PARIS — Sometimes it’s best when there's nothing left to lose. And Fabio Fognini had nothing left to lose. Sure, he had come back from 4-1 down in the fifth set against veteranAlbert Montanes. And never mind that the Spaniard was higher ranked (by 11 slots, No. 49 to 38) and had beat Fognini in their last three meetings, all on clay. Fognini — who was hoping to become the first Italian to reach the quarters of a Slam since Renzo Furlan in ’95 – was trying to channel some Italian magic. And, of late, there has been plenty of Italian mojo floating about this place, thanks to Sigorina Francesco Schiavone, who won here last year and is the highest ranked player remaining in the all but completely decimated women’s draw. Fabio needed all the magic he could use. After coming back to even the match, Fognini, in the 14th game of the fifth set, called for the trainer to provide treatment on his injured leg. The clay grinder was hobbled. Screaming in agony, he could hardly bend. Movement was not much of an option. So he just bashed away – swoop, bong, bang – and flicked away scoring one improbable, jaw-droping winner after another. Amidst ongoing calls for foot faults (are you paying attention Serena Williams?), the Italian staved off five match points and took advantage of wretched tactics by Montanes, who made numerous errors, failed to run or drop shot his hobbled foe and stood far behind the baseline despite the fact that Fognini’s often errant serves were merely in the mid-80s. Ultimately, Fognini prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 in the strangest match of the French Open. Later, Novak Djokovic, who Fogini will play in the quarters, put the match into perspective. “[It was] one of the strangest wins I've ever seen in my life. It was incredible for him to come up with the win…It seemed probably…impossible. He was not moving at all. He was hitting as hard as he can from the spot, and everything was going in. I really feel for Montanes. I can imagine how frustrated he is. That's tennis. It was really strange. Every point in the last two, three service games, Fognini was foot faulted. Really, people didn't know if they were amazed or if they were laughing.”
FACTOID OF THE DAY: As a kid, Roger Federer ‘ballboyed’ for the now-retired Patty Schnyder.
THE FIGHT AGAINST JUMBOIZATION: Commenting on the highly ambitious plans for the overcrowded Roland Garros facility, French Tennis Federation President Jean Gachassin got a bit carried away, making the move sound like some kind of noble effort. Gachassin said, “The decision was a bold decision. It was brave, it was innovating and it was against the general trend to jumboization that we witness today. So we made the choice of excellence. We made the choice of building up on our assets, our charm, our specificities that the whole world is envying us.”
NOT SUCH A SHABBY STAT: Federer is playing in his 46th straight Grand Slam. And with his win over his pal Stan Wawrinka, he has now reached an astounding 28 straight Slam quarterfinals. The mark – an astounding reflection of his consistent excellence — wasn’t even brought up in his post-match press conference.
BEST NEW NAME: Zarah Razafimahatratra – a junior from Madasgascar.
LOVE THE EARTH: Yes that was Schiavone, after her tight win over Jelena Jankovic, kissing the clay again in Paris.
TV TALE: Does the women’s tournament seem like an episode of survivor?
JJ AND FRANKIE: No that’s not the new garage band out of Modesto. It’s the nicknames of today’s quarterfinalists, Jelena Jankovic and Francesca Schiovone.
SPEAKING OF JELENA: Novak Djokovic is friendly with his fellow Serb Jelana Jankovic. His formative coach was the now fabled Jelena Gencic and his girlfriend is Jelena Ristic.
NO KIDDING: Hoping to chat on tennis, broadcaster Matt Cronin quipped, “Djokovic is bouncing the ball so we have time to talk.
NOT SUCH FABIO NEWS: Fabio Fognini has withdrawn from RG with a leg injury. Djokovic is now through to the semis and will not have to play until Friday. Will the time off somehow hurt Novak. We doubt it.
