Fabio Fognini held off a fierce challenge from Aljaz Bedene at the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday afternoon. In the process, the 35-year-old Italian notched his 400th tour-level win.
Fognini claimed the only break of the first set to move ahead at the ATP 500 event in northern Germany, but he was made to dig deep after Bedene responded strongly to force a decider. Fognini saved five break points in the opening game of the deciding set before prevailing in a tie-break to seal his 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory.
[ATP APP]
The win improved Fognini’s lead in his ATP Head2Head series with Bedene to 10-1. The Italian is a nine-time tour-level titlist but is chasing his first crown since claiming his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in 2019.
Fognini, the 2013 champion in Hamburg, is now 14-13 for 2022. That record includes runs to the semi-finals on the clay in Rio de Janeiro and Belgrade. His second-round opponent in Germany will be seventh seed Karen Khachanov.
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