Fabio Fognini
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Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the
Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, a ...
(ATP). Fognini's most successful surface is
red clay Ultisols, commonly known as red clay soils, are one of twelve soil orders in the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. The word "Ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because Ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continu ...
, upon which he has won eight of his nine ATP singles titles, most notably at the
2019 Monte-Carlo Masters The 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters (also known as the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament for male professional players played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 113th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters to ...
, as well as having reached the quarterfinals of the
2011 French Open The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 115th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 22 May to 5 Jun ...
. Together with
Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli (; born 8 October 1985) is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a ...
, Fognini won the
2015 Australian Open The 2015 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 19 January to 1 February 2015. It was the 103rd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Stan Wawrinka was the def ...
doubles championship, becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era."ATP player profile"
''ATPWorldTour.com''


Early life

Fognini was born to Silvana and Fulvio, a businessman, and has a younger sister.
, ''OnTheGoTennis.com'', 15 May 2012.
He began playing tennis when he was four years old and is also a fan of football, supporting
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
and Genoa CFC. He also enjoys motorbike racing and is a fan of
Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
. Fognini speaks Italian, English, Spanish, and French, and his nickname is "Fogna".


Career


Juniors

As a junior, Fognini posted a singles win–loss record of 72–36. He achieved a combined ranking of No. 8 in the world in May 2004, reaching the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and French Open.


2004–2006

Fognini began his professional career by playing a variety of
Futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...
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 The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organi ...
at
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. He was defeated in the first round by former World No. 1
Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
, the eventual champion.


2007: Top 100

In 2007, Fognini made some real progress on the
ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
, notably when he qualified for the
2007 French Open The 2007 French Open (Roland Garros) was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run at Rol ...
to make his first appearance in a
Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
event. He lost in the first round to World No. 35
Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Miami Masters, and achieved a career-high singles ranking ...
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 Peter Polansky ( ; born June 15, 1988) is a Canadian professional tennis player of Czech origin. He was Canada's top singles player from June 21, 2010, until January 17, 2011, in the ATP rankings. He was also Canada's No. 2 from August 4, 2008, ...
in the first round, before taking out the 13th seed Andy Murray in straight sets. Fognini was halted by World No. 1
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the third round. On the ATP Challengers circuit, Fognini made the finals in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
,
Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...
, and
Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
, losing in three-set battles each time. Partnering
Frederico Gil João Frederico Limpo Franco Gil (born 24 March 1985), known as Fred Gil (), is a retired Portuguese professional tennis player, who currently competes in the ITF Men's Circuit. He is ranked no. 432 in the world by the Association of Tennis Prof ...
, he also lost in the doubles final of the
Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...
Challenger. He finished the year ranked in the top 100 for the first time at No. 94.


2008: First doubles final

Fognini lost a five-set first-round encounter against Michael Russell in the
2008 Australian Open The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 thr ...
. During the South American clay swing, he reached the quarterfinals of Viña del Mar (defeating second seed clay-court specialist
Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...
in the first round) and the semi-finals of Costa Do Sauipe. After missing the
2008 French Open The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 112th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 25 May until 8 J ...
due to injury problems, Fognini reached the semi-finals of both
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and
Umag Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia. Geography It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia. Population Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...
(beating former World No. 1 and French Open champion
Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
), whilst also winning the
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
and
Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...
challengers, further enhancing his clay pedigree.


2009: San Benedetto title

In April 2009, Fognini reached the third round of the 2009 Monte-Carlo Masters as a qualifier, upsetting
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
(after losing the first set 1–6) and 14th seed
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
(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. In July, Fognini won the San Benedetto Challenger title defeating
Cristian Villagran Cristian is the Romanian and Spanish form of the male given name Christian. In Romanian, it is also a surname. Cristian may refer to: People * Cristian (footballer, born 1994), Brazilian footballer * Cristian Adomniței (born 1975), Romanian eng ...
in the final.


2010: 50 wins

A remarkable win during this season was against the 13th seed
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
at the
2010 French Open The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 114th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 23 May through ...
by also 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 Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
, the 8th seed, in the first round of Wimbledon without dropping serve the entire match.


2011: Major quarterfinal

In 2011 Fognini achieved a number of breakthroughs. He reached the quarterfinals of a
Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
event for the first time at the
2011 French Open The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 115th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 22 May to 5 Jun ...
. He defeated
Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in Aug ...
in the first round and qualifier
Stéphane Robert Stéphane Robert (; born 17 May 1980) is a professional French tennis player. Career Coach From 2001 to March 2010, Ronan Lafaix was Robert's coach. In May 2016, Lafaix, who is 12 years older than Robert, became Robert's coach for the secon ...
in the second. In the third round, Fognini beat
Guillermo García-López Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar ...
, the 30th seed, in four sets to advance to his first Grand Slam fourth round. Here, he made the quarterfinals in dramatic fashion as he beat
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...
Albert Montañés in a match lasting 4 hours and 22 minutes."Fognini pulls out of French, sending Djokovic to semis"
''Tennis.com'', 30 May 2011.
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 Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
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 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
and the first to reach that stage at a Grand Slam since 1998. His achievement saw him rise to a then career-high singles ranking of World No. 32. With
Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli (; born 8 October 1985) is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a ...
, Fognini reached the semi-finals of the 2011 US Open men's doubles.


2012: First ATP finals

After numerous ATP semi-final appearances, Fognini finally reached his first career final at
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
in April 2012, ousting fifth seed
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
and sixth seed
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Tennis ca ...
along the way. He finished runner-up to top seed
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
. At the
2012 French Open The 2012 French Open (also known as Roland Garros, after the famous French aviator) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 116th edition of the French Open, and took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 27 May until 11 ...
, he was once again the subject of much drama, saving two match points while battling past the seeded
Viktor Troicki Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 a ...
in five sets to advance to the third round for the third successive year. He subsequently lost to World No. 5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
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 Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, defeating fourth seed
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two ju ...
along the way, and falling to eventual tournament winner
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
in a tight three-set match. At Wimbledon, he defeated experienced grass-courter
Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was a successful doubles player with three Grand Slam championships and an Olympic silver medal, and has also had success in singles, winning five career titl ...
in the first round and again lost to the eventual tournament winner,
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
, in the second round. In the
London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Fognini was drawn against
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
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."Djokovic defeats Fognini after a rain delay"
, ''ubitennis.com'', 30 July 2012.
Starting the North American summer outdoor hard-court season by qualifying for both the
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
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 Édouard Roger-Vasselin (; born 28 November 1983) is a French professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open, winning the men's doubles partnering Julien Benneteau, a ...
in a trademark five-setter, coming back from two sets down. The second round was a routine straight-sets win over
Guillermo García-López Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar ...
. Fognini's run again ended at the hands of crowd favourite
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
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 Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, finishing runner-up to
Martin Kližan Martin Kližan (; born 11 July 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. The winner of the 2006 French Open boys' singles title, Kližan turned pro in 2007 and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 24, achieved on 27 April 2 ...
.


2013: ATP titles and top 20 ranking

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 semi-finals, where they lost to the World No. 1 pair, Bob and Mike Bryan. He reached his first singles quarterfinal of the season at
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, losing to top seed
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour ( ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
in straight sets (whilst winning the doubles alongside Bolelli). The next week, Fognini achieved a career-best performance at ATP 500 events with a semi-finals showing in Acapulco, defeating
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
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 Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
, after defeating
Aljaž Bedene Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was British nationality law, a naturalised Briton and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018. Bedene has won ...
for the second time in three weeks to reach the second round of the
Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is ...
. 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 Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, Fognini was seeded at a Masters event for the first time in his career, earning a bye to the second round. He defeated
Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was a successful doubles player with three Grand Slam championships and an Olympic silver medal, and has also had success in singles, winning five career titl ...
, 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 The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in a typically tumultuous affair with an almost complete lack of momentum."Fognini takes out Seppi in comeback win"
''Tennistalk'', 15 April 2013.
He carried on his rich vein of form to straight-set both Albert Ramos and No. 4 seed
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
(his second victory over the Czech in Monte Carlo) to reach his first career quarterfinal in a Masters event."Fognini stuns Berdych, Tsonga eases through"
''Eurosport'', 18 April 2013.
Here, Fognini played another amazing match to beat
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
, his second top-10 victory in a row, in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of a Masters for the first time, projecting his ranking to a new career-high of World No. 24."Nadal survives and will face Tsonga Djokovic to play Fognini"
, ''Ubitennis'', 21 April 2013.
In the semi-finals, he failed to gain any real rhythm, losing to World No. 1 Djokovic. In
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Fognini was involved in another highly unorthodox match, losing in a final set tiebreak to
Mikhail Youzhny Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (born 25 June 1982), nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian retired professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Assoc ...
in the first round. He served for the match in the third set and three match points. Fognini then lost nine points in a row, only to save two match points himself. In the tiebreak, he went up a minibreak, lost five points in a row, won four in a row and lost. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. Fognini began his grass-court season at the 2013 Aegon International held at Eastbourne, where he was seeded eighth. He defeated Grega Zemlja and Martin Klizan, both from a set down, before falling to
Ivan Dodig Ivan Dodig (; born 2 January 1985) is a Croatian professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He is a six-time Grand Slam champion, having won men's doubles titles at the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo, and the 2021 Au ...
in the quarterfinals. At Wimbledon, Fognini lost in the first round to
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
, after leading by a set and a break. At the
2013 MercedesCup The 2013 MercedesCup was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 36th edition of the Stuttgart Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2013 ATP World Tour. It was held at the Tennis Club Weissenhof in ...
in Stuttgart, Fognini reached his third career final, defeating top seed and home favourite
Tommy Haas Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in May ...
en route. He won his maiden title, by beating second seed,
Philipp Kohlschreiber Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Cha ...
, in three sets. The following week, after an outstanding performance at
2013 International German Open The 2013 International German Open (also known as the bet–at–home Open – German Tennis Championships 2013 for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played on Clay court, outdoor red clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the e ...
, Fognini improved his winning streak to 10 wins in a row, entering the ATP top 20 for the first time (also regaining the Italian No. 1 spot). He defeated Albert Ramos, Marcel Granollers and hometown hero
Tommy Haas Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in May ...
for the second time in two weeks to reach the semi-finals. Here, Fognini beat
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
in straight sets to reach his second ATP World Tour final in a row, the first one in an ATP 500 tournament. He won the title by beating qualifier Federico Delbonis in three sets, recovering from 1–4 down in the second set and saving three match points in the second set tiebreak. He reached his third tour final in as many weeks at
Umag Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia. Geography It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia. Population Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...
, defeating
Thiemo de Bakker Thiemo Carsten Jannick de Bakker (born 19 September 1988) is a Dutch professional tennis player. Considered a top prospect of his generation as a junior, he also made an impressive breakthrough as a young pro, reaching a career-high ranking in ...
,
Martin Kližan Martin Kližan (; born 11 July 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. The winner of the 2006 French Open boys' singles title, Kližan turned pro in 2007 and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 24, achieved on 27 April 2 ...
and
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
en route. The latter saw Fognini serving for the match having won the first five games, then losing six straight games, and then winning in a tiebreak. His 13-match winning streak was ended in the final by
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
, whilst his ranking rose to a new career-high of World No. 16. Seeded No. 14 in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Fognini was down a set and four games to Radek Stepanek. He proceeded to mount a comeback to four-all, and serving to stay in the match, he served two double faults, received a point penalty for ball abuse and then casually committed consecutive foot faults to get broken to love and lose the match."Video: Fabio Fognini bows out gracelessly at Western & Southern Open"
''SI.com'', 13 August 2013.
At the Asian hardcourt leg, Fognini reached the quarterfinals of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, defeating resurgent veterans
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
and
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
(the latter for the loss of only 2 games). In the quarters, he was dominating World No. 2
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
by a set and three love, before eventually losing in three sets. In the following weeks, he again defeated Robredo en route to the third round of the Shanghai Masters and reached the quarterfinals of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
.


2014: Third ATP title

At the Australian Open, Fognini was seeded 15th. He reached a career-best performance of the fourth round, defeating Alex Bogomolov Jr.,
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles titles ...
and
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
, before falling to three-time defending champion
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. As the top seed at the Chile Open in Viña del Mar, he reached his first singles final of the season (and fourth in a row in clay tournaments) defeating
Aljaž Bedene Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was British nationality law, a naturalised Briton and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018. Bedene has won ...
,
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austral ...
and 3rd seed
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
en route. The latter was a classically unorthodox affair, with Fognini leading 5–2 in the final set, squandering two match points, only to eventually win in a tiebreak. He defeated
Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Martín Mayer (; ''Mayer'' locally or , ; born May 15, 1987) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. ...
in the final, converting his fifth match point for his third career title. He then won the quarterfinal Davis Cup rubber for Italy against Great-Britain, defeating Andy Murray on clay in straight sets. This took Fabio's record on clay to 19–1 since the French Open and resulted in yet another leap in the rankings, to a new career-high of World No. 14. Fognini was fined a then record $27,500 (£21,600) at Wimbledon for a series of offences during a first-round match.


2015: Australian Open Doubles win

Fognini started his 2015 season at the
Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...
, partnering
Flavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles, on 28 February 2011. ...
. Italy failed to reach the final, finishing at the bottom of their group. The following week, he played at the
Apia International Sydney The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...
as the top seed, but was unlucky to draw defending champion
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
, who was returning from an eleven-month injury lay-off, in his first match. He lost in three sets. Fognini won his first Grand Slam at the 2015 Australian Open doubles alongside
Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli (; born 8 October 1985) is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a ...
, with a straight-sets win over
Pierre-Hugues Herbert Pierre-Hugues Herbert (; born 18 March 1991) is a French professional tennis player. In doubles, he has completed the Career Grand Slam with titles at the 2015 US Open, the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, the 2018 French Open, the 2021 French Op ...
and
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the ...
in the final. He beat Rafael Nadal in the Semi-finals of the Rio Open before losing in the final to David Ferrer. In April, he beat Rafael Nadal again in the third round of the Barcelona Open, but he again lost in the next round to Pablo Andujar. In May, after defeating Steve Johnson and
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
, he lost to
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
in the third round of the
Rome Masters The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
. At the German Open in Hamburg, Fognini reached the final, but was beaten 5–7, 5–7 by Rafael Nadal, in a match that lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes and saw 12 breaks of serve in the 24 games played. At the US Open, Fognini beat Steve Johnson and
Pablo Cuevas Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is an inactive Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna. He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking of ...
to advance to the third round where he caused a major upset, beating Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from two sets and a break of serve down in both the third and fourth sets. In that match, Nadal won the first two sets, and previously had been 151–0 in Grand Slam matches that he led two sets to none. Earning 70 winners, Fognini ended up beating Nadal in five sets. He subsequently lost his fourth round match against
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
.


2016: Fourth title and Rio Olympics

Fognini won his fourth ATP title at July's 2016 Croatia Open at
Umag Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia. Geography It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia. Population Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...
. He also reached the third round of the 2016 Rio Olympics where he pushed the then world no. 2 and defending Olympic champion, Andy Murray, to three sets.


2017: 5th title and suspension

Fognini went to the semi-finals of Miami before losing in straight sets to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. He rounded off strong finishes in the clay-court season including a defeat of world No. 1, Andy Murray. At Wimbledon, Fognini reached the third round, where he faced Murray again. This time Murray won in four sets, despite Fognini leading 5–1 in the fourth set. Fognini also captured the trophy in Gstaad over German qualifier
Yannick Hanfmann Yannick Hanfmann (born 13 November 1991) is a German professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 92, first achieved in May 2021. He is known for his powerful serves (up to 143 mph) and groundstrokes. H ...
. At the US Open, after a first round loss to Stefano Travaglia, Fognini was immediately suspended from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct, specifically three violations including using misogynistic language towards the female umpire. This caused him to default his third round doubles match with partner
Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli (; born 8 October 1985) is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a ...
. On 11 October, the Grand Slam board provisionally suspended Fognini for two majors and fined him US$96,000 for a "Major Offence of Aggravated Behaviour." The fine will be halved and the ban of two majors will be lifted if good behavior is maintained through 2019. At the St. Petersburg Open, Fognini reached the final by defeating top seed
Roberto Bautista Agut Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista A ...
in the semi-final. He lost in the final to
Damir Džumhur Damir Džumhur ( ; born 20 May 1992) is a professional tennis player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is currently Bosnia and Herzegovina's No. 1 player. His career-best singles ranking of World No. 23 achieved on 2 July 2018, makes him the highes ...
in three sets.


2018: 8th tour title

Fognini started his 2018 season at the Sydney International, where he reached the semi-finals and was defeated by the eventual champion,
Daniil Medvedev Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev (russian: Даниил Сергеевич Медведев; born 11 February 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 7 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and was ...
in three sets despite being up a set and a break. At the 2018 Australian Open, he reached the fourth round, losing to Tomas Berdych in straight sets. During the South American Clay Court swing, Fognini played
Argentina Open The ATP Buenos Aires ( es, Abierto de Buenos Aires, ) originally known as the Argentina International Championships and established in 1927 is an annual tennis event for male tennis players held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tournament is an A ...
, losing the first round to
Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Martín Mayer (; ''Mayer'' locally or , ; born May 15, 1987) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. ...
. He then won three 3-setters in
Rio Open The Rio Open, also known as the ''Rio Open presented by Claro'' for sponsorship reasons, is a tennis event on the ATP Tour and former WTA International Tournaments event. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Jockey Club Brasilei ...
before crashing out to
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
in the semi-finals. At the Brasil Open in São Paulo, Fognini beat Domingues, Garcia-Lopez, and Cuevas to reach the final. He then came from one set down to beat Nicolas Jarry and win his first title in 2018. Due to his strong performance in South America, Fognini rose to No. 19 in the ATP ranking, his best in more than three years. In
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, after defeating 6th seed
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest ...
, Fognini won the first set against 7-time champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
before losing in three sets. He was defeated in the fourth round of the French Open by 3rd seed
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
in 5 sets. Fognini won his second title of the year at the
Swedish Open Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
in Båstad. The following week, as the top seed at the
Swiss Open The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...
, Fognini exited the tournament early. He then traveled to Mexico to compete in the Los Cabos Open. Despite having little preparation on hard courts leading into the tournament, Fognini managed to win the title after defeating world number 4
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
in the final. Fognini's unique hairstyle he wore throughout the tournament garnered attention with some labeling it a "lucky charm". During the autumn, the Italian reached the final of the Chengdu Open where he held four championship points against world number 123
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two ju ...
. Fognini was however unable to convert and lost the final in a third set tiebreaker. In his next tournament he reached the semi-finals of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, but was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury. He subsequently withdrew from the Shanghai Masters due to the same injury. After the most decorated season of his career in terms of titles won, Fognini ended the year at his then career high ranking of No.13.


2019: Monte-Carlo title, top 10 debut

Fognini entered the
Monte Carlo Masters The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professio ...
on a five-match losing streak. His poor form led him to contemplate surgery for recurring ankle and elbow injuries. The Italian was quoted saying during an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport "I am not confident and I am sad about the lack of results". In the first round, Fognini saved five break points down a set and one break against
Andrey Rublev Andrey Andreyevich Rublev (russian: Андрей Андреевич Рублёв; born 20 October 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 5 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
before recovering to win the match. In his next three matches Fognini defeated world number 3 Alexander Zverev, world number 13
Borna Ćorić Borna Ćorić (; born 14 November 1996) is a Croatian professional tennis player. On 5 November 2018, he reached his best singles ranking of world No. 12. On 21 August 2022, Ćorić became the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 history when ...
(once again, after being down a set and a break), and world No. 2 and three-time defending champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
to reach his maiden
Masters 1000 The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
final. By defeating Nadal, Fognini became only the fourth player to defeat the Spaniard three times on a clay court, following his victories in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
and
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in 2015. He defeated Dušan Lajović in the final in straight sets, winning the biggest title of his career and becoming the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 title. Fognini extended his winning streak to seven matches at the Madrid Masters before losing to
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest ...
in the third round. At the French Open, Fognini reached the fourth round where he lost to Zverev in 4 sets. Following the tournament, Fognini entered into the world's top 10 for singles for the first time in his career. He became the oldest player to break into the top-10 since the establishment of ATP rankings in 1973. Following his third-round defeat at Wimbledon, to
Tennys Sandgren Tennys Sandgren II ( ; born July 22, 1991) is an American professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 41 on January 14, 2019. He broke into the top 100 of the ATP rankings toward the end of 2017 after comp ...
, Fognini was fined $3,000 (£2,396) after he said, during an on-court outburst, that Wimbledon should be bombed.


2020–2021: Two Australian Open fourth rounds

Fognini reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, beating
Reilly Opelka Reilly Opelka (born August 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. At 6 feet 11 inches tall, he is tied (with Ivo Karlović) for the tallest-ever ATP-ranked player, and can produce serves that measure over 140 mph. He has been ra ...
after coming back from 2 sets to love down, Jordan Thompson, again in 5 sets, and
Guido Pella Guido Pella (; born 17 May 1990) is an inactive Argentine professional tennis player. In August 2019, Pella reached his career best world No. 20 in singles. In July 2019, he peaked at No. 55 in doubles. Personal life His father, Carlos, taught ...
. He lost in the fourth round to
Tennys Sandgren Tennys Sandgren II ( ; born July 22, 1991) is an American professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 41 on January 14, 2019. He broke into the top 100 of the ATP rankings toward the end of 2017 after comp ...
. In November 2020, Fognini teamed up with new coach Alberto Mancini. Fognini reached the fourth round of the
2021 Australian Open The 2021 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park, on 8–21 February 2021. It was the 109th edition of the Australian Open, the 53rd in the Open Era, and the first Major tournament of the year. It w ...
for the fourth time, this time beating
Pierre-Hugues Herbert Pierre-Hugues Herbert (; born 18 March 1991) is a French professional tennis player. In doubles, he has completed the Career Grand Slam with titles at the 2015 US Open, the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, the 2018 French Open, the 2021 French Op ...
in straight sets,
Salvatore Caruso Salvatore Caruso (; born 15 December 1992) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 76 achieved on 16 November 2020. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 166 achieved on 18 January ...
in a narrow fifth set tiebreak, and home favourite and 21st seed
Alex de Minaur Alex de Minaur ( ; es, Álex de Miñaur Román, ; born 17 February 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 15 on 28 June 2021 and a doubles ranking of No. 58 on 12 October 2020. ...
. He lost to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in straight sets. The Caruso match was notable for an argument the pair had in which Fognini accused Caruso of being lucky. Fognini failed to defend his title in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
, but still reached the quarterfinals, beating
Miomir Kecmanović Miomir Kecmanović ( sr-Cyrl, Миомир Кецмановић, ; born 31 August 1999) is a Serbian professional tennis player. Kecmanović reached his best singles ranking of world No. 28 on 24 October 2022 and he peaked at world No. 161 on 16 ...
, Jordan Thompson and
Filip Krajinović Filip Krajinović (, ; born 27 February 1992) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26 on 23 April 2018.
before losing to
Casper Ruud Casper Ruud (born 22 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional tennis player. Ruud has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2, achieved on 12 September 2022, making him the highest-ranked Norwegian tennis player in history. He has won nine ...
in straight sets. At the 2021 Barcelona Open, Fognini was defaulted during his second round match against Bernabé Zapata Miralles for verbal abuse towards a line judge after being called for a foot fault. At the
2021 French Open The 2021 French Open was a major level tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 30 May to 13 June 2021, comprising singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. The qualifiers t ...
, Fognini reached the third round for the ninth time, where he was beaten in straight sets by Federico Delbonis. At the
2021 Wimbledon Championships The 2021 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Novak Djokovic successfully defended his gentlemen's singles title to cl ...
he also reached the third round where he lost to 5th seed
Andrey Rublev Andrey Andreyevich Rublev (russian: Андрей Андреевич Рублёв; born 20 October 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 5 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
.


2022: Record 400th singles career win, ATP 500 doubles title

At the
2022 French Open The 2022 French Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 22 May to 5 June 2022, comprising singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair ...
he defeated
Alexei Popyrin Alexei Popyrin (born 5 August 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. Popyrin has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 59 achieved on 8 November 2021. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 235 achieved in June 20 ...
which put him one win away from his 400th career win. At the 2022 Hamburg European Open he reached the second round defeating Aljaz Bedene to earn his 400th career win. He became only the 14th active player to win 400 matches and the first Italian man in the
Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
with 400 tour-level wins followed by
Adriano Panatta Adriano Panatta (born 9 July 1950) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. He won the French Open in 1976, and was the only player ever to defeat Björn Borg at Roland Garros, doing so on two occasions. He is also the only Italian man ...
with 392 wins, and by
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Tennis ca ...
with 386 wins, who is the second-most among active Italians.


Davis Cup

Fognini guided Italy into the quarterfinals of the 2013 Davis Cup World Group, defeating
Ivan Dodig Ivan Dodig (; born 2 January 1985) is a Croatian professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He is a six-time Grand Slam champion, having won men's doubles titles at the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo, and the 2021 Au ...
in the fifth and decisive rubber against
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
. It was the first time Italy had reached that stage since 1998."Fognini ends 15-year drought for Italy"
''Davis Cup'' official site, 3 February 2013.
He also guided Italy past
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
to the quarterfinals the following year, winning both singles rubbers against
Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Miami Masters, and achieved a career-high singles ranking ...
and
Carlos Berlocq Carlos Alberto Berlocq (; born February 3, 1983) is an Argentines, Argentine retired professional List of male tennis players, tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coach ...
, and the doubles rubber (partnering
Simone Bolelli Simone Bolelli (; born 8 October 1985) is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first all-Italian men's pair to win a ...
). In the quarterfinals in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
against Great Britain, Fognini equalled the tie at 2–2 after defeating reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in a straight sets win (after defeating James Ward two days previously), proving vital to Italy making the semi-finals with an eventual 3–2 victory. This was only the second time Murray had lost a singles rubber in the Davis Cup (after his first appearance ever in 2005)."Davis Cup: Fabio Fognini beats Andy Murray to force decider"
''BBC Sport'', 6 April 2014.
In the semi-final against Switzerland he lost both his singles rubbers to
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
.


Equipment and fashion

Fognini currently uses the Babolat Pure Drive Racquet strung with Babolat RPM Blast strings. His grip is Babolat Vs Original. In November 2016, he moved from Adidas apparel to Hydrogen, Italian leading luxury sportswear firm. in January 2017, Fognini signed a 3-years shoe supply agreement with ASICS In 2018, Fognini and his wife
Flavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles, on 28 February 2011. ...
signed to become ambassadors of the
Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and h ...
collection. From January 2019 onwards he wore the bold designs of Emporio Armani EA7 sportswear on-court.


Style of play

A clay-court specialist, Fognini is known for his streaky temperament, as well as his flair, speed, and movement on court. He has been known to lose his cool on occasion. He famously lost his cool and blew a 3–0 lead in the final set against Andy Murray at the
2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...
. He was thrown out of the 2017 U.S. Open over obscene remarks made to a female umpire. He has also 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."Beware the Wounded Tennis Player"
''The Daily Fix'', 29 May 2011.
Fognini's serve is relatively underpowered and hardly a trademark weapon, but he puts emphasis on precision and placement, while also having the ability to hit above 130 mph on occasion. Known for his baseline play and big ground strokes despite his average stature, one of his signature shots is his off forehand, which he uses to great effect. His tactics usually consist of a serve out wide, drawing a weak return, setting Fognini up to hit a clean winner off the forehand side. He also uses the backhand down the line frequently, often in key moments.


Personal life

Since 2014, Fognini has been in a relationship with Italian tennis compatriot
Flavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles, on 28 February 2011. ...
, from Brindisi, a retired player who won the 2015 US Open singles title. The couple were engaged in 2015 and married in
Ostuni Ostuni ( nap, label= Barese, Ostune; scn, label=Salentino, Stune) is a city and '' comune'', located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the win ...
on 16 June 2016. Their son was born in 2017. Their second child, a daughter, was born in 2019. In 2021 Pennetta gave birth to their second daughter, in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. In October 2020, Fognini tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
and recovered. He is a fan of
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
football club and Genoa C.F.C.


Career statistics


Performance timelines


Singles

''Current through the 2022 US Open.''


Doubles


Significant finals


Grand Slam: Doubles


Masters 1000: Singles


Masters 1000: Doubles


See also

* Fabio Fognini career statistics * Italian players best ranking * Tennis in Italy


Notes


References


External links

* * *
Official website

Bio – file interview with Fabio Fognini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fognini, Fabio 1987 births Living people People from Sanremo Italian male tennis players Hopman Cup competitors Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic tennis players of Italy Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Australian Open (tennis) champions Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the Province of Imperia 21st-century Italian people