Fabio Fognini reacts to seeing his name beside Rafael Nadal's on Monte-Carlo honors board
Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini has fond memories of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he won the title in 2019. It was Fognini's biggest title of his career then and in the process, he became the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 title.
Fognini withdrew from the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters after picking up a foot injury at the ATP 250 tournament in Estoril, but that didn't prevent him from reminiscing a little about his title triumph.
He was granted a wildcard at the Monte-Carlo Masters as one of the former champions of the tournament before his unfortunate withdrawal. After a fan on social media shared the Monte-Carlo Masters winners board, Fognini reshared it with a wink and a handshake emoticon. The honors board shows the Italian's name next to Rafael Nadal, who won the tournament in 2016, 2017 and 2018 -- the last three of his 11 titles in the competition.
Fabio Fognini has always been one to watch out for on clay. In 2019, the Italian was in great form. He saved five break points down a set and one break against Andrey Rublev before winning his first-round match and went on to defeat Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric and three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final.
In the final, he beat Dušan Lajovic in straight sets, winning the biggest title of his career.
Fabio Fognini "devastated" after Monte Carlo withdrawal
Fabio Fognini is undergoing a slump in his form. A former World No. 9, the Italian is now just on the fringes of breaking out of the top 100, at 97. He also recently revealed that he is currently at the worst period of his career.
After picking up an injury at the Estoril Open, Fognini took to social media to announce his withdrawal from the Monte-Carlo Masters, terming it devastating.
"I am sad to announce that I won’t be able to play the upcoming Monte Carlo tournament. Unfortunately the foot injury I sustained in Estoril is still under review and the pain won’t allow me to play. I’m devastated. You all know how much I love Monte Carlo. I want to publicly thank the organizers for the wild card. I hope to be back on court again soon," he wrote on Instagram.
Fognini was not the only high-profile name to withdraw from Monte-Carlo. Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and most recently Denis Shapovalov all pulled out, leaving the highly anticipated Masters tournament lacking star power.