Italy stays in touch with the quarterfinal at ATP Cup after victory over Norway

Sunday, 05 January 2020 at 08:53

Fabio Fognini sharing his frustrations at the 2015 Rome Open

Italy defeated Norway in Perth 2-1 after they previously lost to Russia and kept their hopes for advancing into quarterfinals still high.

Team of Italy around their leader Fabio Fognini stayed in touch with quarterfinal after the late victory over Norway in their second matchup at the ATP Cup.

Stefano Travaglia started the day with a quick 6-1, 6-1 victory over Viktor Durasovic. With the Italian no.1 Fognini still to play, they hoped for an easy victory. However, Norway did not give up and didn't make it easy for their opponents.

An experienced Italian faced Casper Ruud, who previously helped Norway to a surprising victory over the USA. And this time he fought again. World number 12, Fognini was a clear favorite of the match but he struggled against Ruud. Fabio did not have a single break point during the match as his opponent used 5 out of the 9 opportunities. After 67 minutes, Ruud won the match to force the decisive doubles.

In doubles, Bolelli teamed up with Fognini to faced Durasovic & Ruud. The Italian team was better during the match when they allowed their opponents to have only one breakpoint which they turned away. Bolelli & Fognini brought 6-3, 7-6 win as they earned the first point for Team Italy in Group D at the ATP Cup.

Fognini had a difficult time leaving the home after his daughter was born. He commented on how he feels in Australia when he said: “I was just tired in the end because, of course, I have less energy than the beginning. [It] was completely tough leaving home. The first thing that I did, was asking Flavia if she was feeling okay if everything was 100 percent. I arrived yesterday at almost three in the morning. I woke up, played 20 minutes and went onto court.”

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B65NJJgoIVu/[/embed]