ATP Masters Rome: Fognini continues to inspire at home
After his opening win against two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, local hero Fabio Fognini also beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6:3, 7:6 after almost two hours of play.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit:
May 12, 2023, 06:47 pm
Great atmosphere again on the Pietrangeli court, where the 35-year-old Fabio Fognini met the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in his second round encounter. The Italian didn't show any signs of the effort of the long three-set game against Murray. Right at the beginning, the former Monte Carlo champion was able to take the service game from his 23-year-old opponent and transported the break to the set win.
In the second round it was Fognini, who had to go over the debut four times in his first service game, but was ultimately able to hold the service with difficulty. In the further course, both servers didn't give themselves any weakness, so the decision had to be made in the tie-break. After a 6:3 lead for Fognini, Kecmanovic, who was in 30th position, was able to equalize again. With a longline forehand winner from the backhand corner, the Italian veteran sealed the 6:3, 7:6 (6) win after 1:56 hours of play.
In the third round, the current No. 130 in the world will face off against the winner of the encounter, Holger Rune, against Arthur Fils from France.
In the on-court interview, Fognini commented: “I love this kind of matches on this special court. I'm very happy with how I played. The first movement in particular was very solid. You never know what's going to happen in a tie-break, but I ended up making it in the second set too."
Easy gallop for sinners
The other Italian local hero, Jannik Sinner, had previously walked into the third round on Center Court. Against the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, No. 8 on the seeding list was the master of the ring at all times and ended the match 6:1, 6:4 after 78 minutes with a cracking forehand winner. Lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko, who won 6: 4, 6: 4 against Argentinian Sebastian Baez, is waiting for the South Tyrolean in the next round.
Here the single tableau from Rome
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