Metz 2022: Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Moselle Open
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego.
Date: September 24, 2022.
Tournament: Moselle Open 2022.
Round: Semifinal.
Venue: Metz, France.
Category: ATP 250.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: €534,555.
Match timing: 2 pm local time, 8 am EST, 12 noon GMT and 5:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | Australia - beIN Sports.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego preview
Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz will lock horns with World No. 65 Lorenzo Sonego in the semifinals of the 2022 Moselle Open on Saturday.
Following an opening-round bye, Hurkacz was up against Dominic Thiem in the second round. He knocked out the 2020 US Open champion to advance to the quarterfinals, where he took on Arthur Rinderknech.
Hurkacz was off to a flying start as he raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set. Rinderknech failed to make any inroads on his opponent's serve. The Pole soon wrapped up the opening set by serving it out. The second set was even more one-sided, with the defending champion running away with the last five games to win the match 6-4, 6-2.
Hurkacz has now advanced to his sixth semifinal of the season. He lost the first three, but won the next couple of them to progress to the final.
Lorenzo Sonego sent sixth seed Aslan Karatsev packing in the first round with a straight-sets win over him. He then defeated Giles Simon in the second round to set up a quarterfinal contest against Sebastian Korda.
Sonego bagged an early break to serve to go 3-1 up. He was never really threatened on his serve and was able to hold on to the lead until the end of the set to clinch it. Korda had a couple of break point chances in the second set, but failed to make the most of them.
Sonego secured a break of serve in the seventh game of the set to lead 4-3. Following a hold of serve by the Italian, Korda served to stay in the match at 5-3. The American saved a match point to eke out a service hold, but it wasn't enough to mount a comeback.
Sonego closed out the proceedings in the following game to win 6-4, 6-4. He has now made it to his second semifinal of the year, and his first since February.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego head-to-head
Sonego leads Hurkacz 2-1 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2020 Vienna Open in two tight sets.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego odds
Odds will be added once they're available.
Hubert Hurkacz vs Lorenzo Sonego prediction
Both players have reached the semifinals without dropping a single set. Hurkacz's serve, as usual, has given him a huge advantage over his opponents. He didn't lose serve at all in the quarterfinals and rained down 12 aces. Sonego also recorded his best serving stats of the tournament in the previous round.
The Italian had a winning record against the 25-year-old, but their previous match was nearly two years ago. Hurkacz has risen to the top of the men's game since then. Sonego will need to replicate his serving performance from the quarterfinals to stand a chance of winning in the next round.
If he's able to put the defending champion under pressure during his service games, the scales might tip in his favor. Sonego has won just three of his 17 matches against top 10 players in the past. Unless he steps up his game big time, it's hard to see him stopping Hurkacz from reaching yet another final here.
Pick: Hubert Hurkacz to win in straight sets.