Fabio Fognini salutes the crowd as he enjoys the moment.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Casper Ruud is the latest top player to crash out of this year’s Championships.
I was 5-2 up and the match was almost done but then at 5-4 too many things were coming into my head Fabio Fognini
Seeded eight, the Norwegian was outsmarted on court by the wily, flamboyant Italian, Fabio Fognini who made the most of his opponent’s dislike of the surface to score a satisfying 6-4 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3 win.
The 3t-year-old former top ten player who is hardly recognisable with his peroxided blond hair, is still a more than competitive player though he still likes to strut between points and an early break pf serve after a short rain delay was enough for him to pocket the first set.
A fall interrupted his smooth progress in the second but it didn’t derail his progress as he swept into a 2- sets to love lead following a break in the 12th game.
And that run continued in the third but when leading 5-2, 30-0 with a double beak he failed to serve it out on two separate occasions.
Ruud stormed back into contention and forced a tie-break where he dominated the Italian but his revival proved short-lived as Fognini regained control in the fourth taking the match on his fourth match point with a trademark forehand.
A very satisfying result for the veteran who progresses into the third round at Wimbledon for a seventh time on his 14th appearance there.
Whether he will go further for the first time in his long career is yet to be seen as he awaits the winner of the Robert Bautista Agut and Lorenzo Sonego match. If the latter it will be an interesting encounter between two compatriots!
“Maybe 14 is the lucky one,” Fognini said on court. “I was 5-2 up and the match was almost done but then at 5-4 too many things were coming into my head.
“But this is why I love and hate this sport. In the end he’s top 10 and I’m 37 and today was a good present for me.”
Three-times Grand Slam runner-up Ruud arrived at he event having recently been laid low with a stomach problem which hampered him during his French Open semi-final loss to Alexander Zverev, revealing that that the problem was probably caused by a parasite lurking in a salad he had eaten.
