‘It’s a miracle’ – Lorenzo Sonego left stunned by his stirring French Open comeback against Andrey Rublev

Lorenzo Sonego described his shock French Open win over seventh seed Andrey Rublev as a “miracle” after coming back from two sets down to win a third-round epic.

The Italian looked down and out after he was bageled in set two, but he mounted an extraordinary fightback to win 5-7 0-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in three hours and 42 minutes.

“It’s a miracle,” Sonego said on court.

“Today I played my best tennis. It was tough, being two sets down after an hour. It’s incredible.”

Sonego’s triumph was the latest in a string of shocks in the men’s singles draw at Roland-Garros, following early exits for Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.

Monte Carlo champion Rublev was considered a big favourite ahead of their clash, but world No. 48 Sonego showed remarkable resilience to turn the momentum back in his favour and earn a fourth-round clash with 11th seed Karen Khachanov.

“I played more aggressively in the final three sets. It’s so tough to compete with Rublev when he’s being so aggressive himself,” Sonego added.

“I did my best on my serve and played more aggressively at the net and the baseline. I played every point with the right attitude.

“It was really tough. I was focused on my serve and being aggressive. It’s nice to be here and play on [Court Suzanne] Lenglen. It’s a special moment for me, and I put everything into every point.”

A run to the fourth round marks Sonego’s joint-best Grand Slam run, after reaching the same stage in Paris in 2020.

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