Fabio claims 1st Masters crown in Monte Carlo
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Fabio Fognini won the biggest title of his career after beating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 yesterday in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
The Italian’s first title of the year was his ninth overall but first at Masters level.
The 31-year-old triumphed despite suffering from an apparent muscle problem to become the lowest-seeded player, at 13, to claim the title since Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten in 1999.
It came the day after he stunned defending champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets, becoming the first player to beat Nadal in Monte Carlo since Novak Djokovic in the 2015 semifinals.
“I was born nearby so this is extraordinary,” Fognini said. “I started the season rather badly, so this is unbelievable. I’m very content with this victory, especially with all of the Italians here today.”
The 48th-ranked Lajovic’s run to his first career final was unexpected.
But the unseeded Serbian player rarely threatened in humid, overcast and slightly windy conditions.
Fognini needed a medical timeout to receive treatment to his right foot and right thigh after the fifth game of the second set.
But it did not impede him as he served out the match, clinching victory on his second match point when Lajovic hit a forehand wide.
The players hugged warmly at the net.
Fognini is only the fourth man to win the claycourt event since Nadal’s first of a record 11 wins in 2005. Djokovic, twice, and Stan Wawrinka also won.
The last Italian before Fognini was Nicola Pietrangeli in 1968.
The 85-year-old Pietrangeli, a two-time French Open winner, stood and applauded as Fognini dropped to his knees to kiss the surface.
Pietrangeli walked gingerly onto the court and the pair hugged. Pietrangeli posed alongside Fognini as he held the trophy.
The Italian veteran came to the first major week of the pre-French Open run-up with a 0-4 record on the clay, the surface he grew up on.
The match started evenly enough, but Fognini broke for a 4-2 lead when Lajovic made an unforced error on forehand. Fognini then held his serve with a typically flamboyant one-handed, cross-court backhand to take control.
Serving for the set, Fognini saved a break point with a forehand winner down the line, and then clinched it with an equally good backhand.
Fognini broke for a 3-2 lead in the second set when Lajovic hit a forehand wide.
After Fognini’s medical timeout, Lajovic missed an easy smash at 30-30 in the next game.
With that miss, his slim hopes faded.
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