Fabio Fognini, Davis Cup warrior.
The Italian was the big star of Italy’s 3-1 victory over Japan in Morioka this weekend and he capped off a grueling weekend that saw him play 14 sets and 11 hours and 41 minutes to win three critical rubbers for Italy.
On Sunday Fognini survived a seesaw battle with Yuichi Sugita that saw him trail by a set twice and rally to save a match point in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
Fognini trailed by a break in the fourth set before rallying, then trailed by a break again in the fifth before rallying to win six of the final games to win 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5.
Italy moves on to face the France vs. Netherlands winner in the quarterfinals.