Fabio Fognini edges out by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in round one – Grand Prix Hassan II 2012
Eight seed, Fabio Fognini, was underplayed by the Spanish veteran, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in gruelling three sets at the Grand Prix Hassan II 2012 on Monday. He suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 loss at the hands of the world number 80 at this ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) clay court event taking place in Morocco.
The Italian fought back in the second set and succeeded in pulling out the equaliser. However, he failed to carry his momentum in the final set and eventually exited from the tournament in the opening round. Garcia-Lopez on the other hand not only avenged
his loss at the French Open last year but also levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 2-2 against Fognini.
The 28-year-old thundered into the Complexe Al Amal and went on a four-game tear before Fognini could hold on. Regardless of losing his serve in the eighth game, the Spaniard slid his serve once more and sealed the opener by winning six games to four.
57th Ranked Fognini re-focused in the following set and held his serve in the opening game to take the initial lead. The Italian maintained consistency in his game and swiftly held his entire serves after dusting away all three breakpoints he
faced. Fognini got the breakthrough in the sixth game and grabbed the equaliser with a 6-3 win. He converted one out of four break opportunities to his advantage to rule this set.
The Italian lost his concentration again in the final set which matter the most. He suffered the first blow in the sixth game and subsequently fell at 2-5. Apart from snatching his break back in the ninth game, Fognini gifted away his serve in the last game
and endured a 5-7 shock.
Overall, the Italian committed fewer errors and produced a first serve share of 60 per cent at this two hour and eight-minute venture. He also cashed in three out of nine break chances but lost his serve three times to bear this defeat.
Garcia-Lopez will confront the conqueror of the match between the local wild card entrant, Mehdi Ziadi, and France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.
The fifth seed, Donald Young, will also accompany Fognini towards the exit doors. He squandered his chance to pocket the match in the second set’s tie-breaker and suffered a 6-4, 6-7(5), 2-6 defeat against France’s Benoit Paire in two hours. The American
broke Paire’s serve five times but was broken down six times, consequently leaving the tournament with disappointment in the opening round.
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