Italian Open: Fabio Fognini defeats Andy Murray in Rome
Posted : 11 May 2023
In a dramatic first-round encounter at the Italian Open against hometown favourite Fabio Fognini, Andy Murray's remarkable comeback on clay came to an end.
The 35-year-old British player fell 6-4 4-6 6-4 in Rome despite last week's Challenger championship victory in France.
The 35-year-old Fognini won the opening set with some elegant ball-striking, and Murray finally prevailed in a second set that included seven serve breaks.
However, the Italian found his level again and served with precision to win the match.
For the first time since 2017, when he was the defending champion and the top-ranked player in the world, Murray was competing on the Rome clay.
In order to safeguard his body, Murray has made fewer clay court appearances since recovering from hip surgery in 2019, which he first believed would ruin his career.
He hopes to compete at the French Open again this year and will be playing in just his second clay-court Grand Slam match since 2017.
The 2016 Roland Garros finalist chose to participate in the ATP Tour tournament in Aix-en-Provence in order to get more match preparation after beginning this season's European swing with lopsided losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
The decision paid off as he defeated a competitive field to win the trophy and get crucial playing time.
Murray's loss to Fognini prevents him from winning consecutive matches in what was supposed to be his last top-tier competition before competing in Paris.
He did, however, just sign up to compete in another Challenger tournament in Bordeaux the following week.
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