Jul 01, 2025 02:10 PM IST
Fabio Fognini’s son is a Carlos Alcaraz super-fan, making the Italian player’s last Wimbledon match against the Spaniard an opportunity for a special moment.
Fabio Fognini made waves in the last match of his Wimbledon career, pushing two-time defending champions Carlos Alcaraz all the way to five sets in their first round encounter on Centre Court. It was a terrific display of crafty, clever tennis by the veteran Italian, who even at 38-years-old had the ability and experience to take advantage of some loose tennis by the Spaniard 16 years his junior.
Fognini was left in tears as Alcaraz served out the match in the fifth set, as the realisation dawned on him that he was playing his last few rallies at the most famous tennis tournament in the world. Fognini was clearly emotional towards the end of the match, having played his heart out to win sets two and four, coming from behind with some extremely sharp tennis.
After the match had come to a conclusion, Fognini took a moment to ask his younger opponent for his t-shirt, so that he could pass it on to his own son Federico. Before their match, Fognini had revealed that Federico, his older son, was a big fan of Alcaraz, and Fognini saw this as an opportunity to take a memento home for him.
Some rooting for Alcaraz in the Fognini household
“Give me your t-shirt Charly,” said Fognini after having embraced Alcaraz at the net, using his nickname. “Can I have your t-shirt for Federico?” Federico is the older of Fognini’s two sons with former Italian tennis star and US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, who was present on Centre Court to celebrate what proved to be his last match at Wimbledon.
Before the match, Fognini had revealed that he had teased his son about not letting him meet Alcaraz since he wanted him to root for his father during the match, only to have Federico grow annoyed at the fact. In the end, the Italian veteran certainly put on a performance that his son will one day be very proud of, pushing the recently-crowned French Open champion to a fifth set by rolling back the years and combining first-strike tennis with some creativity and guile.
Fognini is set to retire from the sport towards the end of 2025, and despite not having the most successful year so far, has this moment to look back on glowingly.
