Indian Wells, Fognini and Musetti in the 2nd round. Among the women, Paolini passes

Indian Wells starts with Fabio Fognini’s victory over Pablo Andujar: 3-6 6-3 6-3 for the Ligurian (2 hours and 6 minutes) who, however, could have also closed in two sets if he hadn’t had the inexplicable step empty in the central phase of the first set.

First set

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Fabio takes off from the very beginning. He recovers from 40-0 on the Spaniard’s serve thanks to two double fouls and two forehand mistakes by Andujar. The Spaniard kneels in front of two backlashes from Fognini: the Ligurian snatches the serve from his rival, cancels the ball of the counter-break and climbs to 2-0. In the fourth game Fognini pulls the short ball out of the hat and climbs easily to 3-1. The center of the field is for the blue and Andujar can do nothing but loosen his grip: Fabio, however, fails to sink, does not achieve three consecutive break points, then does not even take advantage of the fourth and in the end Andujar holds for 2-3 . After missing 4 chances of 4-1, Fabio is forced to cancel, with a counterbalance shot of enormous difficulty, a 3 all ball, then with an ace a second chance and on the third capitola making a mistake with the forehand. In the seventh game Andujar recovers, puts the arrow and moves forward for the first time in the score and then again snatches the serve from Fognini coming to serve for the set at 5-3. Fabio is no longer the owner of the pitch, but arrives at the break point but loses control of the forehand. Fabio, however, does not react and sinks without reacting: the Spaniard takes advantage and brings home the set for 6-3.

Second set

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In the first games of the second set Fognini returns perky as at the beginning of the match. He makes the break which confirms the 3-0. At 3-1 Fabio recovers from 0-30, wins an interminable point with a cross forehand and climbs 4-1 with a winning service in the middle. This time Fabio holds up, takes a delicate turn at bat by climbing 5-2. Andujar comes back from 0-30 and Fabio arrives to serve for the set under pressure at 5-3. The tension is palpable, Fabio starts with two double fouls for 0-30, then finds a winning counterattack with a backhand down the line and with a very deep and angled first serve he recovers for 30 all. Another winning serve and set point that Fabio transforms with a winning forehand.

Third set

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On the 2 equal of the third set Fabio grabs the break ball with two consecutive errors by Andujar who then also commits the third by giving up the serve. This time Fognini does not get distracted, at 5-3 he arrives at the match point that Andujar clears him with an ace in the middle. Then with the backhand Fabio gets the second match point that he transforms after the last mistake of the Spaniard. Now Fabio Fognini is expected by Nikoloz Basilashvili: only one precedent animates their rivalry and it is the match that Fabio won last year in Cincinnati beating the Georgian 7-6 6-3. A solid opponent, who loves concrete, but predictable and not impossible to contain.

Musetti and Paolini

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And in the second round also Lorenzo Musetti who overtook the American Marcos Giron 6-3 7-5 on his debut. Musetti is in the Bratislava version, he plays a great first set showing his entire arsenal. He breaks in the second game, defends him well by yielding just 4 points in the batting games that he holds with a lot of authority. He succeeds in everything: the short ball, the backhand down the line, the response and the touches near the net to pack the first 6-3. The Carrarino continues with the same attitude also in the second set: in the first game he lacks some break points, but is still alive until 2-3. Here he concedes the first break point of the match which Giron transforms by flying forward 4-2. Now Musetti’s free mistakes increase and Giron, on the other hand, no longer misses a ball by climbing 5-2. At 5-3, with the American serving, Musetti finds the break point but he is unable to materialize. On the second chance, however, he breaks through, returns to the set and then holds the bar after a first point played badly for the 5 all. Musetti is a fury, fighting against the wind, he reaches the ball four times that would allow him to serve for the match, but he has no luck. The last of these comes out a few centimeters. The backhand volley, sunk in the net by Giron, grants Musetti the break point number 5, but once again the blue fails to realize the chance. But the sixth chance, after a 12-minute game, is a good one. When Giron puts the straight voleé on a Musetti tweener, there are three match points for the blue. He misses the first but closes in the second with an ace. In the second round Musetti is expected by the American Reilly Opelka. On Saturday in the second round there will be, in addition to Fognini and Musetti, also the debuts of Berrettini, Sonego and Sinner. In the women’s field, Jasmine Paolini did well, 6-3 6-2 to English Katie Boulter: second round now prohibitive. against the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Wta and 2 of the draw.