Marrakech, April 04, 2024, The Europe Today: Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini staged a remarkable comeback to defeat top-seeded Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6 (1), 2-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco, on Wednesday.
After a tight first set, Djere dominated the second, taking it with ease after securing a 4-0 lead. The Serbian player continued his momentum into the third set, where Fognini found himself trailing 4-2. However, Fognini rallied back, winning the final four games of the set and clinching victory on his sixth match point.
Fognini’s victory was part of a successful day for Italian players, as No. 4 seed Lorenzo Sonego defeated Sumit Nagal of India 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Matteo Berrettini overcame Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. However, eighth-seeded Italian Flavio Cobolli suffered a 6-1, 7-6 (5) loss against Russia’s Pavel Kotov.
In the quarterfinals, Kotov will face Fognini, while Berrettini will take on Sonego.
Meanwhile, at the Estoril Open in Portugal, Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz delivered an impressive performance, sweeping past No. 8 seed Dominik Koepfer of Germany with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the first round. Llamas Ruiz capitalized on Koepfer’s errors, setting up a second-round clash with lucky loser David Jorda Sanchis, who defeated Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 7-6 (4), 6-1.
In other matches, France’s Arthur Fils and Gael Monfils, the No. 5 and No. 7 seeds respectively, fended off challenges from Portuguese wild cards. Fils defeated Joao Sousa, while Monfils overcame Henrique Rocha. Additional winners on Wednesday included Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands, British qualifier Jan Choinski, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, Cristian Garin of Chile, and Spaniard Pedro Martinez.
