Buenos Aires (Argentina) : Fabio Fognini reached the quarter-finals of a tour-level event for the first time since April, defeating Spain’s Pedro Martinez 6-4, 7-6(5) at the Argentina Open. The fourth seed Italian set the wheels in motion as he out-maneuvered Martinez with his heavy topspin groundstrokes to advance after two hours and five minutes.
In a hard-fought match played on Thursday night, Fognini rallied from a break down in the first set and recovered from a match point on Martinez’s serve at 4-5, 30/40 in the second to eventually triumph in their first ATP meeting.
The last time Fognini reached the quarter-finals at a tour-level event was also on clay at the Monte Carlo Masters 10 months ago. The Italian is making his 13th appearance in Buenos Aires and will next face sixth-seeded Argentine Federico Delbonis, who was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Spanish 36-year-old Pablo Andujar.
In Thursday’s Buenos Aires nightcap, second seed Diego Schwartzman needed seven match points to close out a 7-6(2), 7-6(4) win over Spain’s Jaume Munar. In a dramatic second set, the Argentine recovered an early break and then had a pair of match points on the return at 4-5. After a battling hold, Munar managed to secure a break and set up an opportunity to serve out the set.
From 6-5, 15/0, Schwartzman raised his game and won 10 straight points to all but end the match. Finding form on his backhand, Schwartzman forced a tie-break and then built a 6-0 lead. Munar had one last surge left to close to 4-6, but a forehand return winner finished the match after two hours, 23 minutes.
“I’m very happy because it was tough at the end,” Schwartzman reflected. “He was saving too many match points, winning too many good points at the end of the match and he had the chance to go into the third. I think the tie-break, in the beginning, I played better than him. But at the end, he was fighting and he was there.”
The victory sets up a rematch of last year’s all-Argentine Buenos Aires final against Francisco Cerundolo, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 earlier in the day.
“It’s going to be a different match,” Schwartzman previewed. “He has already one year (of experience) playing in the ATP Tour and winning Challengers. It’s going to be a different match, but we are going to enjoy a full stadium tomorrow.”
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