The heart and class of a champion who wanted to win at all costs. Fabio Fognini treats himself to another special evening at the Internazionali d’Italia, emerging victorious from a truly tough first round match against the British Daniel Evans, world number 67. The Ligurian won in three sets with a score of 6-4 3-6 6-2 after two hours and thirty-two minutes of play and tomorrow he will return to the court on the Gran Stand Arena to face Taylor Fritz, seeded number eleven.
A match in which both tennis players conceded twelve break points each. Fognini finished with 28 winners against his opponent’s 15, with the Ligurian also committing two more unforced errors than the Briton (40 against 38).
The match begins with three consecutive breaks. Fognini starts in the first game, then Evans replies, but the Ligurian manages to get back ahead, finishing with the smash that immediately explodes the Rome crowd. In the sixth game, however, Evans gets two more break points and on the second, unfortunately, Fabio misses with a backhand. The emotions of the first set are not over, because Fognini gets to 0-40 and on the third occasion he invents a sensational point, finishing with the veronica that sends the Italian fans into raptures. In the tenth game the native of Arma di Taggia cancels a break point and then finally manages to close out 6-4.
The second set starts badly for the blue, who found themselves immediately down 3-0 after surrendering the serve in the second game. The Ligurian perhaps suffers from a bit of tiredness, while on the other side Evans seems to have taken control of the exchanges. In the seventh game, however, Fognini gets two balls for the counterbreak, but on both occasions the British player is very good. Evans thus closes the second set in his favor 6-3.
At the start of the third set Fognini finds himself facing a 0-40 in the third game, but he shows all his class and cancels the three break points. Anything really happens, because in the next game Fognini gets a break point and Evans misses a very comfortable smash. The Briton, however, manages to find the immediate counterbreak at the end of an incredible fifth game, in which even a very good and expert referee like Lahyani makes a very obvious mistake by not seeing out a volley from Fognini. Fabio, however, wants to win this match and immediately goes back ahead by a break, going up 5-2. Evans has no more, he also commits a double fault, giving the blue a match point, which he finishes with a wonderful backhand. It ends 6-2 and Fabio can enjoy a wonderful night in Rome.
