Jacob Fearnley became the fifth British player to advance at the Italian Open in Rome, defeating Fabio Fognini in their first-round match.
Fearnley secured a 6-2, 6-3 victory, but had to recover from challenging starts in both sets against his determined opponent.
The 37-year-old Italian, Fabio Fognini, had previously announced this would be his final appearance at the Rome tournament.
`I think it`s a good time to say goodbye in this beautiful, special city,` said Fognini, who first played at the Italian Open in 2006.
He added, `Since I was a kid I was coming here. And now I`m at the opposite end of my career. But I`m here with a smile on my face because I know I had a really difficult time during my… 20 years in Rome, and I would like to enjoy the last lap.`
Fognini has claimed eight of his nine ATP singles titles on clay, highlighted by his victory at the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters.
Ultimately, Fearnley`s performance was too strong for Fognini, setting up a second-round encounter with another Italian favourite, Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon finalist.
Fearnley`s victory follows a rise to 57 in the ATP world rankings, achieved after his first win against a top-20 player, Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, at the Madrid Open last month.
The 23-year-old, who was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov in the Madrid second round, recovered from losing his opening service game against Fognini, breaking back three times to claim the first set in 34 minutes.
Fognini again started the second set strongly, breaking Fearnley`s serve in the opening game to take a 3-1 lead.
However, the Briton surged back, winning five consecutive games to secure the victory on his first match point after one hour and 21 minutes.
Fearnley commented, `It was a tough match. I really had to dig deep in both sets. I knew I had to raise my game to win. I`m very happy to get the win.`
He added, `I was telling myself just to stay composed. I kind of expected to get off to a slow start, so I`m just happy to get through.`
Fearnley described sharing the court with Fognini for the Italian`s final Rome match as special.
A unique moment occurred during the match when the announcement of the new Pope was broadcast live to the stadium crowd.
`The Italian fans were amazing,` Fearnley said. `It was an electric atmosphere, a truly amazing environment to play in.`
Four other British players are scheduled to compete on Friday: Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper, lucky loser Cameron Norrie, and Sonay Kartal.
Brits in action on Friday
- 12pm – Sonay Kartal vs Linda Noskova
- 2pm – Emma Raducanu vs Ekaterina Alexandova
- 2pm – Cameron Norrie vs Daniil Medvedev
- 6pm – Jack Draper vs Luciano Darderi
Swiatek bounces back
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek rebounded from one of her career`s most challenging losses with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over local player Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the second round of the Italian Open.
Swiatek had mentioned dealing with `personal stuff` after her 6-1, 6-1 defeat by Coco Gauff in the Madrid Open semi-finals the previous week.
Swiatek is a three-time Italian Open winner but hasn`t reached a tournament final this year. This event serves as the final major clay-court preparation before the French Open begins on May 25. Four of Swiatek`s five Grand Slam titles have come at Roland Garros.
Swiatek`s next opponent in the third round will be Danielle Collins of the United States, who defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania 6-3, 6-3.
Naomi Osaka also moved forward, overcoming Swiss lucky loser Viktorija Golubic in three sets: 2-6, 7-5, 6-1. This marked Osaka`s seventh consecutive win on clay.
Italy`s Jasmine Paolini beat New Zealand`s Lulu Sun 6-4, 6-3 and will next play Tunisia`s Ons Jabeur, who advanced to the third round via a walkover after Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic withdrew due to injury.
Madison Keys also reached the last 32, securing a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win against Varvara Gracheva of France.
