Fabio Fognini

[Lucas]

[Razing]

[Razing]

[arti]

Fognini Rises To Career-High, Mover Of The Week

Spoiler:

No. 12 (Career High) Fabio Fognini, +6
The 31-year-old became the first Italian to win an ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters after beating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match. Fognini stunned 11-time champion Rafael Nadal and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev in straight sets en route to the trophy, which is his ninth ATP Tour crown. Fognini jumps six places to a career-high No. 12 in the ATP Rankings following his run to the title in the Principality. Read More.
No. 24 (Career High) Dusan Lajovic, +24
The Serbian recorded five consecutive tour-level victories for the first time in his career to reach his maiden ATP Tour final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Lajovic did not drop a set en route to the final, overcoming Malek Jaziri, David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Lorenzo Sonego and Daniil Medvedev before his straight-sets loss to Fognini. The 28-year-old soars 24 spots to career-high No. 24 in the ATP Rankings.
No. 28 (Career High) Guido Pella, +7
After a successful 'Golden Swing' which included a title run at the Brasil Open (d. Garin) and a runner-up finish at the inaugural Cordoba Open (l. to Londero), Pella continued his impressive start to the season by reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. Pella defeated Rio Open presented by Claro champion Laslo Djere, seventh seed Marin Cilic and Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato to reach the last eight in the Principality, where he fell to 11-time Monte-Carlo titlist Nadal. Pella rises seven positions to a career-high No. 28 in the ATP Rankings.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fognini ... april-2019

[arti]

[arti]

[grzes430]

What Fognini Told Nadal Before Their Monte-Carlo SF

Spoiler:

Italian into his first ATP Masters 1000 final
Walking onto Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club to play Rafael Nadal is a daunting task. The Spaniard has won 11 titles on the main court at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

But on Saturday, Italian Fabio Fognini felt no fear. In fact, he says he played up his chances to Nadal himself.

“With Rafa, it's always difficult,” Fognini said. “I was telling him yesterday that I knew that I have the game to play against him. Sometimes I won, a few matches. One crazy one in the US Open and two times on clay. So I knew that I had nothing to lose, because, of course, especially when you go with him on clay, it's always really tough.”

After a stunning one-hour, 36-minute display, Fognini is into his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final. The Italian ended Nadal’s Monte-Carlo streaks of 25 straight sets and 18 consecutive matches won.

Fognini arrived at this event having lost seven of his previous eight tour-level matches, including four in a row on clay. In the first round, Andrey Rublev took a 6-4, 4-1 lead against Fognini and had five chances to make it 5-1. But the Italian battled back, and he has not looked back since.

“If you told me at the beginning of the week, I will see you on Sunday, I would laugh in your face. I was 6-4, 4-1 down and break points for 5-1, and I made an ace on the line,” Fognini said. “But that's incredible sport, so I was lucky. Now I'm in the final. And of course I’ll go for the title tomorrow.”


Fognini arrived in the Principality without momentum, trying to bounce back from a disappointing first-round straight-sets loss in Marrakech against Czech Jiri Vesely. Just days later, he is the first Italian Monte-Carlo finalist since Corrado Barazzutti (l. to Borg) in 1977.

“Fabio played an unbelievable match. He played so well. Rafa is Rafa… it’s a fantastic result,” former Italian Davis Cup Captain Paolo Bertolucci told ATP Tennis Radio. “We couldn’t imagine that after Marrakech... But the sport is like this. Something very important could change in one day and then you can see your next match much easier and start to play much better and finish on Sunday.”

Listen To ATP Tennis Radio's Interview With Paolo Bertolucci:


It’s a fitting location for Fognini’s resurgence, as he lives only a 45-minute drive from the Monte-Carlo Country Club. It’s closer to his residence than the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, a Masters 1000 tournament held in Rome.

“Today playing against Rafa, even if you play in Italy, it's really tough,” Fognini said, with a smile. “I'm living really close by, and it's a big opportunity to them to come here and try to watch me play. So I don't know tomorrow how many they are coming, but that's not my problem. It's his problem. I hope that they are coming, a lot of people.”

Fognini’s friends and family have been able to come out to support the 13th seed, including his wife, 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta.

“It was an amazing day. He played really, really well. He was really consistent, really focused on the game. It was not easy to play today, a really windy day and Rafa had some mistakes, a few mistakes in important moments,” Pennetta told ATP Tennis Radio. “It’s not that usual that you see that from Rafa, but it was really difficult to play today. I saw Fabio also played really well yesterday with the wind. He’s a guy who in these conditions, he plays really well.”

Listen To ATP Tennis Radio's Interview With Flavia Pennetta:


The 31-year-old will meet Serbian Dusan Lajovic — who had never made an ATP Tour final or advanced past a Masters 1000 quarter-final — for the trophy. It is a big opportunity for both men, as this is the first Masters 1000 championship match between two first-time finalists at the elite level since the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters.

“I think it’s the best moment for him. He was working all his career to get to a final at the best tournaments. This one is one of the best after the Grand Slams,” Pennetta said. “It’s a really important day for both of them because normally you face Rafa, Djokovic, Roger in the final. It’s a big chance for both of them so it’s going to be a really emotional moment.”

“It's going to be really tough. He has nothing to lose. I have nothing to lose. We start 50/50,” Fognini said. “Even if in the [ATP] Rankings I'm higher than him, I know that I have to run a lot tomorrow.”

Did You Know?
Fognini is the fourth man to claim three or more victories against Nadal on clay, following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Gaston Gaudio.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fognini ... f-reaction

[Żilu]

[Mario]

#9) Monte Carlo 2019


the hindu

R1 [Q] Andriej Rubliow 4-6 7-5 6-4
R2 Gilles Simon walkower (plecy)
R3 [3] Alexander Zverev 7-6(6) 6-1
QF [9] Borna Corić 1-6 6-3 6-2
SF [2] Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-2
W Dusan Lajović 6-3 6-4

[Żilu]

[Lleyton]

[Lucas]

Fognini Reflects On Winning Monte-Carlo Title

Spoiler:

Are we witnessing a new Fabio Fognini at age 31?

The Italian won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Sunday for his first ATP Masters 100 title, but refused to look too far ahead afterwards. Fognini proved this week that he can beat anyone in the world when he’s at his best, but quickly shook off expectations of him being a favourite to win on clay for the rest of the season.

“I’m thinking about Monte-Carlo at the moment because I would like to enjoy this trophy tonight with my family and friends. And then tomorrow is another week. It's my mom's birthday, so I would like to enjoy it,” he said. “I’m just thinking about the next tournament, the next match that I would like to play, and we will see if I'm in really good shape. You have to be lucky also in the draw. [It’s] a lot of things. But it's not my problem right now, believe me.

“If I’m being honest, the favourite is still Rafael Nadal. I'm not the only one that says this. He’s won, I don't know how many times, and he’s still the favourite every week that we play on this surface.”


His incredible week in Monte-Carlo seemed improbable at the start. Fognini arrived at this event with no wins over a player in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings this season and an 0-4 record on clay. He trailed by a set and faced five break points for 1-5 in the second set of his opening-round match against Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev, but found a way to pull off a comeback win.

Buoyed by the victory and aided by a second-round walkover against Frenchman Gilles Simon, Fognini came alive. Wins over third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany and ninth seed Borna Coric of Croatia were the appetizer to his shocking semi-final upset of Nadal, which saw Fognini take 11 of the last 14 games against the Spaniard. Fognini capped off the tournament with another high-quality performance against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia for the title.

“The first match I was really lucky. Second one, also,” admitted Fognini. “And then I started to play great. I think I played really good with Sascha. It was really tough against Borna, because we played last and the weather was colder than normal.

“In the semi-final, I think I played my best tennis from the beginning to the end. With Rafa, everybody knows that you have to play really good in the beginning until the end. And today was the final. The most important thing was the cup.”


Fognini’s happiness off the court is translating into success on the court. He spoke highly of the stability that his wife, former US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, and their nearly two-year-old son, Federico, have brought into his life.

“I have everything in my life,” said Fognini. “I have a baby. I have a wife. They are with me all the time, so there’s nothing more to ask than that.”

The family support seemed to extend to the entire crowd inside Court Rainier III, who loudly cheered him on throughout his matches. Fognini was born 45 minutes away in Sanremo and practised at the tournament site growing up. He admitted that Monte-Carlo feels like his home tournament and made lifting the trophy even more surreal.

“Parents and friends, I don’t know how many tickets they got during the week,” he joked. “I think they feel happy now because I have my name on this tournament. It’s something that I’ve been dreaming of since I was really young.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/fognini ... l-reaction

[Lucas]

22.04.2019 - najwyższy ranking w karierze: 12

[Damian]

Fog Rolling In: Two weeks ago, second seed Fognini owned a 4-8 win-loss record in 2019 with no victories from four tour-level matches on clay. That suddenly changed when he clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals before a final victory against Dusan Lajovic. Fognini, the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 title, is at a career-high No. 12 in the ATP Rankings.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/scoutin ... unich-2019

[Lucas]

3. Fognini Beats Lajovic To Win Monte-Carlo Title, 21 April

Fabio Fognini became the first Italian to win an ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 38 minutes.

"I’m really, really happy. Nothing to say," Fognini said. "I have to keep calm, maybe take a shower, relax, and think about this because it’s something incredible."

The 13th seed converted four of five break points to become the lowest seeded player to lift the trophy since fellow No. 13 seed Gustavo Kuerten's title run in 1999. Fognini will rise to a career-high No. 12 when the latest ATP Rankings are published on Monday.

“I just feel happy because I won a big tournament that was always my goal in my career,” Fognini said. “I think everybody, when you're growing up and you start and you decide to play tennis, you are dreaming to win a big tournament. We are talking about a Masters [1000].”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-n ... april-2019

[Razing]

[Damian]

Madryt R3:

10 Marin Čilić 2935
11 Fabio Fognini 2920
12 John Isner 2905

[Razing]

[arti]

Fabio Eyes Top 10: Top Italian Fabio Fognini is projected to hit a new career-high ranking of No. 11 on Monday. Fognini is 10-11 lifetime in Rome, with last year’s quarter-final as his best result. The last Italian in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings was Corrado Barrazzutti on 22 January 1979. Fognini claimed his first Masters 1000 trophy at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rome-20 ... ing-report

[Damian]

ATP Rzym 2019: udany start.

[10] Fabio Fognini d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-4