There is a rublev between Fognini and the final

Fabio Fognini’s race ends in the semi-finals Open Serbia, ATP 250 With a total prize pool of 534,555 euros about to expire On the red mud of the Novak Tennis Center (The facility where the world’s number one trains regularly) Belgrade. 34 years of Arma di Taggia, 62 in the ranking and sixth favorite in sowing, he found a red disk in front of him To Russian Andrei Rublev, 8 ATP and second favorite in the rating: 62 62 The score is in favor of the 24-year-old from Moscow, in 1 hour 3 minutes of play.

In the 10th head-to-head confrontation between the two – the Ligurians lead 5-4 on the tally of the previous encounters (2-1 on clay) but Rublev established himself in the last three challenges – Fognini, having saved three consecutive break points in the opening match, gave up his serve In the third inning, opened and closed in two double steps. Rublev broke his confirmation to zero in the match 3-1, with an additional stretch for the Russian thanks to a second “break”, so she could push shots with confidence and then move on to 5-1. Blue, also thanks to some differences in rhythm, with three dampers able to bring him points, interrupted the negative line (2-5) but the Muscovite lost the first part with power, as it was practically unplayable in the pub (he lost only two points).

In the second set at 2-2, some Ligurian errors (a double fault and two rights, after a row hit by the opponent) broke the world number eight, who never took his foot off the accelerator. Andre flew to 5-2, when he ceded his first three match break points, canceled out emphatically, then finished practice on his second game point and cleared the ticket to his 16th career final.

Far from regretting this defeat, the balance in Belgrade remains positive for Fognini. After winning his first derby match against Marco Cecchinato, No. 108 ATP, he left five matches in the Slovenian Aljaz Biden, No. 164, protected classification contender, in the quarter-finals He defeated German Oscar Otti, No. 67 of the ATP, in two sets, who in the second round eliminated Russian Aslan Karatsev, No. 30 in the standings and fourth favorite in the classification, and thus qualified for the professional semi-finals 41, second in 2022 (having been I arrived at the “500” Rio de Janeiro). Thanks to the points gained in the Serbian capital, Fabio secured his return to the top 50 in the ATP rankings.