"Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz are and will be the future of our sport" - Fabio Fognini
Italian tennis veteran Fabio Fognini believes Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the flagbearers of men's tennis.
Fognini suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 defeat at the hands of Sinner in the second round of the Italian Open on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media after the defeat, the 34-year-old stressed that Alcaraz and Sinner would be the "future" of tennis. He reckons Sinner excels in bringing variety to his playing style but warned that the 20-year-old's gung-ho approach might misfire once opponents begin to unravel his tactics.
“He (Jannik Sinner) and Alcaraz are and will be the future of our sport. Jannik does well to look for variations on his game," said Fognini. "He is very strong when he presses you and plays with great pace, but the opponents will understand how to play against him and then it will be hard for him."
"The first set slipped away a little too quickly, but I was up against an opponent 15 years younger" - Fabio Fognini on Jannik Sinner
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Despite his defeat to Jannik Sinner, Fabio Fognini asserted that he sees himself capable of carving his name in the upper echelons of men's tennis. Having said that, the 34-year-old revealed that he would decide on his future at the end of the ongoing season.
"I have good feelings about the match, I have shown that the level is there, once again," said Fognini. "If this was my last time in Rome? I don't know, I'll decide what to do at the end of the year. The first set slipped away a little too quickly but I was up against an opponent 15 years younger who is playing very well."
Jannik Sinner, on his part, believes Fognini gave him a tough fight. According to the 20-year-old, Fognini did well to improve his performance in the second set but eventually fell prey to his returning quality.
"It was a tough one for sure. I tried to play my best tennis, especially in the important points," the 10th seed said in an on-court interview. "In the second set, he raised his level. He played better than me. In the third set it was a little bit of a rollercoaster. Fortunately I've done a great job in the final set to manage to break him first, and this for sure was the key today."
Sinner revealed that Fabio Fognini is one of his "great" friends and that he would often draw inspiration from his more experienced countryman.
"He's a great friend," Sinner said of his opponent. "He gave me a lot of confidence when I played with him in Davis Cup. He's a very special player, like today, he can raise his level incredibly fast."