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By Chris Oddo | Friday September 4, 2015

 
Fognini US Open 2015

Fabio Fognini kept the New York crowd up late on Friday, as he delivered a comeback for the ages.

Photo Source: Elsa/Getty

In an improbably good tussle that lasted nearly four hours and five sets, Italian Fabio Fognini became the first man in history to defeat Rafael Nadal after falling down two sets to love on Friday night in New York.

More: Serena Struggles then Soars over Mattek-Sands

It took a magical performance to do it, and a game Fognini seemingly summoned that magic at will. After falling behind by two sets and a break, the Italian walked the tightrope for three sets and eventually he stole away with a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory that will forever be archived in the annals of legendary US Open night matches.

“It was really tough,” he said of the match that had more twists and turns than a rush-hour taxi trying to navigate gridlocked New York City streets. “Especially against Rafa, two sets to love down. It was an incredible match.”


Fognini clocked 70 winners on the evening, many of them of the dazzling variety, and ended Nadal’s run of ten consecutive years with a Grand Slam title. After falling behind two sets to love, the 32nd seed ramped up his aggression with each passing set. He racked up 12 winners to Nadal’s 4 in the third set, 17 winners to Nadal’s 8 in the fourth, and 20 winners to Nadal’s 6 in the decider.

In danger of being bounced in straight sets, Fognini won four of five games and broke twice to erase a break deficit and claim the third set.

In the fourth the Italian again rallied from a break down, levelling at 2-all with a majestic backhand volley winner and taking four of the next five games, serving the set out to 15 as Nadal missed badly on a backhand return.

Fognini entered New York on a dismal nine-match hard-court losing streak, and was 0-17 against the Top-10 on the surface.

But the Italian has found his range against Nadal of late, winning three of four against him in 2015. A lot of that might have to do with the dilution of Nadal’s once daunting forehand. On Friday the Spaniard had his moments with the shot, particularly in the early going, but by the fifth set it had lost much of its sting, leading ESPN’s Darren Cahill to utter “There’s nothing on Rafa’s forehand at the moment.”

It was strange to see Nadal bullied by a more diminutive player, but given the stratospheric character of Fognini’s shotmaking on this evening, there didn’t seem to be much he could do about it. The Italian repeatedly launched flat, crisply angled groundstroke winners that touched 90 MPH on the radar gun. He frequently closed into the net and demonstrated his tremendous feel with volleys and smashes to end points.


Nadal would have been better served to put Fognini on the dead run more, and he might have been able to achieve this with better spot serving, but he only managed to win 37 percent of his second-serve points and was broken nine times on Fognini’s 16 break point opportunities.

In a roller coaster fifth set there were seven consecutive service breaks until Fognini finally ended the madness with a hold to end proceedings in three hours and 46 minutes. Seven service breaks in a row may sound like sheer horror for players and fans alike, but the tennis did not disappoint. Nadal found his fire and desperately tried to outlast the zoning Fognini, but on this night there simply would be none of that.

This was Fabio Fognini’s night, and as a disappointed Nadal slung his bag over his shoulder and waved good-bye to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Italian took the mic and tried to explain to the fans what this win meant to him. Never mind what he said, Fognini’s words have never made a lot of sense to tennis fans, but his tennis can be the stuff of dreams.

On this magical night in New York, the dream was a recurring one. Even as Nadal stiffened his resolve in the decider, Fognini refused to wake up to reality.

Fognini will face 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16 on Monday.

 

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