Fognini gets first Masters 1000 title, follows up Nadal upset by beating Lajovic

It’s only fair that anyone who beats Rafael Nadal at a clay-court event should be the last man standing.

If that’s the case, Fabio Fognini got what he deserved at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Fognini, a semifinal winner over Nadal, defeated fellow surprise finalist Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4 for the biggest title of his career on Sunday afternoon. The 31-year-old Italian converted four of five break-point opportunities and won 75 percent of his second-serve points to triump after one hour and 38 minutes.

“I’m really, really happy; nothing (else) to say,” Fognini said. “I have to keep calm, maybe take a shower, relax, and think about this because it’s something incredible. I just feel happy because I won a big tournament that was always my goal in my career. I think everybody, when you’re growing up and you start and you decide to play tennis, you are dreaming to win a big tournament. We are talking about a Masters.”

Overall, it is the Fognini’s ninth ATP title. He also became the lowest-seeded player to lift the Monte-Carlo trophy since 1999 (Gustavo Kuerten was also 13th).

“Fabio is a guy who knows how to play in these conditions,” Lajovic commented. “He has great hands. He’s moving really well. So I was feeling on the court that I had to work much harder than him to win the points. I think this was the key. He was pretty stable and solid from both sides. And when I was on and when I was aggressive, I was able to make points and put him under pressure. But at times, my game was just off.

“I had a lot of unforced errors. One thing was that it was windy. The other thing was I was under the pressure of the finals, and all together I think he was the much better player today.”

The 48th-ranked Serb was competing in his first career ATP final.