Italian maverick Fabio Fognini edged a topsy-turvy five-setter against British No. 1 Kyle Edmund to reach the fourth round of the French Open Saturday.
No. 18 seed Fognini mixed dazzling brilliance with careless errors and even lost 16 points in a row at one stage before prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Edmund’s level also fluctuated throughout the three-hour and 34-minute contest in which both players needed medical timeouts.
“I just wanted just my leg loosened up just in my hip, and it helped a bit. Yeah, I was okay after that,” Edmund said in press afterwards.
Edmund, 23, was disappointed at losing a grueling match but insisted Fognini’s erratic style of play did not bother him.
“He’s not a tough guy to play, he’s just like any other player,” Edmund added. “He has his ways of going about things. I just focus on myself and try and get my game going first and concentrate on my game and you can’t fret what the other guy does, really.
“He’s just playing tennis. I was okay dealing with whatever was considered “tricky,” but fine with me.”
Australian Open semifinalist Edmund will take a break to assess his clay season before he begins preparations for Wimbledon, where he will be seeded.
“It’s nice … you know you’re not going to play Roger first round, but you have to be on it,” Edmund added. “Like, I think you can see at these tournaments, certain results, and maybe some close matches, you can see how everyone has a chance to win.”
Serving at 4-5 in the last set, Edmund then buckled, going 0-40 down, and although he saved one match point, Fognini forced the error on the next to reach the last 16 for only the second time on his 11th appearance at Roland Garros.
With Marco Cecchinato also through, Italy has two players in the fourth round here for the first time since Corrado Barazzutti and Adriano Panatta survived that far in 1976, Espn reports.
