By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Rafael Nadal battled by Fabio Fognini, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, in a three-hour thriller to set up a Madrid blockbuster with Nick Kyrgios.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
Edginess can erupt into exhilaration when Rafael Nadal meets nemesis Fabio Fognini.
Mixing down the line drives with deft finesse, Fognini pushed Nadal to the very edge in Madrid today.
Watch: Djokovic Denies Almagro In Madrid
A defiant Nadal dug in to repel his rival in a topsy-turvy thriller.
In a rematch of the Miami Open semifinals, Nadal fought off Fognini, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, in a wildly entertaining Madrid Open triumph that spanned two hours, 57 minutes.
It was Nadal’s fourth consecutive victory over the animated Italian and his emotive eruption on match point showed how much this match meant to him.
As was the case with reigning champion Novak Djokovic, Nadal did not play his most dynamic tennis today, but fought fiercely and found solutions against the 2015 Australian Open doubles champion.
"It's quite simple: I think there was a moment where he was playing really well," Nadal said of Fognini. "There was another moment where both of us played really badly. The third set, we leveled up.
"I think we both played better than what we played in the first two sets. This is a positive thing. But that together with a couple of things, it was the first match in altitude, then it was against an opponent that doesn't give you a lot of rhythm, and the weather today was not really good. Those three things are not good."
The four-time champion, who suffered from an ear infection over the weekend, conceded he "was a little bit nervous today because it was the first day I played, and the conditions were completely different to the previous days."
Since Fognini made history exploding in a shot-making spectacle stunning Nadal at the 2015 US Open to become the first man to rally from two sets down to defeat the Spaniard in a Slam, Nadal has won eight of the nine sets they’ve played.
The victory vaults Nadal into a blockbuster battle with Nick Kyrgios for a spot in the quarterfinals. The altitude of Madrid makes the massive-serving Kyrgios a dangerous opponent.
Earlier, the 16th-seeded Aussie scorched eight aces dismissing American Ryan Harrison, 6-3, 6-3, in 58 minutes.
"He's a very difficult opponent. He's one of the most difficult players you can play," Nadal said of Kyrgios. "It's true that I think on clay he's a very, very tough player. But perhaps here he's a little bit less difficult to play.
"But here we have the altitude, and that makes him very complicated. He can be even more complicated than a hard court due to the altitude we have here. Let's see what happens tomorrow. If I play late, the conditions will be a little bit slower. But, well, he's an opponent that's going to put a lot of pressure on me. He has a very good serve. He's very aggressive. I have to try to be very solid with my serve, too. I'm going to try to play at a high rhythm."
Antipathy has percolated through past clashes between Nadal and Fognini, including the 2015 Hamburg final when the pair were barking at each other during the final changeover. Fognini later said his issue was with “the Uncle”, coach Toni Nadal, rather than Rafa himself, but there always seems to be an underlying current of tension when they square off.
You can understand why Fognini's superb ball-control skills can make even a nine-time Roland Garros champ a little jittery.
Playing with sculptor's feel around net, applying the drop shot shrewdly and often stepping inside the court to drive the ball down the line, Fognini outplayed Nadal for sustained stretches of this match.
Fognini served for a one-set lead at 5-4, but a spirited Nadal continued to bang away from the baseline forcing the Italian to play physical rallies on some key exchanges.
Creeping forehand behind a forehand, Fognini showed impeccable finesse ending a 20-shot rally with a drop volley winner that capped a nine-minute break for 2-1.
Rising up in a demanding game, Nadal denied three break points in all for his second hold of the match in the fifth game.
An empowered Nadal broke back when Fognini’s drive clipped the top of the tape and dropped wide of the sideline.
When Fognini stepped in and drove his crosscourt forehand into the left-hander’s backhand, he drew a couple of backhand errors for two break points in the seventh game. Nadal saved both, but Fognini continued attacking his opponent’s backhand, moved forward and knifed a high backhand volley for a third break point.
Switching the pattern, the Italian fired an inside-out forehand into the corner drawing a sliding forehand error as he broke again for 4-3.
Throughout the set, Nadal continuously served wide on the ad side to the Italian’s backhand. While that play grew predictable it was a sweeping slider wide that saved a set point for the Spaniard. Nadal crunched another wide serve in nearly the identical spot capping a challenging hold for 4-5.
Serving for the set at 5-4, control eluded Fognini when he needed it most. He tapped a drop volley into the tape unraveling in a hideous four-error game spraying a forehand beyond the baseline to gift back the break.
Leveling didn’t exactly soothe Nadal’s nerve. He dumped two double faults to open the 11th game then saw Fognini drill a backhand winner down the line for triple break point.
In his most mesmerizing escape act of the set, Nadal soared for a high backhand volley to deny the first break point then fought off the next two. By then, Nadal had saved 10 of 12 break points building a 6-5 lead despite Fognini’s assertive performance.
Facing the frustration of failing to break plus the physicality of a 70-minute battle, Fognini fired his first ace to save a set point. Catching Nadal trying to run around a return, Fognini spun a second ace on a second serve to force the tie break and quiet the crowd.
A tight Nadal opened the tie break with a nervous netted double fault.
An electrifying all-court point that featured a beautiful Fognini lob that sent Nadal scurrying back to the baseline escalated. Nadal answered a drop shot with an angled drop shot of his own somehow salvaging a dazzling point for 3-2.
Sliding into a forehand drop volley, Fognini found the net then slammed his Babolat racquet to the terre battue—three times in a row—falling into a 3-5 hole.
Tightening his grip on a set that was so tenuous, Nadal drained another error snatching a highly-entertaining 81-minute that had to be downright painful for Fognini.
Still, Fognini, who will become a first-time father this month when wife Flavia Pennetta gives birth, did not go away. Carving out an exquisite backhand drop shot winner, he broke for a 3-1 second-set lead. Fighting off a break point in the following game, Fognini held firm for 4-1.
Fognini’s flashy shot-making, smooth transition skills and front-court finesse making him a joy to watch when he’s committed and in form.
Following a forehand forward, Fognini angled off a drop volley for set point. A Fognini drive crashed into the top of the tape and dribbled over. He held his hands up in an apologetic gesture leveling after two hours, 11 minutes.
The edge faded from Fognini as a framed shot, a double fault and Nadal’s unerring consistency conspired to create the break and a 4-2 lead for the four-time champion.
Expanding his lead, Nadal plowed through a love hold for 5-2.
Serving for the match, Nadal stumbled sending his usually rock-solid inside-out forehand long as Fognini broke back.
Shrugging it off, Nadal went right back to work driving his backhand deep down the line to force a final error ending a two-hour, 57 minute battle with a furious fist pump.
Empowered by capturing his unprecedented 10th Monte-Carlo championship and his record-extending 10th Barcelona title, Nadal raised his 2017 record to an ATP-best 30-15 mark, including a pristine 11-0 on his beloved clay.