Round 2: Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session — Second Match
- As soon as the draw came out this potential match leapt off the sheet. Why? Back in 2015, Nadal surrendered a two-sets lead to Fognini in a stunned Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the first time Nadal had lost from such a position in 152 Grand Slam matches. Fittingly, they return tonight to the very same court. Fognini, now down to world No. 60, has a Top 10 pedigree and is gifted with all the shots. When he’s on song, his piercing flat strokes laser past opponents. Nadal will know all too well what the flamboyant Italian is capable of. Even at two sets up, Nadal will still have to watch his back.
- Away from their 2015 showdown, the 22-time Grand Slam champion is still the hot favorite. He owns a 13-4 all-time record versus Fognini, and 7-1 on hard courts. Nadal, despite endless unfortunate injury troubles, is 20-0 in Grand Slam action this season and only an abdominal tear ruled the No. 2 seed out of competing in the Wimbledon semifinals. “Of course I'm having an amazing year in terms of results, but at the same time a tough year because I went through the foot, the rib, stress fracture on the rib, then the tear in the abdominal,” the Australian Open and Roland Garros champion said. “Can't complain much. Even if I went through, I was able to win tournaments and be in the position today. [To] be in the second round of the US Open, it's important for me.” Even without being in peak condition, Nadal knows exactly how to run the Grand Slam gauntlet.
- Nadal's highlighted that his abdominal tear continues to trouble when building up the speed and force on serve. However, during his opening match against Rinky Hijikata, the four-time US Open champion was pretty much immaculate on his own delivery: 77% of first serve points went in his favor and he reached 122 mph on the radar gun. Not bad for someone holding back on the velocity scale. Having held 17 of his 18 service games, Nadal must have felt comfortable enough on serve to saunter forward with 3-for-3 success rate on serve-and-volley against the Australian wild card. It’s unlikely Fognini is going to be given ‘slow’ deliveries from Nadal, so the Italian is certainly going to have to ramp up the risk factor on return.
- Away from that night in 2015, there are plenty of factors for a Fognini upset. The 35-year-old might have lost 12 straight matches to Top 10 opposition, but his last triumph was against Nadal in the semifinals of the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters. Today's a pretty big stage again. He’s also been a Top 10 player and another omen, Fognini reeled in Aslan Karatsev 1-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday. Maybe that serves as another reminder of Fognini’s comeback capabilities. In doing so, Fognini equalled Roger Federer and Andy Murray with 10 career victories from two sets down, the most among active men.
