The heavy underdog Fognini advanced after dominating Joao Sousa in the opening round, 6-4, 6-4. It was a much-needed victory for the 29th-ranked veteran, who came in losing four straight matches.
The win could help him in his tall task this Wednesday, since odds are definitely leading towards the other side. He’s just 161-119 overall on such environment, 9-45 against top 10 players, and only 3-8 against Nadal (2-4 on the clay) throughout his 13-year career.
Do note, though, that all four of his titles are all on clay tournaments, one of which was captured just last year at the Croatia Open, where he won all but one round in straight sets.
No.5 Rafa, as you may know, is the absolute master at the clay. Along with a superb record of 375-34 (91.7 winning percentage), his decorated career has a whopping 51 titles in such a surface, two of which came in his last two tournaments.
Further, since the 2012 Rome Masters, Nadal has advanced to at least the third round in every clay court tourneys he has played in.
As mentioned, he has had minimal problems dispatching Fognini. In his eight wins over the Italian, seven were straight sets, while the other was a quick turnaround despite dropping the opening set, so him moving past this round should be expected.
