Roland-Garros: Sonego comes from two sets to love down to upset Rublev, meets Khachanov next

Italian Lorenzo Sonego produced an incredible comeback after losing the first two sets to beat Russian Andrey Rublev, the No 7 seed, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 and advance to the last 16 at Roland-Garros on Friday.

Sonego, ranked No 48, will face Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 11 seed, for a spot in the quarter-finals.

WHAT A COMEBACK 👏🤯@lorenzo_sonego does it! From two sets down, he sends Rublev packing 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Hddx7yhVMn

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2023

This equals Sonego’s best performance at a Grand Slam. He also reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2020 and at Wimbledon in 2021. It also marks the first time that the Italian has come from two sets to love down in his career to win in five sets while Rublev was 27-0 when he has won the first two sets prior to this loss.

Speaking on court after the win, Sonego said, “It’s a miracle today. I played my best tennis. After one hour, I was two sets down. I had an incredible comeback today. Thanks for all the support. I played every point with the right attitude & it changed everything.”

He added in his press conference: ” There was a lot of things in my mind, but I tried to stay focused every point and enjoy the moment. The crowd helped me a lot during the match.”

The Italian defeated American Ben Shelton, the No 30 seed (6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Frenchman Ugo Humbert (6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3)) ahead of his victory.

In the previous rounds, Rublev, ranked No 7, edged out Serb Laslo Djere (6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4) and won against Frenchman Corentin Moutet (6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3).

Roland-Garros (Grand Slam), other third-round matches (Stade Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 49,600,000)

• Karen Khachanov beat Thanasi Kokkinakis (WC): 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
• Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe
• Daniel Altmaier vs. Grigor Dimitrov
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Taylor Fritz
• Holger Rune vs. Genaro Alberto Olivieri
• Borna Coric vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
• Nicolas Jarry vs. Marcos Giron
• Yoshihito Nishioka vs. Thiago Seyboth Wild
• Zhizhen Zhang vs. Casper Ruud
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Denis Shapovalov
• Juan Pablo Varillas vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Cameron Norrie
• Diego Schwartzman vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
• Novak Djokovic vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• Fabio Fognini vs. Sebastian Ofner

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