The ATP Challenger tournament, worth 145,000 euros, starts on Sunday in the Sportaktivpark in Bad Waltersdorf with the first round of qualification. Tournament director Peter Westner has pulled another star out of the hat for the main competition starting on Monday: the eccentric Italian Fabio Fognini, a nine-time ATP tournament winner and former top ten player, is coming to the East Styrian thermal spa and volcano region.
by PM
last edited: September 15, 2023, 11:20 a.m
© Paul Zimmer
Fabio Fognini comes to Styria
Everything is set up for a tennis treat LAYJET-OPEN from the September 17th to 24th in Bad Waltersdorf! And shortly before the start of the with 145.000 Euroendowed ATP-Challengers became tournament director Peter Westner Another big name came forward with a request for a wildcard for the main competition. None other than the former top ten star Fabio Fognini asked for a “free ticket” – Westner didn’t hesitate for a second and promised the eccentric Italian a starting place in the 32-strong main field.
Fognini also takes some remarkable records with him to the East Styrian thermal baths and volcano region! He was already 32 years old in 2019 when he became the oldest player in tennis history to make it into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time as number nine. He was also the first Italian in this elite circle since Corrado Barazzutti in 1979. “Fogna” was also the first player from his country to win a title at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo in 2019 – on the way there He also defeated the Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal on his favorite surface, clay. The 36-year-old from San Remo is also the Italian record holder in another statistic with the most match wins on the ATP tour (411).
In addition to nine singles titles, Fognini also has eight ATP tournament victories in doubles. The ardent Inter Milan football fan celebrated his greatest double success in 2015 alongside his compatriot Simone Bolelli with the triumph at the Australian Open in Melbourne. “Fabio Fognini is a really good guy and has a really good tennis touch. That’s why it quickly became clear to me that he would get a wildcard,” explains Peter Westner, who also reveals that Fognini asked for three hotel rooms. “This suggests that he will take his family with him to Bad Waltersdorf,” suspects the tournament director. Fognini is with the 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta married, with whom he has three children (Federico, Farah and Flaminia).
Tournament starts with a duel for a double wildcard
Next Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 11 a.m., in addition to twelve qualifying games in singles, there will also be a duel for a wildcard for the main doubles competition. The reigning Styrian double champions will take part Syl Gaxherri/Jan Kobierski against Leo Gutjahr/Alexander Wagner who qualified for this duel via the popular Clock Tower Trophy. By the way, the Styrian talent will be given the opportunity to qualify for the individual competition Sebastian Sorger and the Burgenlander Matthias Ujvary a wild card. However, it is still unclear who will be given wildcards for the main competition.
2023-09-15 10:18:00
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