Fabio Fognini during a Rogers Cup game (Getty)
Italian veteran Fabio Fognini will face Austria’s Sebastian Ofner in the third round of the French Open
Italy’s Fabio Fognini has already hinted that this could be his last professional season and the veteran would definitely love to cap it off with a memorable outing at the Roland Garros. He has been very impressive so far in Paris and began his campaign with a commendable victory against No.10 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 36-year-old pulled off a major upset, beating the much fancied Canadian in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. He then went on to register another convincing win in straight sets against Jason Kubler to progress to the third round. Fognini has invaluable experience of playing at the elite level and there is no doubt that he can progress deep into the tournament if he plays at his best.
Sebastian Ofner has been a revelation so far at the French Open. He is a regular in the Challenger Series and has made only a handful of appearances at the ATP level and has taken everyone by surprise in Paris. He made it to the main draw of the competition after winning three rounds of qualifiers.
The Austrian was very impressive during the qualifying phase and is understandably high on confidence. Ofner began his campaign with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Rio Noguchi in the opening encounter and followed it up with a hard-fought win in three sets against Jan Choinski. He then went on to defeat Facundo Diaz Acosta to seal a berth in the main draw.
Ofner carried his good form from the qualifiers and registered a comprehensive victory in the first round against Maxime Cressy. He decimated the American in three sets 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 to set up a clash against 24th seed Sebastian Korda. He then put on a sublime display to get the better of the No.24 seed in straight sets and stormed into the third round of the competition.
Date – Friday, 2nd June
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announcedn
Location – Paris
Match details – Third Round
Fognini and Ofner have never played each other before on the ATP tour. This is the first professional head-to-head clash between the two players. On paper, Fognini is the favourite both in terms of experience and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the in-form Austrian and he is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting a close encounter with Fabio Fognini eventually winning in five sets.
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