HAMBURG: Fabio Fognini saved three match points and claimed his second straight title on Sunday with victory over Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis in the Hamburg Open final.
Italy’s Fognini won his debut title last weekend in Stuttgart and followed it up with a 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-2 victory on Sunday over Delbonis who had eliminated former world No. 1 Roger Federer in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Delbonis, ranked 114th in the world, squandered a match point in the second set against the 12th-seeded Fognini.
“At the end, there was a bit of luck involved. At times, Federico was really strong,” admitted Fognini.
“I will try and defend my title again next year.”
The 26-year-old Fognini had needed to get his temper under control to win the claycourt final after several outbursts in the second set.
Having lost the first set and found himself 4-1 down in the second, Fognini levelled at 4-4 and eventually forced a tie-breaker.
Delbonis squandered three match points at 6-5, 7-6 and 8-7 in the breaker.
Arguably his best opportunity to win had come at 6-5, when he served out wide only miss a volley at the net.
The Italian, ranked 25th in the world, composed himself to claim the tie-break, then raced into a 3-0 lead in the final set before going on to convert his first match point after two hours 27 minutes. — AFP
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