Fabio Fognini is an Italian professional tennis player who was born on May 24, 1987 in Sanremo, Italy. He began playing the sport from a very early age, picking up a racquet for the first time at the age of just four. Growing up in a family passionate about sports, a young Fabio picked up a love for football, too, and remains an avid supporter of Inter Milan.
The Italian enjoyed success on the junior tour before he became professional, reaching the quarterfinals of both the Australian Open and French Open in the boys' tournaments. It was not long before he was capable of making the jump to the pro tour, with his chance coming in 2004.
His first chance to prove himself on the real ATP Tour was in his home country, Italy, at the Palermo Open. For the first few years on Tour, the Italian struggled to make it past the first couple of rounds of tournaments. His chance to shine soon came, though, with him reaching the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 in Montreal, beating Andy Murray en route.
Making a real name for himself came at the 2011 French Open, where he utilized his talent on the clay courts to reach his first quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. This result in 2011 remains, to this day, his best at any of the four Slams. His first taste of silverware came a few years down the line at the Hamburg Open. Fognini overcame Argentine Federico Delbonis in three sets to get his name etched on some ATP silverware for the first time in his career.
This victory certainly opened the floodgates for the Italian, with him winning at least one ATP title in all seasons, except 2015, up until 2019, where he achieved his ninth and latest Tour-level title. Despite not winning a singles trophy in 2015, Fognini did manage to make a name for himself on the doubles circuit.
The Italian came away from the Australian Open with the win, seeing off all opposition. He can now say something not many players can – that he is a Grand Slam champion. 2019 happened to be the year in which he achieved his career-high ranking of 9 in the world before tailing off in recent years.
However, despite a recent dip in form, he will remain in the hearts of tennis fans across the globe thanks to his passionate and emotional game style.
