Struff looks a little tight and tensed when the going gets tough and he’s been far too error-prone in his last three matches.