Top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-7 6-2 6-4 in a second-round match at the Rio Open on Thursday. The match lasted for almost three hours, as the former World No. 1 came back from behind to register a crucial win.
Carlos Alcaraz will take on Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in the quarterfinal on Friday.
Carlos Alcaraz Gets the Better of Fabio Fognini in a Thriller in Rio de Janeiro
Fognini wins a close first set with a few glorious shots:
Alcaraz started the match well and was soon a break up to lead 4-2. However, the veteran Italian bounced back to break the 19-year-old Spaniard and then draw level.
The first set then went into a tie-break that Fognini managed to win. There were a lot of cross court backhand exchanges between the two, but Fognini showed glimpses of his undeniable talent with a brilliant half-volley that dragged Alcaraz into the net, and then finished the point with a forehand volley.
Carlos Alcaraz bounced back as Fognini’s movement became sluggish:
Alcaraz yet again demonstrated his unshakable faith in himself and ran away with the second set with a double break. As the match progressed, Fognini’s movement became somewhat slow, which helped the Spaniard’s cause.
Carlos Alcaraz then got an early break one again in the final set and held on to the lead to finish the match off. He kept playing sumptuous drop shots repeatedly to force Fognini to venture forward, but the Italian often relented even without trying.
Alcaraz thus remains the favourite to win his second title of the year and it might prove to be an uphill task for Lajovic on Friday.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
