TENNIS – Last year’s ATP Monte-Carlo semifinalist and World Number 13 Fabio Fognini recovered from 5-7, 2-5 0-30 to overcome Joao Sousa from Portugal in three sets with the scoreline of 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Master, the first European Master 1000 tournament on clay of the year. Diego Sampaolo
On the verge of defeat Fognini reeled off five games in a row to win the second set with 7-5 to force the match to the third set where he raised the game winning 6-4 after a two-hour and 20-minute roller-coaster match.
Fognini has been one of the most consistent players in the circuit on clay where he collected three ATP titles since last July in Stuttgart, Hamburg and Vina Del Mar, reached the final in Umago and Buenos Aires and reached the quarter final in Rio de Janeiro where he lost to Aleksander Dolgopolov and beat Andy Murray in the Davis Cup quarter final match between Italy and Great Britain in Naples. He boasts a 21-6 record of winning matches this year (including 14 wins on clay in 16 matches this year) tying the third place with Rafa Nadal. However he had to dig deep against World Number 38 Joao Sousa who came close to score a major upset against last year’s Monte-Carlo semifinalist from Arma di Taggia, a small town not far away from Monte-Carlo.
Sousa, who made his debut in Monte-Carlo this year but reached the quarter final in Rio de Janeiro last February and advanced to the third round in Miami, held serve in the first game before breaking in the second game to storm to a 2-0 in the opening set but Fognini broke straight back before getting another break to build up a 5-3 lead. Sousa turned around the match winning 16 points to 2 to clinch the first set with 7-5.
Sousa recovered by reeling off six games to build up a 7-5, 2-0 lead. Fognini broke back winning the next two games to draw level to 2-2 but Sousa got the break to go up 4-2. Fognini was two points away from defeat when Sousa served for the match at 5-2 30-0 as the Italian was on serve. Fognini broke serve when Sousa hit his forehand into the net. Fognini raised the game breaking serve to love at 5-5 before sealing the win the second set with 7-5.
Fognini did not play at the same level as in the Davis Cup match against Murray but managed to break serve for 3-2 and held serve in the next game. Sousa did not give up and earned a break point at 4-5. Fognini saved it before sealing the win on his first match point
It was not the first time that Fognini survived a big scare this year as he saved two match points against Gael Monfils in the third round at Indian Wells.
“The first match always very difficult, especially because I came here after the Davis Cup. I fell confident. Everybody say that I can reach the top-10 but I don’t fell fell more pressure. I was a bit lucky today. At 5-4 I felt heavy legs. I had no strength. I felt a bit tired after playing many matches this year”, said Fognini
In the other morning matches at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Master Radek Stepanek dropped just three games to cruise past Ivo Karlovic with 6-1, 6-2 in just 58 minutes to set up a second round match against Roger Federer on Wednesday.
German Phillip Kohlschreiber beat Italian Simone Bolelli 6-3, 6-4 to set up a second round match against Jo Wilfred Tsonga.
