“STOP IT”: Fabio Fognini Furious in Press Conference After Brutal Defeat to Federico Delbonis in French Open 2021 3rd Round

Italian tennis player and former world number nine Fabio Fognini, has been struggling to find top form over the last year. His best result came at the Australian Open this year, where he reached the fourth round before losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

Fognini had a good start to this year as team Italy reached the finals of the ATP Cup , but ended up losing to the star-studded Russian team. While the Australian Open‘s result was a decent one, the Italian failed to pick up the momentum from there onwards.

Fabio Fognini was infuriated when asked about the younger Italian players at French Open 2021

Even though he played a lot of tournaments, Fognini failed to reach the quarter-finals in any of them. During his run, the Italian also faced stunning defeats against players like Jamie Munar, Miomir Kecmanovic, Laslo Djere, etc.

At the French Open, Fognini defeated Gregoire Barrere and Marton Fucsovics in the first two round. In his third-round match against Argentinian Federico Delbonis, the Italian seemed lost and exhausted. He also had a furious moment on-court as he punched his racquet multiple times and got injured.

After the defeat to Delbonis, Fognini admitted in the post-match press conference that he didn’t play well enough to be in the fourth round of French Open. His temper was tested when asked about the current generation of young Italian players.

“Stop it, stop it! You have been asking me the same questions a million times in the last month!”, Fognini responded.

Truth be told, the Italian tennis has rejuvenated with the likes of Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Museeti making their presence felt on the ATP tour consistently. Players like Marco Cecchinato and Salvatore Caruso are also producing fair results in several tournaments.

Coming back to Fognini’s response, it’s worth noting that he is an athlete who never hesitates to speak his mind. Irrespective of the form, the Italian has always been straight-forward in his responses just like Nick Kyrgios and Benoit Paire.

With the question being asked right after the defeat, it might have triggered Fognini to respond the way he did. Despite the on-court tantrums and constant arguments, the Italian is one of the highly-talented players on the ATP tour who refuses to change the way he plays tennis.