US Open, 1st round, Wednesday, 28.08.2024, 02:30
Whoever wins one of the preparation tournaments for the US Open is usually one of the extended favorites – Lorenzo Sonego has to come to terms with this pressure! The Italian is truly one of the players we expect to be right at the front.
Especially not because he’s up against a really tough opponent from the USA in the first round. So a clear-cut affair? I don’t think so! I’ll tell you more in my Sonego Paul tip, including why I’d go for a tie-break here!
The Americans are naturally under more scrutiny than many others at this US Open. The fans would like to see their boys finally make it to the top once again.
Tommy Paul would love to take on this role, but is the 27-year-old consistent enough for such a task? Last year he reached the last 16, where he was beaten by compatriot Ben Shelton
It was his best result here in the Big Apple, so there is still plenty of room for improvement. Paul had actually hoped to play a strong preparation in order to be able to serve with confidence in New York.
But nothing came of it. In Cincinnati, he went straight out with a 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 loss against Flavio Cobolli, before that in Canada he won against Luca Darderi, but had to digest a defeat against Brandon Nakashima shortly afterwards.
Things went much better on grass, where he even won titles. However, the green grass is now history and Paul has to get to grips with hard court. He’s had plenty to do with Italians in recent weeks
Darderi, Cobolli and now Sonego, it’s not going to be easy to get a second win in this period. Incidentally, the two have already played against each other once before, in two direct duels in 2021.
One went to Sonego, the other to Paul, so it’s a draw. It is interesting to note that both matches went to a tie-break. But who is favored for the duel on Tuesday night?
Our sports betting apps show odds of 3.75 to 1.25, so the favorite is from the USA. Of course, Lorenzo Sonego has nothing to fear, as he brings enough to the table to spring a surprise.
The best recommendation is, of course, Winston-Salem’s title. Just a few days ago, he was at the top here, beating Alex Michelsen 6-0, 6-3 in the final without any problems and performing incredibly confidently throughout the tournament.
He didn’t give up a single set! Without wishing to diminish his success, I must nevertheless make a comment: Michelsen, previously David Goffin, Pavel Kotov and Dominic Stricker, these opponents can of course not be pigeonholed with Tommy Paul.
In Cincinnati it was a different story, after a narrow win over Borna Coric, Sonego lost to Jaume Munar. In Canada, he defeated Tallon Griekspoor before Alejandro Tabilo was the last man standing.
Ultimately, I can categorize Sonego as follows: Somehow close to the extended world top, but still just not consistent enough. Does he still have positive memories from New York?
He reached the 2nd round three times, including recently, but that was as good as it got. In this respect, I can clearly answer my previous question in the negative, even though he did face off against Jannik Sinner in 2023 and no success was to be expected here
My Sonego Paul tip
Does Tommy Paul make it exciting against Lorenzo Sonego or will it be a clear-cut affair in the end? I don’t think that either of them is significantly stronger at the moment, although the American may be better overall.
After all, Sonego is the champion from Winston-Salem and has been able to gain a lot of confidence here. As the Italian serves well and Paul is not one of the most consistent professionals, I have decided on the following bet:
We’ll see at least one tiebreak!
