At 37, Fabio Fognini (94th in the world) has legs stiffer than ever. But this has always been the hallmark of a very personal gesture. And if he often hits with straight legs, his arm remains no less lively. Sporting an astonishing blonde dye, the Italian proved that he still has beautiful remains. Bad luck, it was Luca Van Assche (104th) who was on the other side of the net.
Drafted after losing his last round match in qualifying against Lucas Pouille due to Dominik Koepfer’s withdrawal, the Frenchman was well and truly in the main draw at Wimbledon. While every experience is good to take, this one risks being ruminated on a bit before assimilation.
Indeed, Van Assche quickly took on water at the start of the match. After a first break due to very good returns, Fognini continued in the first set. If Van Assche was more present in the second, he still had no opportunity to derail an Italian sure of his doing.
Fognini tightens the game
Broken at the start of the third set, Van Assche was in a bad way. He lacked that little bit more aggression to make Fognini doubt, who really didn’t look his age. Van Assche managed to break back to move ahead (5-4) and force Fognini to serve to stay in the set. The Italian tightened up the game to equalize at 5-5. Afterwards, he was more aggressive, notably by coming to the net, to once again take the opponent’s serve. Afterwards, he was untouchable, closing the match with a winning forehand. Once again hit with very stiff legs.
