Italian Tennis Veteran Shares a Heartbreaking Australian Open Update Marking the End of a Staggering 17-Year Streak

The 2024 Australian Open is not only the first Grand Slam of the season but also the stage for comebacks. A plethora of superstars in the tennis world is set to make a comeback at Melbourne Park. Tighten your seatbelts to witness some intriguing match-ups at the start of the season. But sadly for the 36-year-old Italian tennis player- Fabio Fognini, this won’t be a comeback event. But why? Let’s find out more about this story.

The Australian Open is scheduled to take place from January 14 to 28. Fabio Fognini is no stranger to the tennis world. He has been a constant on the list, featuring in the event for almost 16 years in a row. But recently he put a story on Instagram and revealed about his absence in the 118-year-old event in Australia.

Italian tennis veteran shares a heartbreaking update on the 2024 Australian Open 

Although Fabio Fognini’s best run at the Australian Open has been till the fourth round, which he had on four occasions. But he has been featured in the event since 2007. This year he saw an early exit from the event in the first round at the hands of the 27YO Australian, Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Australian defeated the former 9, by a 6-1,6-2,6-2 margin in front of his home crowd. Fognini was looking to make a comeback in 2024, but an injury resulted in a blockade to his path. Here’s what he said on his Instagram story recently.

‘Unfortunately, I couldn’t apply for the AO qualification draw. The recovery from my calf injury took some unexpected extra time and my off-season started just in the last few days. I need more time to get ready to compete. See you again,‘ Fabio Fognini.

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Fognini is one of the most successful players on the clay. He’s currently ranked at the 107th place in men’s singles, so even if he was fit he had to play qualifiers to get into the Australian Open main event. But he has proved his mettle several times in the past. Let’s have a look at one of his prominent rivals on clay.

Fabio Fognini VS Rafael Nadal

Fognini is one of the few players to outshine others on the clay despite being in the same era as the ‘King of Clay.’ Both of them have met each other 18 times in their career. Although Rafael Nadal leads the H2H by a comfortable 14-4 margin. But 3 out of the Italian’s 4 wins against the former number one came on the clay court.

The 2024 season could be the last season of both the legends of the game. While Nadal has already indicated it earlier this year, rumors suggest even Fognini will hang up his boots at some point in this upcoming season. But before that fans would love to see them compete yet again on the clay court. Share your thoughts on these two legends in the comments section.

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