Who is Lorenzo Sonego? Meet the 28-year-old Italian set to face Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t go into too many early-round matches as the underdog these days, but he’s technically one on paper heading into the second round of the 2024 Australian Open.

Across the net will be unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who won their only previous encounter at the 2021 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Alcaraz has undoubtedly grown by leaps and bounds since that straight-set defeat, reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal two weeks later at the US Open and going on to win his first of two major titles in 2022, but might Sonego be able to bother the new-and-improved Spaniard on Thursday?

Get to know the 28-year-old before his rematch with Alcaraz:

The Basics

• DOB: May 11, 1995
• Birthplace: Turin, Italy
• Height: 6’3” (1.91 m)
• Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
• Career-high rank: No. 21
• Coach: Gipo Arbino

The Bio

Lorenzo Sonego has been making music on and off the court since turning pro in 2013, but it wasn’t until 2019 that the Italian began to make his mark on the ATP charts, reaching his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Monte Carlo winning his first title on grass in Antalya.

He thrilled his home fans at the 2021 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, surging into the semifinals and pushing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to three sets.

Three months later, Sonego dropped his first single, a reggaeton collaboration with childhood friend AlterEdo.

“When my friend and I were young, we would sing a lot of songs together, and so it was a moment for us to do something together,” he said at the time. “He wrote this song, and I really like music. I love reggaetón. It was only for our enjoyment, for a laugh, and to do something different, something other than tennis.”

This Week

Two years removed from his career-best season, Sonego spent 2023 rebuilding his ranking after briefly dropping outside the Top 70. He began the new season at the Adelaide International, where he won a nail-biter third-set tiebreaker against Yannick Hanfmann before bowing out to Sebastian Korda in the second round.

Unseeded in Melbourne, he rallied from set down to outlast fellow former world No. 21 Dan Evans, 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (4). The big-serving Italian struck 23 aces and won 82% of points behind his first serve, rounding into form just in time to face Alcaraz.

Can Sonego maintain his unbeaten record against the world No. 2 and score his first Top 5 win at a Grand Slam?