Fabio Fognini vs Dusan Lajovic (6-3, 6-4)
It wasn’t the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters final most people were expecting. Four of the top five players in the world were in the draw, with only Roger Federer — who recently won his 101st career singles title in Miami — the lone absentee. It certainly looked as though at least one of them would win the crown.
Fabio Fognini and Dusan Lajovic had other ideas, though, as they defied the Monte Carlo 2019 betting odds. Fognini, in particular, more than earned his place in the final as he knocked out World No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the third round and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semis.
Lajovic had a strong run to the final himself as he knocked out Indian Wells champion and World No. 4 Dominic Thiem in the round of 16.
But in the end, the 31-year-old Italian completed his miraculous run in the Monte Carlo Masters by beating Lajovic in straight sets to claim the title, which the SBOBET odds certainly didn’t see coming.
Highlights of the game
Fognini entered the final riding the huge high of defeating the nearly-unbeatable-on-clay Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. Nadal described the loss as one of his “worst matches on clay.”
But after that remarkable performance in the semis, Fognini didn’t get off to the best of starts in the final. Lajovic drew first blood by breaking the Italian in his second service game. However, Fognini fought back immediately to level the opening set at 2-2.
And after getting back-to-back breaks of his own — with the aid of some Lajovic unforced errors — Fognini claimed a 4-2 lead in the first set. He eventually won, 6-3, after delivering a fine backhand up the line.
Fognini used his forehand to great effect in his semi-final victory against Nadal, and it continued to be an effective weapon in the final against Lajovic.
The second set began with both Fognini and Lajovic exchanging breaks of serve in their first service games. Fognini then had to receive treatment after experiencing some discomfort with his ankle and hamstring.
But those injuries didn’t do much to slow the Italian down in what was one of, if not the biggest match of his career. He once again broke Lajovic to take a 3-2 lead thanks to some strong defensive skill. Fognini made the most out of his opportunities to break Lajovic’s serve as he converted four of five break points in the match.
Fognini was able to maintain his one-game edge through to 5-4 in order to serve for the title. But even though he hasn’t been in that pressure-packed situation too often, he showed little signs of buckling. Instead, he kept his cool and converted his second match point after Lajovic mistimed his return to seal his first ATP Masters 1000 title in just one hour and 38 minutes.
After the match, Fognini neatly summed up what the whole moment meant to him.
“I’m really, really happy. Nothing to say,” Fognini said. “I have to keep calm, maybe take a shower, relax, and think about this because it’s something incredible,” Fognini said.
Key statistics
With the win, Fognini becomes the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 singles title. The 31-year-old is also the oldest Monte Carlo champion in the open era.
The 13th-seeded Fognini also became the lowest seeded player to win the Monte Carlo Masters since another No. 13 seed — Gustavo Kuerten — did so in 1999. It just speaks to how wild the Monte Carlo Masters 2019 results were.
Fognini is also the eighth player to win his first Masters 1000 title over the past 17 events at the elite level.
Thanks to that big win, Fognini has now jumped up to No. 12 in the ATP Tour men’s singles rankings, which is a new career-high ranking.
What’s next?
Fognini doesn’t have too much time to relax and enjoy his incredible victory at Monte Carlo. That’s because he’s scheduled to be back on the clay courts for the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell.
Coincidentally, Nadal is the top seed in Barcelona, so the two could potentially meet once again later in the tournament. But if they do, Nadal will no doubt be eager for some payback.
Meanwhile, Lajovic is also set to get back to work so soon after his similarly improbable run to the final He’s off to Budapest for the Hungarian Open and is set to meet Mate Valkusz in the round of 32.
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