Ferrer limps out of Classic
On this evidence, the ASB Classic has found its next great entertainer. The Auckland men’s tournament has played host to some wonderful personalities down the years, the charismatic players who mix cavalier tennis with on court showmanship and style.
Second seed Fabio Fognini joined that list yesterday, providing an intoxicating mix of passion and panache, emotion and excitement in his 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5) win over Peter Gojowczyk.
The Italian was so . . . Italian. Effortless style at times, fiery temper at others, as he smashed his racquet on the ground and left it there. His coup de grace was high fiving the front row of the Robinson Stand, after he had played a brilliant winner to set up match point. A minute later, when he converted that point, to finally see off the determined challenge of the German, Fognini celebrated with great emotion then slumped in his courtside chair.
The world No 13 conducted the post-match television interview sitting down, indicating he was too tired to stand.
Fognini is pure box office, and brought all that to Stanley St.
He survived a major meltdown, showing tremendous fight and all his trademark emotion, to progress to the quarter finals.
Before yesterday’s match, five seeds had already packed their bags, and Fognini was dangerously close to joining them.
He fended off break points late in the third set, and then was down 2-4 in the third set tiebreak, fighting all kinds of internal battles.
World No 60 Gojowczyk, who shocked defending champion Jack Sock en route to the quarter-finals in Auckland last year, pushed the Italian to the limit, although Fognini was his own worst enemy.
He was all over the place mentally in the final set, smashing his racquet on two occasions and later leaving it in the far corner of the court, before a ball kid retrieved it for him. That action, and some obscene language, saw the umpire punish Fognini with a code violation, so Gojowczyk started the next game 15-0 ahead.
Fognini is a delight to watch, relying on exquisite touch and angles more than power. Fognini is also coming off his best year on tour, becoming the first Italian since 1977 to win three titles.
He started like a freight train, breaking twice to take the first set with relative ease.
The second set turned, as Fognini only won five points on the Gojowczyk serve and the German levelled the match.
He prevailed in the end — thanks to a forehand winner on match point