Indian Wells: Fabio Fognini beats Pablo Andujar, enters record books
Italy's Fabio Fognini overcame Pablo Andujar to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. The former claimed a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory from a set down in his opening match. Fognini now has the most wins by an Italian man in history (392). He broke the long-standing record of former world number four Adriano Panatta. Here are the key stats.
Why does this story matter?
Fognini claimed his 392nd ATP singles win, the most by an Italian man. He has a career win-loss record of 392-343 so far. Fognini went past Adriano Panatta, who won 391 matches in his career. The likes of Andreas Seppi (386), Corrado Barazzutti (317), and Renzo Furlan (223) follow Panatta in terms of ATP wins (Italian men).
A look at the stats of the match
Fognini won a total of 92 points and 38 winners in the match. He smashed five aces as compared to Andujar's two. The latter recorded as many as six double faults. Fognini won 73% (33/45) of the first serve points.
Fognini has won nine ATP Tour trophies
Fognini clinched his first tour-level title in 2006 in Amersfoort. In a career spanning over a decade, the Italian has won a total of nine ATP Tour trophies. He also has an ATP Masters 1000 title to his name (won the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters). The 34-year-old climbed to a career-high ninth spot in the ATP Rankings in 2019.
I did something great: Fognini
"If I have to be honest, not really. But you go day by day, tournament by tournament, year by year. If I'm looking back at my career, I did something great. Probably in the past two months, especially after Australia I started enjoying a little more my tennis, even if it's difficult traveling without my family," Fognini said after the match.
The road ahead!
Fognini will next face the 2021 runner-up Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Indian Wells. The latter lost to Cameron Norrie in the final of the 2021 edition. Meanwhile, Fognini is vying for a comeback after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both his ankles in May 2020. The Italian has a win-loss record of 6-4 in the ongoing season. He reached the semis in Rio de Janerio.
