At the start of this year’s Monte Carlo Masters, few expected the finale to feature two players who have had mixed results on the tour so far this season.
Italian veteran Fabio Fognini will contest his 19th and most significant ATP final after stunning Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals on Saturday. Becoming the fourth player in history to defeat the Spaniard on the clay at least three times. Prior to this week, Fognini had lost his opening match at four clay court tournaments this season across South America and North Africa.
“If you told me at the beginning of the week, I will see you on Sunday, I would [have] laughed in your face,” Fognini told reporters after his semi-final match. “I was 6-4, 4-1 down (against Andrey Rublev in the first round) and break point for 5-1, and I [hit an] ace on the line. But that’s sport. So I was lucky. Now I’m in the final.”
Fognini’s route to final
R1 – def Andrey Rublev 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
R2 – def Gilles Simon (walkover)
R3 – def Alexander Zverev 7-6(6), 6-1
QF – def Borna Coric 1-6, 6-3, 6-2,
SF – def Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2
Standing in Fognini’s way of the title is Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic. Lajovic’s shock run to the final has seen him score three wins over seeded players. Including his first ever over a top five player when he took out Dominic Thiem. Until Monte Carlo, the current world No.48 had never won more than three consecutive matches at tour-level. He has played in the main draw of 20 grand slam tournaments with his best run being to the fourth round of the 2014 French Open.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1119687931495686144
Lajovic’s route to final
R1 – def Malek Jaziri 6-4, 6-4
R2 – def David Goffin 6-3, 6-4
R3 – def Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3
QF – def Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-5
SF – def Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-1
With a lot of stake for both players when they clash at the Monte Carlo Country Club, here are five things to watch in the final.
- 31-year-old Fognini and 28-year-old Lajovic will both play in their first ever Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo. This is the first time this has happened since Jock Sock’s win over Filip Krajinovic at the 2017 Paris Masters.
- Fognini is bidding to become the first ever Italian player to win a Masters 1000 title since the series was created back in 1990. At Monte Carlo, the last Italian player to win the title was Nicola Pietrangeli back in 1968.
- Lajovic is bidding to become the lowest ranked player to win a Masters title since Tomas Berdych at the 2005 Paris Masters when he was ranked 50th in the world. The Serbian is already the lowest ranked player to reach the final in Monte Carlo since Hicham Arazi back in 2001.
- World No.18 Fognini is bidding to become the lowest seeded player to win the title since Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten back in 1999. Meanwhile, Lajovic could become the first unseeded champion since Thomas Muster back in 1992.
- Whoever wins will reach a new ranking best. Fognini is already guaranteed to return back into the world’s top 15, but will rise to a high of 12th should he win the title. As for Lajovic, he will exceed his previous personal best ranking of 42nd. Rising to 19th with the title or 24th if he finishes runner-up.
The final is scheduled to get underway at 14:30 (CEST).
