Fabio Fognini knocks out eighth seed Casper Ruud at Wimbledon

NEW DELHI: Italian Fabio Fognini delivered a strong performance to defeat Wimbledon’s eighth seed Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3 on Wednesday.
With the win, Fognini, 37, advanced to the third round.
Sporting peroxide blond hair, the former top-10 player displayed his signature shot-making skills to largely control the match against Ruud on Court Two.
The match began with an early break of serve following a short rain delay, which Fognini converted into a first set victory.
Although a heavy fall interrupted his pace, Fognini managed to claim the second set with a break of serve in the 12th game. He seemed set for victory with a 5-2, 30-0 lead in the third set and a double break, but struggled to close out the match twice when serving for it.
Ruud capitalized on this and dominated the tiebreak to push the match into a fourth set. However, Fognini regained control, breaking serve for a 5-3 lead. Despite missing three match points and appearing to tighten up, he finally secured the win on the fourth attempt with a forehand winner.
"Maybe 14 is the lucky one," Fognini said on court. "I was 5-2 up and the match was almost done but then at 5-4 too many things were coming into my head.
"But this is why I love and hate this sport. In the end he's top 10 and I'm 37 and today was a good present for me."
Ruud, a 25-year-old clay court specialist, has continued to struggle on grass. The defeat marks another year where he has not passed the second round at Wimbledon.
Ruud’s preparation for the tournament was also hindered by a stomach ailment during his French Open semi-final defeat against Alexander Zverev.
Ruud revealed that the ailment was caused by a parasite, likely from a salad washed in contaminated water.