Another day of misery for Fabio Fognini (ok that is not breaking news).
The Italian lost another unbelievable match this time against a half dead Gael Monfils.
These two have some history as Fabio 4 years ago won an incredible match in Paris against Gael in 5 sets (2-6 4-6 7-5 6-4 9-7) while he was cramping.
This time it was Gael to put up a little show. The Frenchman was leading 5-7 6-2 6-4 to go completely south with his fitness. Monfils lost the fourth set 6-0 and it seemed as he was done (we are sure there was some acting in it). Going into the 5th set Fognini imploded. Instead of moving around the Frenchman, the Italian was just putting the ball in the middle of the court (not smart).So Gale got an early 3-0 lead to finally win the decider. The final result was 5-7 6-2 6-4 0-6 6-2.
The middle finger
Fognini had to add some drama to show the middle finger to the French crowd. Not a nice move. Definitely not French.
Monfils: I am surviving
Gael commented “When I arrived in the fourth, he broke me straight away. I was starting to struggle a little bit, not cramping, but I felt really tired. I think all the fatigue coming up. The crowd is always the difference. Today it was again amazing. I think it is never easy to drop a set. Trying to come back for the fifth is never easy, and definitely the crowd helped me a lot.
“For me it’s not about ups and downs. It’s more about saving my ass every day! To be honest, I just came here without preparation. So, I’m surviving.”
