Fognini Overcomes Paire In Wild Match To Give Italy 1-0 Lead
Fabio Fognini won just five games in his ATP Cup opener Tuesday, but he rebounded Wednesday to beat Benoit Paire 6-1, 7-6(2) and give Italy a 1-0 lead against France.
It was a wild match of runs inside John Cain Arena. Although Fognini nearly let slip a seemingly insurmountable 6-1, 3-0 advantage, he battled through in straight sets after one hour and 19 minutes. Matteo Berrettini, Italy’s No. 1 singles player, can now clinch the tie and a spot in the semi-finals for his country with a win against Gael Monfils.
Fognini took advantage of Paire’s erratic play — including four double faults in one game — to cruise through the first set in just more than 20 minutes. The Frenchman became increasingly frustrated with his second serve, hitting five double faults from seven second serves in the opener.
[WATCH LIVE 1]But despite trailing 0-3 in the second set, Paire battled hard to find a way back into the match.
“You have to try to focus on the things that you can use,” French captain Richard Ruckelshausen told Paire at that 0-3 changeover. “Come on, stay with it.”
Paire’s two-handed backhand, which is one of the best in the game, began firing, and he used his drop shot to great effect. Fognini’s level did not drop dramatically, but the Italian became aggravated as his lead slipped away. Paire won five consecutive games to serve for the second set at 5-4, but Fognini clawed his way back into the set with a crucial forehand passing shot winner.
Fognini was simply the more solid player, and that paid dividends as he closed out the match in the tie-break. The former World No. 9 saved seven of the nine break points he faced and took full advantage of Paire’s 10 double faults.