Relaxed Fognini out to have fun
A happy Fabio Fognini is a good Fabio Fognini.
The enigmatic Italian is the top seed at the men’s ASB Classic this week thanks to a great 2019, but also Daniil Medvedev’s decision not to make the trip over the Tasman after all.
Fognini has spent most of his career inside the mid to lower regions of the top 50, but over the last couple of years he’s been able to join the elite.
He’s got his ranking up to No 12 in the world and he was in the top 10 for a period last year.
While that might not put him in the category of the very best players, what makes Fognini stand out is that he’s one of the great entertainers on the circuit.
He’s not a boring baseline player, doesn’t rely on having a big serve and doesn’t play like a wall, getting everything back, waiting for a mistake from his opponent.
He’ll do the unexpected, try something unusual and is similar to the likes of Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in that way and also like them, his style will take him near the top, but won’t win him a grand slam.
But over the last couple of years he’s gone from someone who could, probably harshly be called a journeyman, to a box office type player who can win tournaments.
So what changed? Why is he now playing the best tennis of his career?
‘‘I don’t know, Outside [of tennis], I’m more relaxed, more peaceful and more happy, because now we have the baby, we’re married,’’ he said.
‘‘I have the life I was dreaming about from the beginning, when everybody was young.’’
Fognini is married to former US Open winner Flavia Pennetta, who was also a regular at the ASB Classic.
They had their second child just before Christmas and Fognini is enjoying the settled environment he gets from his young family.
If he had any stresses in his life before, there was the risk that he’d take them onto the court. Now those pressures and outside worries are gone.
‘‘The most important thing now is that I’m happy. I’m happy outside [the court] and of course inside.
‘‘Because these two things make me more relaxed, make me feel like, it’s not fair to say, but like there’s not tension.
‘‘We’re always getting tension of course, because we’re studying our next opponent, how many points we have this week, if I play well or if I’ll drop in the ranking.
‘‘But believe me. I don’t care, I know that now I’m almost at the end of my career, so I would like to enjoy it the best I can, this last part of my career.’’
That doesn’t mean the passion isn’t there still in Fognini’s game.
There’s still that fire in him, which came out at Wimbledon last year when he yelled out in Italian while playing Tennis Sandgren ‘‘I wish a bomb would explode on this club,’’ which he later apologised for.
During that match he also cut three of his knuckles after punching the strings on his racket.
‘‘I have to be honest,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m like anyone when they go to work, I’m going to try the best I can and if I play bad one day, have a bad situation or don’t feel good on court, I’m going to be the same, like always.
‘‘I never say I’m going to change it behind one yellow ball. I’m Fabio Fognini 110 per cent inside and outside of the court.’’
Last year Fognini had his biggest tournament win, claiming the title at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he beat the then world No 3 Alexander Zverev and No 2 Rafael Nadal.
‘‘It was the best tournament of my career, for sure,’’ he said.
‘‘But now it’s 2020 . . . hopefully I’ll win some matches here so that I have a good preparation for the Australian Open.’’