Fabio Fognini

Fabio Fognini

Fognini in 2014
Country (sports)	Italy
Residence	Arma di Taggia, Italy
Born	(1987-05-24) 24 May 1987 Sanremo, Italy
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$3,018,680
Official website	www.fabiofognini.it
Singles
Career record	119–144
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 24 (22 April 2013)
Current ranking	No. 24 (22 April 2013)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (2009)
French Open	QF (2011)
Wimbledon	3R (2010)
US Open	3R (2012)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (2012)
Doubles
Career record	71–71
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 32 (20 June 2011)
Current ranking	No. 39 (22 April 2013)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2013)
French Open	2R (2009, 2011)
Wimbledon	1R (2009, 2010, 2012)
US Open	SF (2011)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2013)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	QF (2013)
Last updated on: February 7, 2013 by Asmazif.

Fabio Fognini (born 24 May 1987 in Sanremo, Italy; Italian pronunciation: ['fabjo fo'ɲini]) is a professional tennis player and a former Italian No. 1 (and current No. 2). His career-high singles ranking is World No. 24, which he achieved in April 2013. Fognini's favourite surface is red clay, on which he reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open.

Early life

Fognini was born to Silvana and Fulvio, a businessman, and has a younger sister called Fulvia. He began playing tennis when he was four years old and is also a fan of football and motorbike racing. Fognini speaks Italian, English, Spanish, and French.

Career

Juniors

As a junior, Fognini posted a singles win/loss record of 72-36 and reached a combined ranking of No. 8 in the world in May 2004.

Junior Slam results:

Australian Open: QF (2004)
French Open: QF (2004)
Wimbledon: 1R (2003, 2004)
US Open: 3R (2003)

2004–2006

Fognini began his professional career by playing a variety of Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning his first Futures title in 2005 at Spain No. 1 and another at Italy No. 9. In 2005, he also finished runner-up at Italy No. 3 and qualified for his first ATP Challenger tournament at Palermo. During 2006, Fognini had moderate success at Challengers and, after qualifying, made his debut on the ATP World Tour at Buenos Aires. He was defeated in the first round by former World No. 1 Carlos Moyá, the eventual champion.

2007

In 2007, Fognini made some real progress on the ATP Tour, notably when he qualified for the 2007 French Open to make his first appearance in a Grand Slam event. He lost in the first round to No. 35-ranked Juan Mónaco in five sets. In addition, he had a fantastic tournament at the 2007 Rogers Masters in Montreal, Canada. Having qualified for the tournament, he defeated Peter Polansky in the first round, before taking out the 13th seed Andy Murray in straight sets. Fognini was halted by World No. 1 Roger Federer in the third round.

On the ATP Challengers circuit, Fognini made the finals in Santiago, Sanremo, and Fürth, losing in three-set battles each time. Partnering Frederico Gil, he also lost in the doubles final of the Fürth Challenger. He finished the year ranked in the top 100 for the first time at No. 94.

2008

Fognini lost a five-set first-round encounter against Michael Russell in the 2008 Australian Open.

During the South American clay swing, he reached the quarterfinals of Viña del Mar (defeating second seed clay-court specialist Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round) and the semifinals of Costa Do Sauipe.

After missing the 2008 French Open due to injury problems, The Fog reached the semifinals of both Warsaw and Umag (beating former World No. 1 and French Open champion Carlos Moya), whilst also winning the Turin and Genova challengers, further enhancing his clay pedigree.

2009

In April 2009, Fognini reached the third round of the 2009 Monte-Carlo Masters as a qualifier, upsetting Tomáš Berdych (after losing the first set 1–6) and 14th seed Marin Čilić (for the loss of only two games). Fognini then played a typically topsy-turvy match with World No. 4 Andy Murray, losing in two tight sets after being up 5–0 in the first set.

2010

Fognini's biggest win to date was the victory over 13th seed Gaël Monfils at the 2010 French Open by coming from two sets to love down in a match that spanned two days. In June 2010, Fognini followed up his vein of good form as he defeated Fernando Verdasco, the 8th seed, in the first round of Wimbledon without dropping serve the entire match.

2011

Thus far, 2011 can be counted as Fognini's breakthrough year. He reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time at the 2011 French Open. He defeated Denis Istomin in the first round and qualifier Stéphane Robert in the second. In the third round, Fognini beat Guillermo García-López, the 30th seed, in four sets to advance to his first Grand Slam fourth round.

On 29 May 2011, Fognini made the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open in dramatic fashion as he beat Spaniard Albert Montañés in a match lasting 4 hours and 22 minutes. Barely able to walk at the end, Fognini eventually prevailed and clinched the epic match 11–9 in the fifth set. After the match, he described his run at the French Open as a "little dream", maintaining that he "would love to play the next match ... even if I'm only at 50 percent". He was due to face World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals but, prior to the match, he announced that he had made the "difficult" decision to withdraw on doctors' advice that it would be "dangerous" to play. Nonetheless, Fognini became the first Italian man in the French Open quarterfinals since 1995 and the first to reach that stage at a Grand Slam since 1998. His achievement saw him rise to his career-high singles ranking of World No. 32.

With Simone Bolelli, Fognini reached the semifinals of the 2011 US Open men's doubles.

2012

After numerous ATP semifinal appearances, Fognini finally reached his first career final at Bucharest in April 2012, ousting fifth seed Marcos Baghdatis and sixth seed Andreas Seppi along the way. He finished runner-up to top seed Gilles Simon.

At the 2012 French Open, he was once again the subject of much drama, saving two match points while battling past the seeded Viktor Troicki in five sets to advance to the third round for the third successive year. He subsequently lost to World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a match with considerable shot-making flair and variety. In the Croatia Open, Fabio lost to defending champion Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the second round.

Fognini began his grass season by reaching the quarterfinals of Eastbourne, defeating fourth seed Bernard Tomic along the way, and falling to eventual tournament winner Andy Roddick in a tight three-set match. At Wimbledon, he defeated experienced grass-courter Michaël Llodra in the first round and again lost to the eventual tournament winner, Roger Federer, in the second round. In the London 2012 Olympics, Fognini was drawn against Novak Djokovic in the first round. He valiantly took the first set after being down 3–5 and saving three set points, before finally succumbing in three sets.

Starting the North American summer outdoor hard-court season by qualifying for both the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters, Fognini went on to reach the third round of the US Open, a career-best performance. In the first round, he ousted Édouard Roger-Vasselin in a trademark five-setter, coming back from two sets down. The second round was a routine straight-sets win over Guillermo García-López. Fognini's run again ended at the hands of crowd favourite Andy Roddick in a dramatic match (in which he notably out-aced the American) in four sets. Roddick had announced after his first-round win that he was retiring upon conclusion of the tournament, adding to the drama.

The start of the indoor hard-court season saw Fognini reach his second final of the year at St. Petersburg, finishing runner-up to Martin Kližan.

2013

Fognini was defeated by Roberto Bautista-Agut in five sets in the first round of the 2013 Australian Open. He and Bolelli embarked on another deep Grand Slam run in the doubles, reaching the semifinals, where they lost to the World No. 1 pairing, Bob and Mike Bryan.

He reached his first singles quarterfinal of the season at Buenos Aires, losing to top seed David Ferrer in straight sets (whilst winning the doubles alongside Bolelli). The next week, Fognini achieved a career-best performance at ATP 500 events with a semifinals showing in Acapulco, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka along the way and again losing to Ferrer (but this time taking a set). Just over a week later, Fognini set up a clash with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, after defeating Aljaž Bedene for the second time in three weeks to reach the second round of the Indian Wells Masters. After being bagelled in the first, Fognini wildly celebrated upon winning his first game in the second, heroically taking the set from 2–4 down. He subsequently lost the third. In Miami, Fognini was seeded (No. 32) at a Masters event for the first time in his career, earning a bye to the second round. He defeated Michaël Llodra, and lost to Ferrer again in the third round.

The start of the European clay season saw Fognini gain another Top 20 victory, defeating fellow Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters, a typically tumultuous affair with an almost complete lack of momentum. He carried on his rich vein of form to straight-set both Albert Ramos and No. 4 seed Tomas Berdych (his second victory over the Czech in Monte Carlo) to reach his first career quarterfinal in a Masters event. Here, Fognini played another amazing match to beat Richard Gasquet, his second Top 10 victory in a row, in straight sets to reach the semifinals of a Masters for the first time. In the semifinals, he failed to gain any real rhythm, losing to World No. 1 Djokovic and projecting his ranking to a new career-high of World No. 24.

Davis Cup

Fognini guided Italy into the quarterfinals of the 2013 Davis Cup World Group, defeating Ivan Dodig in the fifth and decisive rubber against Croatia. It was the first time Italy had reached the stage since 1998.

Equipment

Fognini currently uses a Babolat Pure Drive Racquet strung with Babolat RPM Blast strings. His grip is Babolat Vs Original and he endorses Adidas apparel and shoes.

Style of play

Fognini is known for his counterpunching style, with clean, penetrating ground strokes. Fognini has deft touch and utilises it with drop shots and volleys. His ability to turn defense into offense suits clay-court tennis, and this is reflected by the fact that his best wins have come on this surface. His movement and general disposition around the court, coupled with his fluid game style is well known by tennis fans as displaying an air of nonchalance, appearing casual and effortless.

Fognini is also renowned for his streaky temperament. He has been known to lose his cool on occasion; yet on others, he has shown that he is capable of maintaining a strikingly balanced disposition when facing adversity. He holds the record for committing the most foot faults whilst still winning a match: a grand total of 12, including double-faulting due to consecutive foot faults. Whilst hardly a trademark weapon, Fognini is also capable of serving between 130 mph-135 mph. One of his signature shots is his off forehand, which he uses to great effect, his tactic of play usually consisting of a serve out wide, drawing a weak return, setting Fognini up to hit a clean winner off the forehand side. He also utilises the backhand down-the-line frequently, often in key moments/points during a match.

ATP career finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Legend Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0) ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–2)

Finals by Surface Hard (0–1) Clay (0–1) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	April 29, 2012	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Gilles Simon	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	2.	September 23, 2012	St. Petersburg, Russia	Hard (i)	Martin Kližan	2–6, 3–6

Doubles: 6 (2–4)

Winner – Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–2) ATP World Tour 250 Series (2–2)

Titles by Surface Hard (0–0) Clay (2–4) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	14 July 2008	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Carlos Berlocq	Michal Mertiňák Petr Pála	6–2, 3–6, [5–10]
Runner-up	2.	27 February 2010	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	Potito Starace	Łukasz Kubot Oliver Marach	0–6, 0–6
Winner	1.	30 July 2011	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Simone Bolelli	Marin Čilić Lovro Zovko	6–3, 5–7, [10–7]
Runner-up	3.	14 April 2012	Casablanca, Morocco	Clay	Daniele Bracciali	Dustin Brown Paul Hanley	5–7, 3–6
Winner	2.	24 February 2013	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Simone Bolelli	Nicholas Monroe Simon Stadler	6-3, 6-2
Runner-up	4.	2 March 2013	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	Simone Bolelli	Łukasz Kubot David Marrero	5-7, 2-6

Singles performance timeline

Current till 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	W–L	%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	Q1	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1–6	17
French Open	A	A	1R	A	1R	3R	QF[a]	3R		8–4	67
Wimbledon	A	A	A	1R	2R	3R	A	2R		4–4	50
US Open	A	A	Q3	1R	1R	1R	2R	3R		3–5	38
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–3	2–4	4–4	5–2	5–4	0–1	16–19	46
Davis Cup
Davis Cup Singles	A	A	A	Z1	PO	1R	PO	PO	QF	7–2	78
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	A	Q2	2R	1R	2R	1R	A	2R	3–4	42.86
Miami Masters	A	A	A	A	Q1	1R	1R	A	3R	1–3	25.00
Monte Carlo Masters	A	A	Q1	A	3R	1R	2R	2R	SF	8–5	61.54
Rome Masters	A	1R	Q2	A	2R	1R	1R	2R		2–5	28.57
Madrid Masters	A	A	A	1R	2R	1R	Q1	1R		1–4	20.00
Canada Masters	A	A	3R	A	A	2R	1R	2R		4–4	50.00
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	A	A	A	Q2	2R	1R		1–2	33.33
Shanghai Masters	NM1000				2R	A	1R	1R		1–3	25.00
Paris Masters	A	A	A	A	A	2R	1R	Q1		1–2	33.33
Win–Loss	0–0	0–1	2–1	1–2	5–5	3–7	2–8	3–6	6–3	22–33	40.00
Career statistics
Titles–Runner-ups	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–0	0–2	0
Year End Ranking	305	257	95	88	54	55	48	45		$2,577,176

^a 2011 French Open counts as 4 wins, 0 losses. Novak Djokovic walkover in quarterfinal, after Fognini withdrew because of muscle tear, does not count as a Fognini loss (nor a Djokovic win).

Doubles performance timeline

Current as far as the 2012 US Open (tennis).

Tournament	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	2R	2R	2R	1R	2R	SF	0 / 5	4–5	44
French Open	A	2R	1R	2R	1R		0 / 4	2–4	33
Wimbledon	A	1R	1R	A	1R		0 / 3	0–3	0
US Open	1R	1R	A	SF	1R		0 / 4	4–4	50
Win–Loss	1–2	2–4	1–3	5–3	1–4		0 / 16	10–16	38

External links

• Fabio Fognini at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Fognini Recent Match Results
• Fognini World Ranking History
• Fognini official website
• Bio – file interview with Fabio Fognini