By Chris Oddo | Saturday March 3, 2018
Fabio Fognini ended Pablo Cuevas's 15-match winning streak at Sao Paulo with a 6-4, 6-2 takedown.
Photo Source: Brasil Open
Fabio Fognini loves a challenge.
And he made the most of one on Saturday when he brushed aside a Brasil Open legend to book a spot in his first final of 2018. The Italian notched a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over Pablo Cuevas to stop the Uruguayan’s 15-match winning streak at San Pablo, ending his run of three-plus years of dominance at the 250 event.
Fognini saved all three break points he faced and was never really in trouble against Cuevas in their sixth ATP meeting.
"Today was my best match this week by far," said Fognini, who has opened the season with a 13-4 record and reached at least the semifinals of three events. "I'm really happy about my game and how I feel on court. I have a special feeling in Brazil and hopefully they will continue to support me in the final."
Fognini broke for 3-2 in set one and held the rest of the way to take the opener. In the second set he quickly raced out to a 4-1 double break lead and marched to victory, closing out the semifinal in 71 minutes.
Cuevas faded down the stretch, perhaps due to his two hour and 56 minute victory over Leonardo Mayer on Friday.
In the second semifinal 22-year-old Chilean Nicolas Jarry edged Horacio Zeballos to reach his first career final. The 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory for Jarry pushes his projected ranking to a career-high 61—he can go as high as 53 if he wins the title.
It was a serving battle from start to finish, with Jarry finding a window to break once in the second and once in the third set.
Jarry hammered 20 aces and dropped only 18 points on serve over the course of the two hour and six minute tussle.
Jarry didn’t face a break point the whole way, but he did need seven match points to finally claim his biggest win. Jarry improves to 11-2 in his last 13 matches and he has progressively improved his results with each passing week during the Latin Swing. He reached his first career quarterfinal at Quito, his first career semifinal at Rio and his first final at Sao Paulo.